Electric RC -
the technology behind the revolution
Electric rc models have surged in popularity in recent years, and this has been particularly noticeable in radio control airplanes and, especially, helicopters.
Traditionally, rc surface vehicles (cars & boats etc.) have been powered by electric motors without problem for decades, but radio control aircraft have always had the serious issue of weight to contend with.
Keeping an rc airplane or helicopter as light as possible is of paramount importance if good performance is to be maintained. In the past, this has proved very difficult with electric rc models, because lightweight high-capacity battery cells to power the motor, and lightweight micro servos and receivers were just not widely available.
But thankfully, an electronic revolution has been happening since the mid 1990s which has seen mass-produced battery packs, electric motors, servos and receivers become smaller, lighter and more powerful - all adding up to electric rc models improving greatly in performance, becoming cheaper to buy and very widely available - all great news for the hobby!
This page talks about...
Electric RC battery (cell) types
The word battery is often used to describe what in fact is a single cell. For example, if your rc transmitter requires 8 AA batteries, it in fact requires 8 AA cells.
Technically a battery is a collection of two or more cells, but the battery/cell misunderstanding has become widely accepted and it's perfectly normal to say "8 AA batteries" instead of "8 AA cells".
Two types of cell can be used for electric rc - wet and dry. Dry cells are non-rechargeable and must be disposed of once their energy is depleted. Wet cells can be recharged over and over again.
Using dry cells in a radio control model and transmitter is not uncommon, especially in cheaper models and electric rc toys, but rechargeable cells are a much more sensible option - and will cost you less in the long run.
The original rechargeable cells are Nickel Cadmium ones, abbreviated to NiCD, or 'nicads'. These are used less and less nowadays and have been succeeded by Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium-ion Polymer (Li-Po) cells.
NiCDs are the least powerful of the three and cadmium, the type of metal used inside the cell, is extremely toxic - these two reasons alone are enough not to use NiCD cells!
Nickel Metal Hydride cells (NiMH) have 3 or 4 times the power capacity than an equivalent-sized NiCD, and are presently the most common cells used in electric rc models, both in the model itself and the transmitter. NiMH cells don't suffer from the so-called memory effect that NiCDs do and so can be charged regardless of their present charge level - nicads should always be fully discharged before being recharged.
The disadvantage with NiMH cells is that they do have a relatively high self-discharge rate, even when they're not being used. For this reason, it's always a very good idea to charge them before heading out to the field, as they will more than likely need 'topping up'.
The lithium-ion polymer battery packs (Li-Po) are the most recent major development in wet cell technology and these alone have drastically transformed the face of electric rc flight.
They have a very high capacity relative to their size and weight, and deliver much longer run times and higher power than NiMH or NiCD packs.
Disadvantages of Li-Po battery packs are that they can be a potential fire hazard if charged incorrectly, and the cost is considerably more than their NiMH cousin, although this will inevitably come down with time. Having said that, the advantages in performance of using a Li-Po battery pack in an electric rc model far outweigh this cost.
Top-end Li-Po powered electric rc aircraft are now beginning to match the abilities of nitro powered aircraft in terms of speed and run-time. That was an impossible idea just a few years ago!
Charging your cells & battery packs
It's very important to pay close attention to the charging requirements of your wet cells.
If you've purchased an RTF electric rc model, then the chances are that an appropriate charger is included in the box. If not, then invest in a good quality peak detection charger if you use NiMH cells in your model (shop for chargers). PD chargers prevent over-charging, and the associated damage to the cells.
If in doubt, speak with the person you are buying from and tell him/her exactly which cells you have and which connectors are used on the battery pack.
Above, on the outside there isn't much to differentiate between NiMH (left) and Li-Po (right) chargers, but using the correct one is so important
Charging NiMH cells is a straightforward process, so long as you take the time to calculate the optimum charging time given the capacity of your cells and the charger output. This is a simple calculation, the battery capacity in mAh (milliamp hour) is divided by the charge rate of the charger, in mA (milliamps). Charging information may also be displayed on the cells themselves - for example, "7h-110mA" tells you that the cell must be charged for 7 hours at an output of 110mA.
However, charging Li-Po cells is a different story altogether and it's imperative that you charge them with a charger meant for Li-Po cells.
The whole charging process is different for lithium polymer battery packs, and packs can explode when over-charged, creating a fireball - you do not want this happening in your hobby room while you are out in the back yard! (Do a search for "Li-Po battery fire" on YouTube to see what can happen).
On Li-Po packs you may often see the words "Do not charge above 1C"... This means that the pack must not be charged at a rate that is greater than it's capacity. For example, a 1000mAh battery should be charged at a maximum rate of 1000mA, or 1A. Charging the same pack at 800mA, or 0.8A, would be the same as charging at 0.8C.
Charging a Li-Po pack above 1C greatly increases the risk of a fire, or at the very least can cause irreparable damage.
'Trickle charging' is a term used to describe a method of very low-current continuous charging to compensate the cell's natural discharge rate, thus keeping the cell topped up so long as it is connected to the charger. Many fast battery chargers automatically switch over to trickle charging once the main fast-charge has completed.
Capacities, voltage & ratings
All cells have a capacity and the value is expressed in mAh, or milliampere-hour (also often seen as milliamp hour).
The higher the capacity, the more work the cell can do and the mAh value represents how much current will flow from the cell over a given amount of time eg a 600mAh cell will give 600 milliamps over one hour, or 1200 milliamps over half an hour etc.
Typically, a single AA size NiMH cell used in an rc transmitter will be around the 600mAh mark, whereas a large battery pack used to power an rc electric motor may be 1200mAh or more. Logically, the bigger the task the pack has to do, and the longer you want to play between charges, the higher the capacity the pack needs to be.
Connecting multiple cells
When individual cells are connected together to make a battery pack, there are two methods of connection - in parallel and in series.
By wiring cells together in parallel, the positive terminals connect to positive terminals and negative to negative. The end result is an increase in total capacity but the voltage remains at the level of just one of the cells.
By wiring cells together in series, the positive terminal is connected to its neighboring negative terminal. This results in the total capacity staying at the level of each individual cell, but the overall voltage is increased to the value of all cells added together.
For example, 7 x 600mAh AAA cells wired in series to make up a battery flight pack do not create 4,200mAh flight pack - the pack's capacity stays at 600mAh, but the voltage becomes 7 x 1.2V = 8.4V.
Conversely, 7 x 600mAh AAA cells wired in parallel will result in a 4.2A 1.2V pack.
Above left, series wiring of cells compared to parallel wiring, right
Battery packs for rc models have their cells connected in series, with the exception of larger Li-Po packs....
Li-Po cell & pack ratings
Li-Po battery packs have a different rating system and can have cells wired in series, then wired in parallel to an identical set of cells. This gives the best of both worlds - the higher voltage from the cells wired in series, plus the higher capacity from the two sets of cells being wired together in parallel. It's this combination that helps make Li-Po battery packs perform so well.
The nominal voltage of a single Li-Po cell is 3.7V, compared to the 1.2V of a NiMH cell, so Li-Po battery packs can be bought in increments of 3.7. For example, 3 cells connected in series will give a 11.1V pack, 4 cells a 14.8V pack and so on.
Li-Po battery packs are rated with S, P and C values - for example, a '3S' pack will have 3 cells wired in series, while a '3S2P' pack will have two lots of 3 serially-wired cells connected together in parallel. Confused? Me too...
The 'C' value is given to a Li-Po cell to help determine the cell's maximum discharge and charge rate. In short, the C rating helps determine whether or not a particular battery pack is compatible with a particular motor. It's a simple calculation to make, you multiply the cell's C value by its capacity - a 2100mAh 10C rated battery has a recommended maximum discharge rate of 10 x 2100 = 21,000mA, or 21 Amps.
For charging, the C rating is used to determine the charging current for the pack. Charging at '1C' means that the pack is charged at its equivalent capacity eg charging a 1000mAh pack at 1A. Charging a 1000mAh pack at 0.8C would mean charging it at 800mA.
Incidentally, battery charger rates and battery pack discharge rates are nearly always given in milliamperes, or mA.
Brushless electric RC motors
At the forefront of the advance in electric rc modeling is the brushless motor.
Traditionally, electric powered models have used standard DC 'brushed' motors. In these, as part of the motor's operation, carbon brushes press against a commutator and this causes friction to the spinning commutator, and hence the main spindle on which it is attached. This unwanted but inevitable friction puts extra strain on the motor. Also, the brushes wear down with use, needing periodical replacement. These are two big disadvantages with brushed motors.
While such motors do work well, a brushless motor uses electronic circuitry and powerful magnets to do the job of the brushes/commutator system. As a result there is no friction and therefore much greater efficiency, meaning a huge increase in power - brushless motors can be up to 300% more powerful than their brushed counterpart, and they also do away with the issue of periodical brush replacement.
There are two types of brushless motor used in radio control modeling; the inrunner motor and outrunner motor. The inrunner motor is closer to a brushed motor in that the body remains stationary and only the spindle rotates. Inrunner motors, although much more powerful than brushed motors, are still limited in their torque and usually need gearing when used in an airplane or helicopter.
Outrunner brushless motors are different because they feature a rotating 'can', or outer shell, to which the spindle is connected. The magnets inside are also fixed to the can and so the whole assembly rotates as the motor operates. Because of this extra spinning mass, more inertia and therefore greater torque is generated.
Outrunner brushless motors are very suitable for larger models, and a gearbox is often not necessary as the torque from the motor alone is sufficient.
As with most things electronic, brushless motors carry a rating system, in this case known as a kV rating. The kV value is the RPM (revs per minute) of the motor per volt. For example, a 2500kV motor powered by a 7.4V Li-Po battery pack will give 2500 x 7.4 = 18,500 RPM with no load.
Above, the difference in appearance between an inrunner (left) and outrunner (right) brushless motor
Speed control
The speed of electric motors is controlled by speed controls. Traditional, mechanically operated controls have been replaced with much more effective Electronic Speed Controls (or Electronic Speed Controllers), or ESCs, which plug directly into the model's receiver instead of being linked to a servo, as a mechanical one needs to be.
Above left, a traditional mechanical SC with necessary servo linkage,
compared to a modern ESC, right
Speed controls, whether mechanical or electronic, work by varying the voltage entering the motor from the battery pack, in accordance with the movement of the throttle transmitter stick.
ESCs for brushless motors are different to ones for brushed motors, technology-wise, and this is an important factor to consider when upgrading your model.
Brushless electric motors combined with Li-Po battery packs and ESCs are the ultimate combination for power when it comes to electric rc.
Micro servos & receivers
Equally important as lightweight and powerful battery packs and motors, micro servos and receivers have also contributed to the advance of electric rc, in a micro-sized big way! Such components weigh only a few grams, yet can be as powerful and efficient as their larger, standard-size cousins.
Digital servos are becoming more commonplace and they offer more precise control than their analogue cousins.
Micro servos and receivers are widely used in smaller electric airplanes such as Park Flyers, and helicopters. However, in most rc helicopters, the receiver is usually combined with the ESC and gyro, making it a '3 in 1' electronic component.
As this great electronic revolution continues, it really is a question of "How small can we go?" and "How powerful can we get?"! The components now seen in electric rc modeling really have drastically changed the face of the hobby, and we can only wonder how our radio control aircraft will be a few years from now...
Related pages
Electric RC airplanes - overview of electric planes.
Electric RC helicopters - overview of electric helis.
Mini RC airplanes - helping electric rc flying become so popular.
Micro RC helicopters - true testament to the electronic rc revolution.
Gas vs. electric flying - arguments for flying gas or electric.
Balancing LiPo battery packs - why you should do it and how to check.
