First off my Deeetroit Lions win two make that THREE-in-a row. Now you tell me Brother Big Bear got ECL? I am still being bewildered. I will also be wordy
Oh yeah, better watch out for the Redneck Mountain Mafia!
A bit of history. My family's first ECL consisted of the original Brodak Super Clown system transplanted into a ARF Oriental. We even used the original non-adjustable ESC & timer and control flight speed by using long lines and some prop-artistry. Even then it worked far better than it should have! Passed it on to Archie (Arch 3 in family shorthand) and he really worked it out. The biggest problem was with the timer & ESC not giving any control. He switched over to a Kontronik, and then a Phoenix ESC with allowed for "governing" then switched to a JMP timer, then to a Hubin timer. Once the throttle settings were controllable, it was easy to switch from the 9x4.5 to a 10x5; even tried an 11x5.5 but it was not a good match for the short tailed Oriental. Last change was just this last spring when we finally replaced the original battery pack with the new packs, also scoring a 2.5 oz weight save. The final iteration: Brodak "red" motor, Phoenix 45, Hubin FM-2SR timer, and Arrowind 3Sx3300 pack turning a 10x5 APC electric prop was as good a system as you could find - Think of it as the BEST OS-35 you ever had and one that never wavered flight to flight and day to day.
When it came out the Brodak system was a heck of an attempt to bring out a turn-key system - but the state of the art quickly passed it by. Lack of throttle adjustment, a too small charger and expensive but poor quality batteries showed the need for improvements. Final straw came when even the motor (the best part of the system) was no longer available!
OK now flash forward.
As others have pointed out the package you have is the Brodak Super Clown system, the one recently designed (uh, by me) to replace the original system. When compared to the original system, the motor is somehat larger/stronger, the battery much improved, the ESC is a standard unit and the timer now lets you adjust speed from roughly 6.5 sec per lap to 4.5 sec per lap and flight time from 1:45 to 6:00. It also now comes with a 9x4.5 prop, I think the original came with an 8x4. The charger/balancers is also vastly improved.
A bit more detail:
* The new motor is an Arrowind 2815 with kv=1300. Compared to the original motor (the one we used in the Oriental) the new motor is .5 oz heavier because it has a larger diameter and longer commutator and longer magnets - ie, more power! It is also a lower KV (1300 v 1500) so that it will deliever its power in the RPM ranges we like. For ECL that makes it work well with a 3-cell or 3S battery. It is at its best with a 9"-11" prop. The new motor was special built by Arrowind with a special end bell that mates with the original red-motor mounting pattern as used in the Super Clown. We still have plans to try this motor in the Oriental, but that bird was severely damaged last summer so those plans are on hold...
* The new battery is an Arrowind 3Sx3300 pack. This replaces the troublesome 3Sx4000 pack used in the original Brodak Electric Super Clown. The E-Clown calls for slipping the battery into a pocket built into wing - thus necessitating the very thin (18mm) 3 cell "wafer" pack. If you are NOT using the power system in a Brodak Super Clown then you can build what ever size/shape battery box you want and any 3S pack (get at least a 3000 mah capacity) will do. 3-4 packs will let you fly pretty much as long as you want, especially if you are sharing the circle with 1-2 others.
* The new ESC is an Arrowind 35A unit that comes pre-wired. It has some programmable features like soft start, cut-off voltage and reversing the rotation, the one that matter the most to us though is that it was a prop brake - when the power shuts off the ESC will stop the prop - a really nice thing to have when you are gliding down at the end of the flight! This ESC is a normal RC unit and as such does not do any "governing" and does not adjust for the battery voltage
* The Timer is a Hubin FM-0c with battery compensation. At start-up, you push the start button and you get about a 1 second blip of motor powering up, then it stops. There is a 15 second delay alllowing you to walk to the center of the circle, grab the handle and stooge line, and wait for the motor to start. Once the motor starts you have your flight time, from 1:45 (great for test flights) to 6:00 (about 45 sec more than you need for a pattern). As the flight goes on and the battery gets worn down some, the motor RPM would normally slack off. However this timer adds throttle over the course of the flight and pretty well maintains flight speed to the end. Oh yeah, 5 sec before the end of flight time you get a momentary blip to let you get ready to land.
* Finally, the Charger/Balancer you have is designed to peak charge and balance from 2 cells to 4 cell packs. The charge rate is adjustable to a max of 2.0A. The neat thing about it is the simplicity - just plug the balance connector into the appropriate socket and let -t go. It will give you the status of the charge in percentages on a cell by cell basis, the LED changes from red to green as each cell peaks out.
* The system as you have it will do a nice job on a sport model and I have used it in OTS. It will also do a pretty good job in a full stunt model but it will not "govern" so in the wind it will be no better than a wet power system. For a full "PRO" system you should consider upgrading the ESC to a Castle Phoenix 45 or ICE 50 Lite with a Hubin FM-2SR timer. Fit that up to your new Airon and you will be in business!
Topic: Hope This Works Out! - Introduction to Electric (Read 3560 times)
