Battery eliminator

Battery Eliminator is a device used to convert high voltage

alternating current into low voltage direct current. A circuit arrangement
is employed with which 220 volt alternating current is converted into 4
volt direct current. Since with the help of this appliance, the use of the battery is
eliminated, therefore it is known as a battery eliminator. It consists of following
parts :

Transformer :
It is a device used to convert small alternating current at high voltage
into low voltage alternating current or low voltage alternating current into high
voltage alternating current. In our project step-down transformer is used.
Rectifier :
It is a device used to convert alternating current into direct current.
Rectifier have two types.
(i)
(ii)

Half wave rectifier

Full wave rectifier.

In our project full wave rectifier is used which converts a full wave of
alternating current into full wave of direct current.
Transformer
Transformer :
The transformer is a device used for converting a low alternating
voltage to a high alternating voltage or a high alternating voltage into a low
alternating voltage.
Principle :
It is based on the principle of mutual induction that is if a
varying current is set-up in a circuit induced e.m.f. is produced in the
neighbouring circuit. The varying current in a circuit produce varying magnetic
flux which induces e.m.f. in the neighbouring circuit.
Step-down Transformer :
In our project step-down transformer is used :

This transformer converts high voltage at alternating current into low

voltage alternating current. In step-down transformer the number of turns in
primary coil remains large as compare to secondary coil.
Construction :
The transformer consists of two coils. They are insulated with each
other by insulated material and wound on a common core. For operation at low
frequency, we may have a soft iron. The soft iron core is insulating by joining thin
iron strips coated with varnish to insulate them to reduce energy losses by eddy
currents.
The input circuit is called primary. And the output circuit is called
secondary.
Theory :
Suppose, the number of turns in the primary coil is NP and that in the
secondary coil is NS.
The resistance of the coil is assumed to be zero. Let dq/dt be the rate of
change of flux in each turn of the primary coil. If Ep be the e.m.f. in the primary
circuit then.
EP = NP

(1)

We suppose that there is no loss of flux between the primary and

secondary coils. Then, the induced e.m.f. in the secondary coil will be :
ES = NS

(2)

From equations (i) and (ii), we find :

Ns/Np = K is called transformer ratio or turn ratio.

For step up transformer

K > 1

For step down transformer K < 1

That is for step-up transformer NS > NP, therefore ES>EP.
For the step down transformer NS < NP therefore ES < EP.

Efficiency : The efficiency of the transformer is given by :

If Ip and Is be the currents in the primary and

secondary circuits.

For ideal transformer

= 1 = 100%.

Therefore ESIS = EPIP

or

Therefore, for step up, transformer current in the secondary is less than
in the primary (IS < IP). And in a step down transformer we have IS > IP.
Energy Losses in Transformer :
In practice, the output energy of a transformer is always less than the
input energy, because energy losses occur due to a number of reasons as explained
below.
1.

Loss of Magnetic Flux :

The coupling between the coils is seldom perfect. So, whole of the magnetic
flux produced by the primary coil is not linked up with the secondary coil.
2.

Iron Loss :

In actual iron cores inspite of lamination, eddy currents are produced. The
magnitude of eddy current may, however be small. And a part of energy is lost as
the heat produced in the iron core.
3.

Copper Loss :

In practice, the coils of the transformer possess resistance. So a part of the

energy is lost due to the heat produced in the resistance of the coil.
4.

Hysteresis Loss :

The alternating current in the coil tapes the iron core through complete cycle
of magnetisation. So energy is lost due to hysteresis.
5.

Magneto restriction :

The alternating current in the transformer may be set its parts in to vibrations
and sound may be produced. It is called humming. Thus, a part of energy may be
lost due to humming.
Rectifier
Rectifier :
The rectifier is an electronic device used to convert alternating current
to direct current.
The P.N. Junction as Fuel Wave Rectifier.
Full Wave Rectifier :
It is a device used to convert full wave of alternating currents into full
wave of direct current.
Principle
It is based on the principle that a crystal diode conduct only in forward
bias and then an output current flows in the circuit. When D1 is forward biased, the
D2 is reverse biased and vice-versa. The diode D1 and D2 send current through the
load resistance in the same direction during both halves of the time period. This
cause full wave rectification of the input power.
Construction
The full wave rectifier consists of two P-N junctions diodes
connected to secondary part of the transformer. When input A.C. is applied
across the primary coil (P) of a transformer. One terminal of the secondary coil (S) of
the transformer is connected to the positive terminal of the junction diode D2. In the
secondary part of the transformer a load resistance R1 is connected. The output is
drawn across the two terminals of the load resistance.
Working
In case of a crystal diode as full-wave rectifier the two diodes D1 and
D2 are used in such a way that during 0 to II crystal diode D1 becomes forward-bias
and on output current I, flows similarly during next half cycle II and 2II crystal diode
D2 becomes forward bias and on output current I2 flows in the circuit in this way a
crystal diode converts full wave of alternating current into a full wave of direct
current.

Efficiency of Full Wave Rectifier :

The efficiency of the full wave rectifier may be 80%.

working
Working of a Battery Eliminator : A battery eliminator consist of
mainly three working parts, transformer, Rectifier, Filter circuit. In our
project step down transformer is used. This transformer converts high
voltage alternating current into low voltage alternating current. This low
voltage alternating current passes from rectifier which converts alternating current
into direct current. In our project full wave rectifier is used. In full wave rectifier two
diodes D1 and D2 are used in such a way that during 0 to II crystal diode
D1 becomes forward - bias and an output current I, flow in circuit. Similarly during
next half cycle II and 2II crystal diode D2 becomes forward bias and an output
I2 flows in the circuit. In this way a crystal diode converts full wave of alternating
current into a full wave of direct current. The direct current which we get from
rectifier output circuit is fluctuating direct current. In order to make it pure direct
current filter circuit are used. In our project capacitor is used as a filter circuit. It is
an electrolytic capacitor of capacity 16V, 1000 microfarad. The output now available
is 4 volt direct current and it may be suitably connected with the transistor.

BATTERYELIMINATOR
BatteryEliminatorisadeviceusedtoconverthighvoltage
alternating current into low voltage direct current. A circuit
arrangementisemployedwithwhich220voltalternatingcurrentis
converted into 4 volt direct current. Since with the help of this

appliance,theuseofthebatteryiseliminated,thereforeitisknownasa
batteryeliminator.Itconsistsoffollowingparts:

TRANSFORMER:
Itisadeviceusedtoconvertsmallalternatingcurrentathigh
voltageintolowvoltagealternatingcurrentorlowvoltagealternating
currentintohighvoltagealternatingcurrent.Inourprojectstepdown
transformerisused.
RECTIFIER:
Itisadeviceusedtoconvertalternatingcurrentintodirect
current.Rectifierhavetwotypes.
(i)Halfwaverectifier
(ii)Fullwaverectifier.
Inourprojectfullwaverectifierisusedwhichconvertsa
fullwaveofalternatingcurrentintofullwaveofdirectcurrent.

TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER:

 The transformer is a device used for converting a low

alternatingvoltagetoahighalternatingvoltageorahighalternating
voltageintoalowalternatingvoltage.
PRINCIPLE:
Itisbasedontheprincipleofmutualinductionthatisifa
varyingcurrentissetupinacircuitinducede.m.f.isproducedinthe
neighbouringcircuit. Thevaryingcurrentinacircuitproducevarying
magneticfluxwhichinducese.m.f.intheneighbouringcircuit.
STEPDOWNTRANSFORMER:
Inourprojectstepdowntransformerisused:
Thistransformerconvertshighvoltageatalternatingcurrent
into low voltage alternating current. In stepdown transformer the
numberofturnsinprimarycoilremainslargeascomparetosecondary
coil.
CONSTRUCTION:
Thetransformerconsistsoftwocoils.Theyareinsulated
witheachotherbyinsulatedmaterialandwoundonacommoncore.For
operationatlowfrequency,wemayhaveasoftiron.Thesoftironcore

isinsulatingbyjoiningthinironstripscoatedwithvarnishtoinsulate
themtoreduceenergylossesbyeddycurrents.
Theinputcircuitiscalledprimary.Andtheoutputcircuitis
calledsecondary.
THEORY:
Suppose,thenumberofturnsintheprimarycoilisN P and
thatinthesecondarycoilisNS.
Theresistanceofthecoilisassumedtobezero.Letdq/dtbe
therateofchangeoffluxineachturnoftheprimarycoil.IfEpbethe
e.m.f.intheprimarycircuitthen.
EP=NP(1)
Wesupposethatthereisnolossoffluxbetweenthe
primaryandsecondarycoils.Then,theinducede.m.f.inthesecondary
coilwillbe:
ES=NS(2)
Fromequations(i)and(ii),wefind:

Ns/Np=Kiscalledtransformerratioorturnratio.
ForstepuptransformerK>1
ForstepdowntransformerK<1
ThatisforstepuptransformerNS>NP,thereforeES>EP.
ForthestepdowntransformerNS<NPthereforeES<EP.

Efficiency:Theefficiencyofthetransformerisgivenby:

IfIpandIsbethecurrentsintheprimary
andsecondarycircuits.

Foridealtransformer=1=100%.
ThereforeESIS=EPIP
or

Therefore,forstepup,transformercurrentinthesecondary
islessthanintheprimary(IS<IP).Andinastepdowntransformerwe
haveIS>IP.
EnergyLossesinTransformer:
Inpractice,theoutputenergyofatransformerisalwaysless
thantheinputenergy,becauseenergylossesoccurduetoanumberof
reasonsasexplainedbelow.
1.LossofMagneticFlux:
Thecouplingbetweenthecoilsisseldomperfect.So,wholeofthe
magneticfluxproducedbytheprimarycoilisnotlinkedupwiththe
secondarycoil.
2.IronLoss:
In actual iron cores inspite of lamination, eddy currents are
produced.Themagnitudeofeddycurrentmay,howeverbesmall.
Andapartofenergyislostastheheatproducedintheironcore.
3.CopperLoss:

Inpractice,thecoilsofthetransformerpossessresistance.Soapart
oftheenergyislostduetotheheatproducedintheresistanceofthe
coil.
4.HysteresisLoss:
The alternating current in the coil tapes the iron core through
completecycleofmagnetisation.Soenergyislostduetohysteresis.
5.Magnetorestriction:
Thealternatingcurrentinthetransformermaybesetitspartsinto
vibrationsandsoundmaybeproduced.Itiscalledhumming.Thus,
apartofenergymaybelostduetohumming.

RECTIFIER
Rectifier:
The rectifier is an electronic device used to convert
alternatingcurrenttodirectcurrent.
TheP.N.JunctionasFuelWaveRectifier.
FullWaveRectifier:

Itisadeviceusedtoconvertfullwaveofalternating
currentsintofullwaveofdirectcurrent.

PRINCIPLE
Itisbasedontheprinciplethatacrystaldiodeconductonly
inforwardbiasandthenanoutputcurrentflowsinthecircuit.When
D1isforwardbiased,theD2isreversebiasedandviceversa.Thediode
D1andD2sendcurrentthroughtheloadresistanceinthesamedirection
duringbothhalvesofthetimeperiod.Thiscausefullwaverectification
oftheinputpower.

CONSTRUCTION
The full wave rectifier consists of two PN junctions
diodesconnectedtosecondarypartofthetransformer.Wheninput
A.C. is applied across the primary coil (P) of a transformer. One
terminalofthesecondarycoil(S)ofthetransformerisconnectedtothe
positiveterminalofthejunctiondiodeD2.Inthesecondarypartofthe
transformeraloadresistanceR1isconnected.Theoutputisdrawnacross
thetwoterminalsoftheloadresistance.

WORKING
In case of a crystal diode as fullwave rectifier the two
diodesD1andD2areusedinsuchawaythatduring0toIIcrystaldiode
D1becomesforwardbiasandonoutputcurrentI,flowssimilarlyduring
nexthalfcycleIIand2IIcrystaldiodeD 2becomesforwardbiasandon
outputcurrentI2flowsinthecircuitinthiswayacrystaldiodeconverts
fullwaveofalternatingcurrentintoafullwaveofdirectcurrent.
EFFICIENCYOFFULLWAVERECTIFIER:
Theefficiencyofthefullwaverectifiermaybe80%.

WORKING
Working of a Battery Eliminator : A battery eliminator
consistofmainlythreeworkingparts,transformer,Rectifier,Filter
circuit.Inourprojectstepdowntransformerisused.Thistransformer
convertshighvoltagealternatingcurrentintolowvoltagealternating
current.Thislowvoltagealternatingcurrentpassesfromrectifierwhich
convertsalternatingcurrentintodirectcurrent.Inourprojectfullwave
rectifierisused.InfullwaverectifiertwodiodesD1andD2areusedin

suchawaythatduring0toIIcrystaldiodeD1becomesforwardbias
andanoutputcurrentI,flowincircuit.Similarlyduringnexthalfcycle
IIand2IIcrystaldiodeD2becomesforwardbiasandanoutputI2flows
in the circuit. In this way a crystal diode converts full wave of
alternatingcurrentintoafullwaveofdirectcurrent.Thedirectcurrent
whichwegetfromrectifieroutputcircuitisfluctuatingdirectcurrent.In
ordertomakeitpuredirectcurrentfiltercircuitareused.Inourproject
capacitor is used as a filter circuit. It is an electrolytic capacitor of
capacity16V,1000microfarad.Theoutputnowavailableis4volt
directcurrentanditmaybesuitablyconnectedwiththetransistor.

Battery Eliminator Circuits (BECs)

Version 1.01 29-Jul-04

1. Introduction
A typical fighting robot consists of a powerful main battery powering motors via a speed
controller, and a radio control receiver which controls the speed controller. The radio control
receiver also needs its own battery to power it. A battery eliminator circuit (BEC) eliminates the
need for the radio control receiver's battery, by powering it from the main battery. This has the

advantage of removing one battery from the robot, but has the potential to reduce or even destroy
the effectiveness of the radio control system.

2. How a BEC / voltage regulator works

A BEC circuit is typically just a voltage regulator which convertes the 12V or higher voltage of
the main battery down to the (typically) 5V required by the radio control receiver. These voltage
regulators are cheap off-the-shelf electronic components. They generally have three terminals, an
input voltage, a 0V reference pin, and the output voltage.

The capacitors either side of the regulator smooth out any ripples in the voltages. The capacitor
to the right is an integral part of the regulator's feedback circuit as we shall see.
So what is inside one of these regulators. A simplified circuit diagram is shown below:

On the right hand side, a reference voltage is produced using (in this case) a zener diode. This
voltage is compared with a sample of the output voltage produced by the resistor potential
divider. If the sample output voltage is greater than the reference voltage, then the opamp
increases the voltage at the base of the pass transistor, and the transistor turns off a little, thereby
dropping more voltage across it, and leaving less voltage on the right hand side of it. Therefore
the circuit will correct itself if the output voltage increases above the required voltage.

Conversely, if the output voltage drops a bit, the opamp's output will decrease and the pass
transistor will turn on a bit more, thereby increasing the output voltage again.
In any negative feedback loop like this, there is an issue of stability. The subject of stability is
covered in the page on power servos, which you may like to look at now. Whether the loop is
stable or not depends on the amount of gain (how much the opamp is amplifying by), and any
filtering in the loop. In the top diagram, you can see that there is a capacitor on the right hand
side of the voltage regulator. This affects how quickly the output voltage can change. The higher
the capacitance, the slower the voltage can change, and the slower the feedback loop will
respond to errors at the output voltage. This has a great effect on how well a BEC will work in a
fighting robot as we shall see.

3. Problems with noise

In the absence of any noise, the BEC circuit presented above will provide a perfect, steady
voltage to drive the radio control receiver. If the receiver pulls a little more current, the voltage
will momentarily drop but the regulator will compensate for that and maintain the voltage at the
required level.

3.1. Ground bounce

However, the circuits above assume that the ground wire has zero resistance. What happens if
this is not the case (as of course it is not in any circuit in the real world)? An example of what
can happen when this is the case is presented here. If we are powering the radio control receiver
off the main battery, and the speed controller draws a large current to power the motors, then the
voltage on the ground line will increase, and the voltage on the Vin line will decrease. The
voltage regulator in the BEC will compensate for this, but as explained in the section above, it
has a response time before it can do this. Until that response time has elapsed, the voltage at the
output of the voltage regulator (Vout) will decrease by the same amount as Vin decreased, and of
course the voltage on the ground line will increase too.
Inside the radio control receiver, this 'pulse' of the supply voltage is likely to be conducted into
the analogue and digital stages. In the analogue stage, it may distort the received signal, and in
the digital stage it may corrupt a digital level - i.e. cause a gate to output a 1 result instead of a 0
or vice versa. In the worst case it could cause a servo position to swing wildly to one extreme for
a short period of time.

3.1. High frequencies

The response time of the voltage regulator means that if we inject a high frequency AC voltage
on top of the DC voltage at the input of the voltage regulator, rather than responding to the
increases and decreases of the input voltage, the regulator will simply let the AC voltage through:

The motors and speed controller in a robot are the largest generators of electrical noise. The
noise produced will be at frequencies from near DC right up to several tens of megaHertz. Any
noise at around the 40MHz radio frequency will cause the receiver to decode that in addition to
the signal from the antenna (which is already at a very low signal strength). This is a very
common cause of bad radio communications in fighting robots.
Some BEC circuits I have seen attempt to reduce the effect of high frequency noise by inserting a
series inductor in the supply path to the regulator. This will have little effect unless you are either
lucky or strict precautions are taken with the circuit layout and the inductor used. It is likely that
a 40MHz noise signal will simply bypass the inductor due to the capacitance between each turn
of the inductor coil:

Of course an inductor in the supply line does not solve any conducted interference or line-bounce
problems.

4. Separating the supplies

So what can be done about it? The best solution of all is to disconnect the power circuitry which
is generating all this noise from the receiver and electronics circuitry which is susceptible to the
noise. That is, avoid battery eliminator circuits. That is a general rule of thumb which is

virtually guaranteed to solve many of your comms problems. However, if you really insist on
using just one battery in your robot, there are alternatives.

4.1. DC-DC converters

DC to DC converters are similar to voltage regulators, but differ in one great respect - isolation.
When converting AC voltages, a transformer is used. Transformers are electrically isolated from
one side to the other. This is because the input energy is converted to magnetic energy, and then
back to electrical energy again at the output. A DC-DC converter first converts the input DC
voltage to AC, then shifts the voltage of this using a transformer. Finally, the transformer's AC
output voltage is rectified back to a DC voltage. The ground terminal on the input side is not
electrically connected to the ground terminal on the output side.

Using a DC-DC converter may solve some of your problems, but the circuits inside them still
have response times, and any high frequency noise on the input may well be transmitted through
to the output side. Given this, I cannot recommend using them.

4.2. Separate batteries

The best and simplest solution is to use two separate batteries. One often-quoted disadvantage of
this method is that the receiver battery may become discharged and forgotten about. Well that is
part of the responsibility of being in a fighting robot team - to have a written checklist of things
that are required to do between bouts. Removing the receiver battery to recharge it may be
difficult. In this case, it is quite easy to have a removeable link that can recharge the receiver
battery from the main battery. This link could even be integrated into the main power removeable
link that is required under most fighting robot league's rules. An example circuit is shown below.

In this configuration, the left hand switch is closed and the right hand one is open (they are both
part of the same QPDT switch). The NiCd is charged through the 160 resistor, and the receiver
itself is disconnected. The resistor value should be chosen to supply about 110mA to the NiCd.
It's value should be the main battery voltage minus the NiCd voltage divided by 110mA. The
voltage drop across this resistor is used to light the 'Charging' LED. When the battery is fully
charged, the switch is thrown the other way:

In this configuration, the main battery is completely disconnected, and the receiver battery
powers the receiver. Since there is no current passing through the 160 resistor, the LED is not
lit.

The Battery Eliminator Circuit

The Battery Eliminator Circuit, or BEC, is one of the tools at our disposal to reduce weight in
our electric models. A typical four-cell 600mAh nickel cadmium (NiCd) battery supplied with
most radio systems weighs about 3.3 oz (94 g), a significant fraction of the weight of a typical
beginner's electric model (such as a Great Planes ElectriCub or Spectra). Lighter batteries are
available, but with the trend towards even smaller and lighter models, even a 1.5 to 2 oz (43 to
57 g) battery is too much to carry. The model will still fly, but it's flight characteristics will be
compromised.
The BEC lets us eliminate the receiver battery, using the motor battery to provide power to the
radio system instead. This has some ramifications as to where and how we can use a BEC, and of
course, it also means we can't use BEC in a glow powered model, or a pure sailplane.
How it Works

Typically, the BEC is part of electronic speed control (ESC) which acts as the motor's throttle.
Conceptually, it is completely separate from the part of the ESC which controls the motor speed,
although the two parts do interact somewhat, and share some of the same wiring. Figure 1 shows
the components of a typical power system, and how it relates to the internal arrangement of a
BEC-equipped ESC.

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The BEC supplies power to the receiver through the same lead from which it gets the throttle

u
nsignal. Each channel connector on the receiver has a plus, minus, and signalpin. Power can be
i supplied via the plus and minus pins of any channel; it is not necessary to connect to the
t receiver's "Batt" connector (many small receivers intended for use in BEC equipped models

don't even have a "Batt" connector).

i
nNotice that both the throttle and the BEC components of the ESC are connected to the power
cwires coming from the battery. Furthermore, both perform very similar functions, but do so in
overy different ways.
r
pThe throttle controls how much power reaches the motor, and it does this by turning the power
oto the motor on and off at a high rate of speed (about 1,500 to 3,000 times per second in most
r modern ESCs, or 50 times per second in the now obsolete frame-rate ESCs). The amount of
apower that the motor sees depends on the fraction of the time that the power is on. At full
t
throttle, it is on all the time. At a partial throttle setting, it is on part of the time.
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s

The BEC on the other hand controls how much power reaches the receiver and servos. Unlike
the throttle, whose purpose is to vary the effective voltage reaching the motor, the BEC must
a
maintain a fixed voltage with which to supply the radio system, and it must do so under varying
r motor battery voltage and servo loads. Furthermore, the power supplied to the receiver must be
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"clean". There can be no electrical noise or voltage fluctuations. That is a tall order considering
that the power source (the battery) is also supplying the electrically-noisy motor.
Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Power

A common theme in this column is the relationship between voltage, current, and power. This is
because almost everything in electric flight depends on this relationship. Recall that power is
equal to current times voltage, or P = I x V. Another important relationship is Ohm's law, which
states that voltage equals current times resistance, or V = I x R.
The BEC's job is to reduce the voltage of the motor battery (typically 7 to 12 Volts) to that
required by the radio system (5 Volts), while meeting the varying current requirements of the
receiver and servos. A simplified BEC circuit is shown in Figure 2. Assuming that the radio and
servos are drawing a fixed amount of current, we can calculate a setting for the variable resistor
so that the receiver sees 5 Volts. For example, if the battery voltage were 9.6 Volts, and the
receiver and servos were drawing 0.2 Amps of current continuously, we could plug the voltage
difference (9.6 - 5) and the current (0.2) into Ohms law, giving 4.6 = 0.2 x R. We can solve this
for R, which gives 23 Ohms.

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This simple circuit has two drawbacks. One is that a particular resistance is only correct if both
the current draw and the battery voltage remain constant. The other problem is that the current
multiplied by the voltage difference represents power lost in the resistor in the form of heat (P = I
x V).
The first problem is easily circumvented by using a device called a linear voltage regulator,
which basically functions as a resistance that changes its value as the battery voltage or current
demand changes, keeping the output voltage at a constant 5 Volts. A few additional components
(capacitors) filter out electrical noise on both the input and output side of the regulator.

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The more serious problem is heat. In our example, the power to be dissipated as heat is 0.2 Amps
times 4.6 Volts, or 0.92 Watts. We will need a 1 Watt resistor, and it will get quite warm.
However, suppose that the current goes up to 0.4 Amps for a while (for example, while pulling
out of a dive, the elevator servo will be working very hard, and require more current). This will
require a different resistance to maintain 5 Volts, but that has already been taken care of by using
a voltage regulator instead. The heat power loss is now 0.4 x 4.6, or 1.84 Watts. That is a

significant amount of heat for a tiny voltage regulator to get rid of, and it will get quite warm
trying to do so.
It is this need to dissipate the voltage difference, multiplied by the current demand, as heat, that
causes ESC manufacturers to put restrictions on BEC use. These restrictions specify the
maximum number of cells (i.e. maximum battery voltage) and the maximum number of servos
(i.e. maximum current demand) that can be used with the BEC.
A Better Way?

The astute reader may have wondered how the throttle is capable of providing reduced power to
the motor at much higher currents than the BEC provides power to the radio, yet not suffer from
overheating problems. The answer lies in the on/off switching that the throttle performs.
Rather than providing a lower voltage for reduced throttle operation, the throttle simply switches
the full voltage on and off at a high rate. This way, the throttle is either conducting full current
with no voltage difference between the battery and motor (so I x V equals zero), or no current at
all (so I x V is still zero). Hence, no power is dissipated as heat within the throttle (in reality,
some power is still lost because the throttle does not have zero resistance).
It is theoretically possible to do something similar for a BEC voltage regulator, using a circuit
called a switching regulator. However, such circuits are relatively large, heavy, and expensive. It
is also difficult to design a switching regulator that can produce clean enough power to reliably
operate the radio receiver. A linear regulator is much cheaper, and sufficient for most
applications.
BEC Ratings

Now that we know that a BEC is limited by its ability to shed heat, and that the amount of heat
generated is equal to the product of the current, and the input-output voltage difference, we can
see why most manufacturers rate their ESCs with BEC as to the maximum number of cells
and/or servos that can be used.
The more cells there are in the battery, the higher the BEC input voltage, and hence the higher
the voltage difference between the input and the 5 Volt output. And, the more servos being used,
the higher the average current draw.
A typical ESC with BEC might be rated as follows:
Standard Micro Servos
5-6 Cells

High Torque Servos

4

7-8 Cells

9-10 Cells

A11-16 Cells

No BEC

No BEC

Notice that as the number of cells increases, the number of servos permitted decreases. That

B
Eway, as the voltage difference goes up, the expected current draw goes down. Beyond 11 cells
C(for this example), the BEC cannot be used at all because the voltage difference is too high to
- safely supply any significant amount of current.
e
qIn any model, but especially in a BEC equipped one, it is important to ensure that all control
usurfaces move freely. If a control surface or pushrod sticks or binds, the servos have to work
i harder, and they will draw much more current. This can cause the BEC's regulator to overheat
pand shut down, resulting in loss of radio control. A sure sign of such a problem is a servo that
phums or chatters when a control stick is held at full deflection.
e
dMotor Cut-of
aIn a typical electric flight, the motor battery is dead or nearly dead by the end of the flight.
nThis is very undesirable if the motor battery is also supplying power to the receiver and
aservos, since you would no longer be able to control the model.
l
oFor this reason, all BEC-equipped model aircraft ESCs have a motor cut-off feature which
gturns off power to the motor when the battery is running low, leaving enough power to operate

T
h
e
C
a
s
t
l
e
C
r
e
a
t
i
o
n
s

the radio system for some time. This means that the BEC must be able to "tell" the throttle to P
Eturn off the motor, which is represented by the dotted line in Figure 1.
h

S
o
CBecause the receiver and servos take far less power than the motor, cutting off the power even e
.
n
10 seconds before the battery is dead will reserve many minutes of radio system power. The
i
problem is knowing when the battery is almost dead.
T
x
h
Some of the programmable digital ESCs (such as those by Castle Creations) offer a user
e
2
selectable cut-off voltage. Some older analog ESCs (such as the ones produced by Lofty
5
Pursuits,
or
the
one
whose
construction
I
described
in
the
July
1999
issue
of
Sailplane
&
c
uElectric Modeler) have adjustable cut-off voltages (Lofty Pursuits' by a user-installed resistor, b
t mine by a small potentiometer).
r
u
oIn order to know what to set the cut-off voltage to, you need to know what the battery voltage s
f will be with the motor running when there are only a few seconds of power left. This is best
h
f determined by running the motor at full throttle on the ground, monitoring the voltage, and
l
e
noting what it was a 10 or 15 seconds before the power drop-off at the end.
v
s
o
s
l
t
E
a
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g
C

Many inexpensive speed controls have a fixed cut-off voltage that was chosen to work with the
minimum number of cells the speed control is rated for. Usually this is 5.5 Volts, for use with a
6-cell battery (5.5 Volts is also the lowest input voltage at which the regulator can produce a 5
Volt output). Unfortunately, this cut-off voltage is too low when operating with 7 or more cells.
For example, a 10-cell battery at 5.5 Volt very likely has only a few seconds of radio system
power left in it.
Ironically, this is less of a problem with an inexpensive battery than with a costly pack of
matched cells. In the inexpensive battery, the voltage will drop this low when a few of the cells
are completely dead, and the remainder still have some useful charge left. In a matched pack, the
voltage will only drop this low when all the cells become almost depleted, all at the same time.
Some ESCs, like the one on my website (www.stefanv.com/rcstuff/escbec.htm) don't have a
sudden cut-off at all. Instead, as the battery voltage drops, the ESC automatically reduces the
throttle to take some of the load off the battery, keeping the voltage above the cut-off level. The
reduction in power makes the pilot aware that time is running out and that it's time to land.
Lithium Considerations

Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer batteries have the special requirement that they not be
discharged too low (3 Volts per cell under load). You must use an ESC that will cut-off the power
before that level is reached, or cell damage will occur.
Restart

Most digital ESCs have an after-cut-off restart feature, which is usually activated by moving the
throttle stick to off after the motor stops, and then applying partial throttle again. This can give
you an extra bit of power to stretch that final approach and make the runway. Do not be tempted
to eke a few extra seconds of flying out of this feature, or you risk depleting the battery too far to
keep the radio system working.
Electric Sailplanes

In general, it is not advisable to use a BEC in a sailplane. The motor cut-off in a BEC-equipped
ESC is intended to provide a few minutes of radio power in order to land the plane, whereas a
sailplane can be expected to stay airborne for many minutes, or even hours, after motor
shutdown. If you do use a BEC, never run the motor for so long that the BEC shuts it off. It's
probably best not to use more than two-thirds of the motor battery's capacity, ensuring that you
have plenty of radio power left for a long silent flight.

Battery eliminator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A battery eliminator is a device powered by an electrical source other than a battery, which
then converts the source to a suitable DC voltage that may be used by a second device designed
to be powered by batteries.
A battery eliminator eliminates the need to replace batteries but may remove the advantage of
portability. A battery eliminator is also effective in replacing obsolete battery designs.
Some examples of battery eliminators:

9v mains power supply, size and shape of a PP9 battery, intended to replace
the battery in portable radios. 1960s

Solar panel providing power for a portable appliance

History

Early commercial battery eliminators were produced by Edward S. Rogers, Sr. company in 1925,
as a complement to his line of "batteryless" radio receivers. Another early producer of battery
eliminators was the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (later known as Motorola) which was
opened on September 25, 1928 by Paul Galvin and his brother Joseph E. Galvin, to build battery
eliminators for radio receivers installed in automobiles.
While it might seem surprising to use such a device in a car to power a radio, the first car radio
receivers were based on vacuum tube technology which required two or three different voltages
to function:

LT, typically 4 or 6.3 volts at high current to power the filaments

HT, typically 100 to 300 volts at low current to power the anode circuitry

Additional voltages were sometimes also required for grid bias.

Batteries designed for these portable vacuum tube receivers were a combination of several
different battery types and sizes, combined in a single package and intended to slowly wear out

at about the same rate. The battery typically connected to the radio via a specially shaped four- or
five-pin connector, keyed so that the plug must be inserted correctly.
A battery eliminator would take the typical 6-volt or 12-volt DC power from a car battery and
transform it into the required LT and HT needed to power the vacuum tubes in a car radio.
Without a battery eliminator, it was necessary to occasionally replace the battery pack in the
vacuum-tube car radio.
Principle of working

Although a battery eliminator works without a battery, it has to be charged by some device,
preferably a battery. The battery eliminator can also be used to charge the rechargeable
automobile batteries. The cathode of a battery is attached to anode of the eliminator & battery
anode to the eliminator cathode, in case of battery charging.
In case of providing the eliminator with energy, battery anode is connected to eliminator anode &
battery cathode to eliminator cathode. This charges the eliminator, which can be used in place of
the battery to power some external device. The connections are same as that in case of a battery.
Battery eliminator circuit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A battery eliminator circuit (BEC) is an electronic circuit designed to deliver electrical power
to other circuitry without the need for a battery. Historically the expression was sometimes used
to describe devices used to power battery-driven equipment from mains electricity. This is still
the case in many products offered in retail electronic supply stores such as Radio Shack.
Contents
[hide]

1 Studio photography

2 Radio-controlled (R/C) models

3 Vehicles

4 External links

Studio photography

Tripod-mounted cameras in photography studios are often use a BEC to avoid having to interrupt
lengthy shooting sessions to replace batteries. The use of the tripod can also interfere with access
to the battery hatch.
Radio-controlled (R/C) models

In an electric-powered radio controlled model, the BEC is typically part of the electronic speed
control (ESC). BEC allows such a model to carry only one battery (the motive power battery)
instead of two (motive power, and a separate battery to operate the R/C equipment). A BECequipped ESC meant for airplane use often incorporates a low-voltage-cutoff (LVC) circuit
which can sense the voltage drop caused when the battery has little charge left in it. It then cuts
the power to the 'drive' motor in order to provide the 'steering' servo(s) with enough power to be
able to bring the model safely back to the operator. The power to the propeller would be cut but
the operation of the control surfaces would be maintained in order to perform a dead-stick
landing. Without this feature, all control would be lost when the battery expired, probably
resulting in the destruction of the model. In some cases, the BEC is part of the radio control
receiver, instead of being part of the ESC.
R/C BECs in their simplest form use a linear fixed voltage regulator with its standard circuit
suggested in the manufacturers datasheet - usually the power supply of the receiver needs 5 V.
Low drop types are preferred - especially for batteries with only a few cells. For small models
1.5 to 2 A are enough, for mid-size models a 3A type needs to be considered. BEC's for large
models have to provide current of 5A or more. Here a more complicated switched mode
regulator should be used, as the BEC has to deal with losses. These Losses are proportional to the
difference of the target voltage of 5 volts and the voltage of the main battery, as well as they are
proportional to the provided current. For example a 10 cell (NiMh) accumulator with a normal
voltage of 12 volts. With a peak current of 5A the BEC will have losses of (12V-5V)*5A = 35W.
With a linear regulator these 35W will be converted to heat and so require a large heat sink. In all
cases it is a good idea to mount some large capacitors to buffer the regulated output. In large
plane or ship models another possibility is to buffer the power supply with a further capacitor
near the actuators (Servos).
Vehicles

BECs are also used in some motorcycle and ATV applications to reduce the weight penalty
involved in carrying a battery. The battery is typically replaced by one or more large but lightweight capacitors which smooth out the fluctuating electrical pulses coming from the alternator,
without themselves generating power. As there is no electrical power source, electrical starters
cannot be used.