Voltage Regulator = BEC?

[chiatw73]

hi all.. a noob Q.. voltage regulater n Bec.. are they the same? i cant get any Bec at my lhs, can i use the VR instead?
also i noted the VR gets very hot during operation, especially when the motor of servo is in a bind? is it normal?


thanx

[inginear]

a bec is essentially a voltage regulator. as far as it getting hot, that depends more on the input voltage to the vr/bec. the more voltage input, the more heat created because that is where the "extra" voltage not used by the receiver/servo goes.

a 3 cell lipo would create more heat than a 7.4 nimh when run through the same bec.

just make sure that the voltage regulator that you use is rated for the input and output voltage you are needing.

[Narly1]

Originally Posted by inginear

a bec is essentially a voltage regulator. as far as it getting hot, that depends more on the input voltage to the vr/bec. the more voltage input, the more heat created because that is where the "extra" voltage not used by the receiver/servo goes.

True, if you are talking about linear regulators along the lines of the LM317 and 7805.

Any heat generated in a switching regulator is primarily due to the on-resistance of the actual switching component(s) (FET, IGBT, etc.) used.

Narly1

[chiatw73]

ok.. thanx guys