Hi All, I have now made my governor timer available for sale. I have spent much time designing this system as a simple replacement for the sport type of C/L stunt glow engines. The chart below shows that it does equal or better the constant speed control of the pro-stunt custom-made engines, but the real reason behind developing this device, was not to try and compete with the high-end governor systems like the CC, Jeti or Schultze. It was to allow the greater number of C/L stunt enthusiasts to enjoy their stunt flying with the new electric power systems available these days, without having to spend huge amounts of money but still want good performance. My original target was to make something a little better than the timers that advance the throttle over time. I have far exceeded this target, and I fly the system in my competition stunters as well. The KR Governor Timer with a low-cost motor and electronic speed controller will cost about the same price as a good sport glow stunt engine. The performance however, will be much better, quieter, cleaner, and definitely more reliable.

This timer controls the rpm by monitoring the signals from any one of the motor wires, and then uses this data to keep the rpm constant like a good governor on the expensive speed controllers. It has been designed with the non-technical fliers in mind. You do not need to be a rocket scientist and don’t even need a pc to program it. It has a simple 3-button programming card that makes programming simple, and you only need one card for all of your models. The price of this timer is no more than the present basic timers, so the system is extremely cost effective. Here are the features:

1. Constant rpm on most basic ESC’s (no need to buy an ESC with a governor mode).

2. 20 MHz crystal clock for very fine governor control and stability.

3. When setting the rpm, it is set in actual governor mode, and will run up to the last programmed rpm each time. It can therefore be set without a tachometer, although for more accurate setting, a tach is a good tool to have.
In-flight indication of time-out with 2 seconds of slow rpm and then full power for a few seconds for that great landing.

4. Motor shuts down if the rpm drops too far below your set rpm e.g. the battery voltage drops for any reason.

5. Motor shuts down if the propeller is jammed for any reason.


As you can see from the chart, the rpm stays very constant with the varying load. This chart is very much the same as I have recorded using other expensive ESC’s with their governors. You can also see the dip at the end when the motor runs slowly for 2 seconds, and then goes full power for the last 5 seconds. If you need any more information on this system, then please have a look at my website on: http://www.keithrenecle.co.za/Electric%20CL.htm

I have sold a few systems overseas already, and so far the feedback is good. Locally, I have a few systems running for the last year or so and the feedback has been invaluable. So therefore I am happy to be able to sell them without worrying about having to get them back to fix or upgrade the software. You will see from the pictures that I have gone the SMD route (Surface Mounted Devices) and it came out rather neat. After trying various methods of programming the timer, I eventually came up with a simple plug-in 3-button programming card. I have made boards with one, two and three buttons on the pc board, but my customers always battled with finding a suitable place to mount the board. One button is a always a bit of a hassle for setting things, and then I had to find a way of programming the processor chip in circuit as well, so I opted for a 4-pin connector. The timer comes with a slide switch for starting and stopping the timer. If you switch it on and plug in the battery and motor, then it outputs a full throttle signal for calibrating some of the ESC’s that need you to set the throttle range initially. Normally you would need an R/C system to do this, so now my timer can do this as well. I will offer other types of switches later, like a round pushbutton, and small switches for 1/2A stuff as well.

The software allows you to set the start-up delay, the flight time, and the rpm in governor mode. The two buttons marked “<” and “>” are for setting the RPM up or down in steps of  50~100 rpm. This sort of resolution is as good as the digital tachs and in practice it is good enough for setting the flight speed. It’s certainly better than the needle valve on the wet set-ups.

I have now set up my bank account to work with PayPal, and after sending out a few systems and juggling the numbers to see how much these extras all cost, it looks like a good price for the governor timer and switch will be $30.00US. The programming card will cost $12.00 and postage to most countries works out as $7.50 if sent in a simple padded registered envelope. I did offer a special introductory price until the end of this month on my website, but this was meant as a local thing to get things going. I will still honor this for a short while longer and the price for a system will be $39.50 including postage. Please remember that if you need more timers for other models, you only need the extra timer and a switch. One programming card is all you need. At $30.00 this is the same price as many timers. (I sound like a salesman!!) The other way to save bucks is to send a few systems in one envelope if you have a few friends that want systems. The timer packet with instructions and all parts, only weighs about 25 grams, so I can send a few of them at a time.

I have sent systems to Dennis Adamisin and also to Will Hubin to evaluate, so I’m hoping to hear from them soon. I am now getting more and more e-mails from happy customers, so I reckon that I’ve succeeded in my target of providing a simple alternative to the expensive governor systems available. Eventually, I believe that it will be better for me to ship a box full to someone like Will, and this will work out much better for distribution in the USA. I have spoken to Will already and the nice thing about this, if he decides to do this, is that he can re-program the timer easily if necessary without having to send it back to Darkest Africa. I am about 99% happy with the software now, so hopefully this will not be necessary. I have not changed the governor section for more than a month now. This is a record for me! Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Keith R

I am currently finishing a 1/2a Pathfinder that will fly electric.  I want to try to get it to work with a low cost motor, ESC and timer.  I would be interested in trying your timer, how do I go about getting the timer and programmer.  I plan to use a Hobby people motor and a CC low cost thunderbird ESC.  Please post the information to get your timer.
Andy Borgogna

Hi Andy,

I did get your e-mail so I'll reply to this as well. I guess my post was too long so it was a hassle to read it all. (I was vaccinated with a gramophone needle when I was born, so I don't tell short stories very well!) The link to my website that deals with the timer is http://www.keithrenecle.co.za/Electric%20CL.htm and that explains everything.

Getting forex in is always a hassle, so I hooked up with PayPal. My local bank has also done a deal with them so it works quite well so far. They all charge fees to do all of this, but it works out as $32.00 for the introductory package with a complete system, plus $7.50 for postage in a padded registered envelope. It weighs only around 25 grams or so, and this method seems to work so far, and has the lowest price as well. I can stick quite a few systems in one packet as well for the same price. If you want to order on, the I simply send you a request from PayPal. You do obviously need to be registered with PayPal, but it certainly works well and easier for me than credit cards.

The lower introductory price was aimed at my local market here to get the system out there for some feedback, but I will keep it available for another week. The price is therefore $39.50 with postage until the 6th February. After that it will be $30.00 for the timer and plug-in switch. The programming card is $12.00, but remember that if you want more timers then one programming card will be fine.

I am using one of my systems on a 1/2A model right now with a cheap no-name esc, and it is working well. I did have some issues with some cheap esc's, but most of them seem to work fine. Igor Burger has one person with a GWS 15 amp esc that just won't read the motor wire signal, but I have not yet found one to test myself. I have a real cheap no-name 40 amp esc that hunts little on the governor, but still works reasonably well. The Hobbywing esc's and Turnigy Plush series all seem to be fine.

Keith R

Bravo, Keith!
    Dean P.

This is a cool idea. I was wondering if something like this could be done, but didn't think a photocell or such would work well be a reliable sensor. I like tapping off a motor lead to determine the RPM.

Still you have to wonder what it would take to put the C/L timer code right into the Castle Creations ESC. I see no need to have a separate CPU to do the timer since there already is a CPU in the ESC.

-Chris

Hi Chris,
I think that we all asked this question some time ago, and the bottom line is that our small quantities are not worth the manufacturers efforts. Our requirements also change a lot as well, so you would have to allow for the experimenters like me, Igor, and many others that like to add 2/4 break type stuff like power monitoring, gyros etc. The prices of many very good Chinese esc's are so low, so making external devices like we do, is in fact quite practical. Our C/L stunt scene is a low volume cottage industry and always will be, but it provides fun to us and even keeps some employed.

Keith R

Hi Keith,

I just sent you an email!  My email has been acting a little funny today, so I hope you get it!

Thanks
Bill

Even in control line, there's need for a range of different ESC's, which would make the production volume problem of integrated timers worse. A stunt ship needs a fairly powerful ESC, not to speak about Speed flying. A 1/2A size plane is better served with a smaller, lighter and cheaper unit.