RH1NO Desinged and Built Kill switch goes into Testing

[RustyTumbles]

I have been lucky enough to be sent one of Rh1no's own design and built kill switches to perform some testing and feedback. The switch is similar in design to the setco relay switch but without the big chunky relay and weak circuit board and some neat added features.

The switch constantly monitors the input signal from the receiver and will maintain it's current switch position during periods of minor signal loss or interferance. It will automatically switch off the ignition power if it detects an invaild reciever signal for more than 0.75 seconds duration and will then stay off until the reciever power is cycled.

The switch itself is of great quallity, it is small and very light weight yet it looks very strong and vibration resistant. All solder joints are very well done and once again look strong and made to last.

Installation was a breeze. I used all the supplied leads and ferite ring. As this is a prototype I am unsure of what will be supplied with the switch if and when it goes into production. There are 3 connections on the switch one goes to the rx, another to the Ignition battery and the third to the ignition unit. I also added an external switch (between the ignition battery and the kill switch) with charging jack to the airframe this makes charging a very simple process but is not a necessity. The switch itself I mounted wrapped in foam (leaving the indicating LED visable) and velcroed to the inner part of my fuse.

Programing the switch is as easy as setting the travel to 100% each way, and setting the direction of the channel the switch works from. On mine I use the gear channel, forward on and back off.

With the installation complete it is now time to move onto the flight testing, which I will conduct this weekend. I'm sure it will a non event as Rh1no has had the other prototype in use on his own plane for quite a while now.

Here are some pics of the setup.

[Haggy]

Looks good Rusty, keen to hear the results.
Good work Rhino!

Cheers
Haggy

[Jenko]

Well Done RH1NO . Good report Rusty, looking forward to the next chapter.

[RH1N0]

Thanks for volunteering to be a test pilot Rusty.


Your installation looks good and I especially like how you mounted the ferrite ring with a JTEC clamp.

[RustyTumbles]

Yeah I didn't want it flappin' around against the fuse side and that seemed to be the easiest option.

[RustyTumbles]

Ok I did some flight testing today. Got to the field and set the plane up as per usual. Once it was together I did a full range check first with the motor off and again with motor running. All was good and I think I have gained more range with the motor running, compared to when I was using the setco. Maybe this has some thing to do with the ferite ring. Once I finished the range check I shut the motor down and refueled. Now it was time to fly. I took off and flew a few circuits, then some up and down lines. All ok so far I then put the model though the sportsman sequence without a hitch. I had a further 4 flights with no problems and so for the short term it is a great product and I have no worries about wires breaking like the setco. Obviously longer term use will help discover and problems which is what the plan is, but I doubt we will find any. So keep your eyes out for this product when it goes into production, it's a winner!!!!

[RH1N0]

That's great news Rusty. I'm glad you're happy with it.

Looks like the next batch of testing will occur on a Chinese 100cc clone and hopefully on a 3W as well. I've read about people having ignition noise problems with the clone engine ignition modules so I guess this could be a good test for the ignition switch. Fingers crossed.

[Propreller]

Nice switch man. I have a 3w let me help.
When do you usually fly I want to have a practice / muck around session with some IMAC guys in the Brissy area. Anytime over the weekend or monday noon+ would be good for me.
Cheers Dawid

[RH1N0]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Propreller
	Nice switch man. I have a 3w let me help. When do you usually fly I want to have a practice / muck around session with some IMAC guys in the Brissy area. Anytime over the weekend or monday noon+ would be good for me. Cheers Dawid

Thanks for your support Dawid. I only made a small batch of kill switches for initial testing and they have all been allocated for now. Respone by those who saw the switch at the Bendigo Masters was very positive and testing is going well. In a few weeks I will have enough info to decide where to go from here.

Keep an eye on this thread for updates etc..

I will be flying at Tingalpa next Sunday from around 10am. You're welcome to come out and, with a bit of luck, Viliam and Marcus will probably be flying as well.

Cheers
Jeremy

[Propreller]

Sweet I will see you next Sunday then.

[rcdart]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RH1N0
	I will be flying at Tingalpa next Sunday from around 10am. You're welcome to come out and, with a bit of luck, Viliam and Marcus will probably be flying as well. Cheers Jeremy

Hope Villiam is not there, cos that will mean he forgot to go to Coota!

[Fly-guy]

I'll be there hopefully, looks like I'd better bring out the 260. Hasn't seen action since Tin Can Bay
Now, if we can pre-order weather like todays then it will be perfect.

Marcus

[Propreller]

Marcus it will be good if you can come too, with 3 of us there hopefully we can FORCE each other to do some actual imac practice.......lol, like that is gonna happen!

[RH1N0]

	Quote: Originally Posted by rcdart
	Hope Villiam is not there, cos that will mean he forgot to go to Coota!

Oops forgot about Coota. Unfortunately I won't be there but good luck to all who are going


BTW, I have been meaning to mention that there are a couple of options when it comes to charging a NiMH ignition battery with the ignition switch:

1. Connect the ignition switch straight to the battery and unplug the battery to charge it. This is my least preferred option as it causes unnecessary wear on the connectors.
2. Add a manual switch with charge lead between the battery and ignition switch (as Rusty did). This allows a manual override of the ignition switch at the plane as an added safety feature.
3. Use one of the high quality, 2500 mAH, NiMH packs with dual charge leads. This allows you to have one lead permanently connected to the ignition switch and the other as a dedicated charge lead. This is my preferred option and the battery packs can be purchased from Desert Aircraft Australia.

Of course, you can also use a Li-ion pack in which case i recommend you connect the Li-ion battery direct to the ignition switch input with the regulator (if required) between the ignition switch output and ignition unit.

[3dubya]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RH1N0
	Oops forgot about Coota. Unfortunately I won't be there but good luck to all who are going BTW, I have been meaning to mention that there are a couple of options when it comes to charging a NiMH ignition battery with the ignition switch: Connect the ignition switch straight to the battery and unplug the battery to charge it. This is my least preferred option as it causes unnecessary wear on the connectors. Add a manual switch with charge lead between the battery and ignition switch (as Rusty did). This allows a manual override of the ignition switch at the plane as an added safety feature. Use one of the high quality, 2500 mAH, NiMH packs with dual charge leads. This allows you to have one lead permanently connected to the ignition switch and the other as a dedicated charge lead. This is my preferred option and the battery packs can be purchased from Desert Aircraft Australia. Of course, you can also use a Li-ion pack in which case i recommend you connect the Li-ion battery direct to the ignition switch input with the regulator (if required) between the ignition switch output and ignition unit.

Hey does the unit have a fail safe kill in it, the type I got today nearly fail safe killed the plane when i was 3D ing at 40foot over the top of a rolling harrier loop!!! i was Lucky trust me. If there is a signal loss does ignition stay on, last thing i want is a fail safe hit killing the ignition current 3D'ing again..