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I have an Esc/Mixer from Action Electronics. A P94 which I am thinking of using to control the twin motors on a Richardson Tug.
Now I am very new to this sort of thing and when I unpacked it I found it has two plastic panels attached to the circuit board at right angles and measuring 50mm or 2” up into the air.
I cannot find any reference to these in the paper work.
Are they just to attach the board to something or of greater significance?
Also when connecting up the unit to the motors, are there any ‘special issues’ I need to be aware of?
The large protusion will be the heat sinks for the power Mosfets. Looks like a cardboard spacer in between to protect during transit.The case top with slots will fit over the plates to protect.
The green screw connections are for the motors. You take the two motor leads and insert into the connectors and tighten the screws. If the motor(s) run in the wrong direction just swop over the leads for the relevant connectors(s).
The two black and red wires are for the separate battery supplies. Make sure you connect the red to positive and the black to negative and its is advisable to fit an inline fuse (=
When they say "in a box" they do not tell you that the box is separate and that you have to make eight holes of various types yourself before you can install!
Going to have to leave it now until back from a weeks break.
Hi Neil, sorry but they do tell you that. See pic! Extract from the pdf file data on the site, which one can read before ordering! Check this out- http://www.componentshop.co.uk/pdf/P94.pdf You need the slots for the heat sinks cos you seem to have the 20A version. Which is more than you need for the Richardson I think. I don't need the slots cos I bought the 10A P94 Lite version. What do we learn? Slow down and read the manual and small print 😉 Cheers Doug 😎 Have a good break. Kit-Kat? 😉
Attached Files - Click To View Large
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
Mention was made earlier of the two sets of red and black wires being for separate batteries. The manual says "Do not under any circumstances connect a separate battery pack to each pair of red and black wires - it may seem logical but you will very probably do fatal damage to the P94" I would agree with the previous post from NPJ "slow down and read the manual" There's a lot in there. Hope your tug installation goes well
"slow down and read the manual" That was from me! 😉 Sometimes we have to brake Neil's enthusiasm a little! Cheers Doug 😎
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
NP, the motors have "light" wiring because thats all they need, low current draw, the esc/mixer is designed for use with large motors as well, so heavy wires heavy current draw. Doug, aka, RN, is right, check all you have done, both in stages and just before you switch on for the first time. I fried an ESC yesterday by simply screwing the supply leads in the wrong way round. POP, few wisps of magic smoke and £50 down the drain. Check and re-check helps to stop the disappointment. Mark
Having looked at the P94 self build diagrams the two positive and negative leads are connected together on the circuit board. The positive leads are connected by a thin copper track which I suspect would suffer if two mismatched (voltage wise) batteries were connected to each positive lead. By using two sets of leads the wiring is kept to smaller diameter and matches the two power distribution boards by ACTION. The instructions do warn against using separate batteries and there is a wiring diagram showing both sets of leads joined and fed via one large fuse to the battery. However the diagram on the description page shows fuses on each red lead which should be ignored and probably accounts for any confusion regarding battery connections. There can be problems (some are incompatible systems) with 2.4 sets due to the delay in the signal establishing after the ESCs have self set and sometimes when the BEC voltage drops due to high current demands. This can be overcome by changing the chip to a non self setting version or disabling the onboard BEC and using a separate Rx battery. Personally I use a separate battery wherever possible.
Exactly Dave 👍 Several of us have extolled the virtues of separate Rx batteries. I feel I have more control over what happens when on start-up and testing. For testing I usually use a variable PSU anyway. I also prefer to use drive batteries for just that and not waste endurance supplying servos etc. Finally, for multi-channel setups and/or large servos, winches etc the BEC may simply not have sufficient current capacity. Cheers Doug (aka 'The red-lead snipper'😉)
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
Spot on Jarvo👍 Shame about the fry-up though! Neil, the ESC you have is for 20A (which is overkill!) so the wires are dimensioned for 20A plus a good margin for safety. The tiddly motors in Richardson and Southampton probably only draw about a tenth of that ca 2A or so. Therefore 'tiddly' wires as well😉 BTW: don't forget the fuses! The P95 Fuse/Indicator Boards from Action are quite useful for electronic novices, use standard car type blade fuses, and are dead easy to duplicate on a chunk of matrix (Vero) board😊 Happy modding, cheers Doug 😎
Attached Files - Click To View Large
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
Hi Neil, yes get a couple of singles or one dual board as you wish, same price, fiver a chunk. They make wiring up the motors a doddle. Also think about a few of the switch boards. See link above. Single switches you can use on the 3 on/off toggle switch channels on the Tx; A, B and D. A dual switch version you can use on the two way switch C on the Tx. Make sure they can switch enough current for the load you want to use; esp. the smoker! Don't know what current yours takes, you may have to suck it and see with a multi-meter. Cheers Doug 😎 PS don't forget to tell 'em to send my commission! 😉😉
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
My pleasure👍 Re motor wires; I would be more inclined to think that the red one is the positive!! You'll soon find out if you do the rotation check I mentioned in the PM! Have fun and don't blow anything up! Check twice - pay once😉 Cheers Doug 😎
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
About to do some checking on my Southampton (after lunch!) Will let you know soon with pics. Wires from ESC to motors in mine are red and black! Back soon, Doug 😎 BTW: from the propeller form on mine - when going forwards the port prop turns anticlockwise and the stb. prop clockwise.
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
I am going for lunch now as well. Another cold chicken salad!
The red lead connects one motor to the other. The white and yellow wires are those that went to the original control board. I though in these circs white was the positive....????
I have the Southampton also. which I repainted and relabeled. my Southampton came with 27Mhz! But I converted it to 2.4Ghz. I see your going to use a P94 for independent motor control! you see the red wire unsolder it! now take the ferrite coils (Black Barrels) and unsolder them as well! then solder leads to each tab on the motors. you should now be able to connect the motors to your P94...
Thanks Ed!👍 Hi Neil, you also need to remove the wire link between the two inner motor tabs. These are the + connections from the ESCs, when in forwards gear!😉 Cheers Doug😎
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
BTW Ed, I love the mop on the bow 👍 Does the missus use it to clean the bath? 😉😉
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
Hi Neil, It's the 'thin' that cuts!😡 You're supposed to use the 'rope' supplied with the boat dampen and twist the end to get it through the holes in the tyres. Then loop de loop 😉 BTW: the tyres seem to me to have an amazing amount of tread left. Most tugs I've seen they are almost bald! Think I'll have to design a Dremel powered Tread Wear Machine 😉
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
I believe the string that comes with the Southampton is a tad bit thin also flat! That's why I used the thicker string. RNinMunich My tug came with brand new tires as well! I know what you mean about the balding tires.... They look better for realism, but who has time to ware down a tiny tire.....😜
Hi Ed you have an even older version than I do, the 27Meg job, I have the 40Meg version and the 'rope' is about 1/8" thick and round! Seems OK.
Re tyres: that's why I tongue in cheek suggested a Dremel powered machine to do the job 😉 Cheers Doug 😎
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
Neil, life's never too short for a glass of wine, only too short to drink bad wine! 😉 I have a glass of Rose de Loire before me 😊 Cheers all 😎
Young at heart - slightly older in other places 😉 cheers Doug Grant me the Serenity to accept things I can't change, the Courage to change things that I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference!
The basic answer is yes, but, ..... lay esc/mixer on its side, then lay the battery pack along side, just so you don't block the cooling holes in the esc.
Hi, in my model I have flat fuses used in cars. For this case, it is possible to select different sockets in a specialized store, and replacement of fuses is simple. Tom
Main principle: if it is not broken - don't repair It !
NJP. you can use the mini blade fuses, no problem, the difference is price, standard fuses are about half the price if mini's. Apart from your mounted fuse holders, why not just use crimp spade connectors??? get the right size for the blades no need for a holder or mounting
17th Oct 2017 12:06
