Gents,

At great peril I am going to leak some preproduction information regarding the two new Power Expanders Robert has been developing at Smart-Fly. I promised not tell too many people so I figured the FG column does not mean the whole world so here goes.

The new units are from Smart-Fly's new stable of Power Expander Sport Plus and the Power System Sport Plus (with the regulator).

The units are designed for the 100cc and under gas powered models and in my mind they have combined all the necessary stuff in a simple to mount neat and functional assembly.

They are totally compatible with the new SPEKTRUM and FUTABA 2.4 Ghz receivers.

Whats new.

Two models.

One with a regulator for Li-Po batts and the other without a reg for NiMh or NiCd packs. Both have the built in ignition kill system on the board.

General details for the regulated version are as follows:

1. Built in Battshare so if you use two battery packs (you can use one if thats all you want) and the system keeps the voltage within a whisker of each other on both packs so you maintain balanced packs all the way as they discharge.
2. The regulator is built into the power expander and is NOT adjustable. I have not yet run this demo unit over my test system yet but I assume the regulated voltage will be 6 volts to the servos and 5 volts to the receiver.
3. Maximum recommended continuous current draw through the regulator is around 5 amps with peak load capacity of 15 amps so thats plenty enough for a 35% plane running good digital servos.
4. The fiber optic ignition kill system is also built into the board. You just run a jumper wire from the kill switch channel you choose to the Ign plug on the front of the board and your setup.
5. The unit is a feather weight. 2 oz roughly plus a few inches of Fiber optic cable and the kill switch receiver and you done.
6. Battery plugs are the JR or Futaba type spade plugs so no need for fancy deans or Graupner six pin setups.
7. You can use 7.4 volt Li-Ions or even Li-PO's if that takes your fancy. I don't use Li-Po's on gassers due to the intolerance to vibration but it can be done and many do it so I cant bag it.

I had an EQ10 with two 4800 Li-On packs with a turbo reg etc in my 35% 260. By going to this setup with twin 2400 packs I can reduce the electronics load in this plane by 11oz . Thats some serious weight to haul around when your trying to run it on an 80cc engine.

If you have any questions about this device ask them here please. Tony, Robert or myself will be in as often as possible to help answer anything you have.

Price?? Not finalized but you better believe they are not expensive.

Availability?? There may be some on display at the NALL but shipping will be about another month or so after.

Hope you like them guys.

I have been flying this power expander with the DX-7 for the last couple of months. It is a great combo. I have this installed in my 87" yak.

I saw these at the AMA show so your not leaking anything here.

I beleive the max amp is only 5 continous. My voltage is 6.08. to the servos 5 to the rx.

This unit gives me peace of mind that I will have constant voltage throught the Spektrum receivers. Having the ignition unit and regulator on board cleans up the installation.

I will try and get some shots of my Yak up.

Pea,

Thanks mate now I DON'T feel too guilty. These are not available yet and I know Bob was not putting them out in full view just yet. But now it looks like they will be available next month I thought I might just put the pressure on him.

I run all Bobs stuff and have a ball trying to burn them up. During the coming week I will get some real numbers on the max current capacity but even five amps is well in the ball park for a 35% or smaller plane.

Best thing I liked so far is how light you can get the setup now. With light Rx's, powerful battery packs like the new 2600 MaH FROMECO units and a 2 oz power expander system with reg and ignition kill. Well I think its hard to do much better.

I will keep you posted as we go.

Kiwi

Do you know if they will be available at Toledo ??

thanks ...

No they will not be at Toledo. I believe Kiwi and I have the only 2. The parts are ordered for production.

OK guys I just corrected some errors in the specifications I posted.

Max continous current is 5 amps with bursts of 15 amps being acceptable.

I GOT THE NAMES WRONG AND THAT HAS BEEN CORRECTED AS WELL..

Demo models will be at the NALL. Shipping and pricing information should be available then.

Kiwi

holy hell.......i hope i'm not missing something here. I bought ( a few months ago) the power expander pro. Is this system going to work with the futaba 2.4 fasst system? God.....i hope so!! I'm holding out until this fasst system hits the shelves , but i don't want to have to sell my exp pro for a new version............do i have to?

Jeffro,

Relax buddy, what you have will work with any RX system regardless of frequency. The pro is the next level up from these new additions to the family.

The only difference is the new models are smaller and lighter and ideally designed as a one stop package for 100c and smaller models.

You don't have to sell the house, trade in the kids or get any thing new.

Kiwi

Here is a picture of the unit in my Ultra RC 50cc Yak. I have the pin switch epoxied into the foam.

Originally Posted by Kiwi

Jeffro,

Relax buddy, what you have will work with any RX system regardless of frequency. The pro is the next level up from these new additions to the family.

The only difference is the new models are smaller and lighter and ideally designed as a one stop package for 100c and smaller models.

You don't have to sell the house, trade in the kids or get any thing new.

Kiwi

wheeeeew! That's awesome news. You know it's gonna end up taking so much time to get all my money together to buy everything from the airplane , the motor , all electronics ect........that so much time passes and half my stuff is gonna be absolulete HAHA!!


Thanks kiwi for the info!

jeff

What would be the price point for something like this?

This is great news. It's nice to see an all-inclusive unit. I'll definitely be buying one for my next project.

Originally Posted by Rolling Thunder

Here is a picture of the unit in my Ultra RC 50cc Yak. I have the pin switch epoxied into the foam.

Attachment 45252

That's a pretty sweet setup. I like the built in regulator idea. I like the included optical ignition idea. I really like the way Bob takes things one step at a time. By the time he's done, he'll probably offer a complete powerbox type system with all the bells and whistles at half the cost. And, Bob takes care of his folks... ALWAYS! Smart-Fly all way, all the time.