When to add a BEC?

[DoubleRR24]

I've got the Hobbywing QuickRun WP Brushed Crawler ESC, that has an internal BEC. Is this good enough or should I also install another BEC? I ask because I see a lot of talk about making sure you have a BEC and wonder if what I have is enough.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR24

I've got the Hobbywing QuickRun WP Brushed Crawler ESC, that has an internal BEC. Is this good enough or should I also install another BEC? I ask because I see a lot of talk about making sure you have a BEC and wonder if what I have is enough.

BEC's are a PIA.(although my heyok is 3 years old and never fails) I have had two CC bec blow in a year wiping out two servos and two servo winches.


The HW1080 at 7.4vs is plenty to run all but the most power hungry 7.4v servo.

[Smokin' Joe]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR24

I've got the Hobbywing QuickRun WP Brushed Crawler ESC, that has an internal BEC. Is this good enough or should I also install another BEC? I ask because I see a lot of talk about making sure you have a BEC and wonder if what I have is enough.

I'm assuming you have the 1080. You probably should have listed which servo you are running to best answer this question. If you want more than 7.4v, you will need something else to power your servo (battery or external BEC). Otherwise you should be ok with the 1080, unless (as stated by Ditchrat) you are running a very power hungry servo.

[crawlhog]

get it , install it and be done

[Greatscott]

It all depends on what you are running. Not sure which flavor of QuickRun you have, but the specs for the first one that comes up says it has a 3A BEC. If your servo is rated less than 200oz, or you are not running other things like a winch or lots of LEDs you should be fine. If you are running a higher torque servo and/or winch, you will want to go with more amperage to power all of that stuff, otherwise you will get glitching.

The best option is to get an ESC that has a strong BEC, like the Mamba X (8A), if that is not an option, then go with an adjustable external BEC like the CC 10A BEC. The CC BEC allows you to adjust voltage using a FieldLink card or CastleLink. You can get them waterproofed, or not waterproofed. I save a little money and waterproof my own with conformal coating.

[Ninomaniac]

The Quicrun 1080 happily handles my 7955TG and some 6 LEDs (nothing fancy, regular white 5mm) at 7.4V.

Adding a winch soon so maaaaybe I'll think about adding an external BEC. Maybe not.

[The Violator]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR24

I've got the Hobbywing QuickRun WP Brushed Crawler ESC, that has an internal BEC. Is this good enough or should I also install another BEC? I ask because I see a lot of talk about making sure you have a BEC and wonder if what I have is enough.

The time to install a BEC is about 15 minutes after you open the box, before you power anything up. Best $20 you can spend in RC.

[dacaur]

The only reason to get a BEC, is if your ESC's build in BEC cant handle the load. You will know it cant handle the load because it will drop voltage far enough that the radio will cut out for a moment. If you arent having any issues, there is no reason to add an external BEC....

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by The Violator

The time to install a BEC is about 15 minutes after you open the box, before you power anything up. Best $20 you can spend in RC.

The days of external BEC's being better then internal BEC's is gone. Certain internal BEC's are just as good as external.


After spending $20 on CC BEC's twice to have it wipe out $120.00 in servos, twice it is the absolute worst $20.00 I spent twice.

[JatoTheRipper]

If you have to run an external BEC with modern electronics than you're doing something wrong or you chose an ESC with a garbage internal BEC.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

If you have to run an external BEC with modern electronics than you're doing something wrong or you chose an ESC with a garbage internal BEC.

Your right. The mamba x is robust and so is the HW1080, that should cover most people at 7.4v. If you need more voltage past that you should be running directly from the battery.


The only real issue is HV receivers. I've been pushing 7.4v through the flysky receivers with no ill effects.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Your right. The mamba x is robust and so is the HW1080, that should cover most people at 7.4v. If you need more voltage past that you should be running directly from the battery.


The only real issue is HV receivers. I've been pushing 7.4v through the flysky receivers with no ill effects.

I agree on the Castle X series and the HobbyWing 1080. The Castle SV4 has a downgraded BEC for cost savings. I'm not sure if you'd need an external BEC with that.

You bring up a good point about the receivers. It's about time the radio manufacturers bring those into current times with the ability to handle more voltage.

[MasteroFlego]

My Tactic TR325 (comes with the TTX 300 that a lot of Axials have) ran 7.5v from my Mamba X without complaint, and I've been running it at 7.4 from my WP 1080 for a long time with no problems.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[durok]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I agree on the Castle X series and the HobbyWing 1080. The Castle SV4 has a downgraded BEC for cost savings. I'm not sure if you'd need an external BEC with that.

You bring up a good point about the receivers. It's about time the radio manufacturers bring those into current times with the ability to handle more voltage.

Just in case anyone needs to know - Castle Creations Sidewinder 4 has a 5.0 volts fixed, 2 amps Peak BEC - per their site spec sheet.

That's not nearly as good as the HobbyWing QuicRun 1080 ESC, switchable voltage from 6v to 7.4v, 3A BEC...

I found this statement on a FlySky retailer site:

"The new FS-GR3F receiver can now accept up to 8.4 volts of power to muscle the new high voltage servos."

This is what comes standard with the GT3-C transmitter.

As a comparison, the Futaba 3PV with the R203GF receiver (non-telemetry) shows Operating Voltage: 4.8 to 7.4V, same as their R304SB telemetry option.

If you seek out the "sold separately" R304SBE telemetry receiver, it shows a Usable Voltage: 3.5-8.4V.

Of course, the FlySky tx/rx sells for half the price of a Futaba 3PV, and their receivers are about $8 - that "higher voltage" Futaba telemetry receiver is a cool $50 by itself!

Amazing what buying "budget" electronics can get you in some cases...

[DoubleRR24]

I am running the 1080 Brushed Crawling ESC.

The servo I'm using is the Savox SW-0230MG Waterproof Metal Gear Digital Servo (High Voltage).

Other accessories that I have installed are a Warn winch and a light kit from MyTrickRC which includes headlights, turn signals, front and rear bumper lights, and light bar and a few spotlights.

The receiver I'm using is the Futaba R204GF-E.

I haven't run into any issues as of yet. Just curious because I've seen a lot of discussions about BEC's.

Still getting my feet wet in this hobby, especially with crawlers, so a lot of this is brand new to me.

Appreciate the feedback from everyone.

[Smokin' Joe]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR24

I am running the 1080 Brushed Crawling ESC.

The servo I'm using is the Savox SW-0230MG Waterproof Metal Gear Digital Servo (High Voltage).

Other accessories that I have installed are a Warn winch and a light kit from MyTrickRC which includes headlights, turn signals, front and rear bumper lights, and light bar and a few spotlights.

The receiver I'm using is the Futaba R204GF-E.

I haven't run into any issues as of yet. Just curious because I've seen a lot of discussions about BEC's.

Still getting my feet wet in this hobby, especially with crawlers, so a lot of this is brand new to me.

Appreciate the feedback from everyone.

Shouldn't need an external BEC with that setup.

[coffeeaddict17]

I run a HW1080 and a pro modeler 470 at 7.4V on my scx10.2 and the same setup in my trail finder, except at 6.0V and it all works very nicely.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Your right. The mamba x is robust and so is the HW1080, that should cover most people at 7.4v. If you need more voltage past that you should be running directly from the battery.


The only real issue is HV receivers. I've been pushing 7.4v through the flysky receivers with no ill effects.

In cases where your receiver can't handle the higher voltage, you can run a cheap Hobbyking 5V BEC (or go cheaper yet and get a buck converter on Ebay) to drop the voltage that goes to the receiver. These also work great for running low voltage LEDs.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

In cases where your receiver can't handle the higher voltage, you can run a cheap Hobbyking 5V BEC (or go cheaper yet and get a buck converter on Ebay) to drop the voltage that goes to the receiver. These also work great for running low voltage LEDs.

Doesn't that mean you have to bypass the servo around the receiver then?

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Doesn't that mean you have to bypass the servo around the receiver then?

Yeah, but it's not any more effort than wiring in a separate BEC for the servo, and it saves some cash.