Receiver pack or Voltage booster?

[tellor]

Can someone tell me what the difference is between;

A voltage booster----yes I know it boosts the voltage up to 4.8v

Receiver pack – Yes I know this works so that the servo etc is receiving power from a separate source, rather than your lipo

Or does the receiver pack work instead of the voltage booster

But can you use both, and how do you wire both them in? Including a PT

I saw people at the 12th Euros using receiver packs

Cheers

[yinkymoka]

You would also have seen people using voltage boosters. I use the VB as do lots of others.
Advantage for me is ,you have to charge the battery pack after every other run, VB fit and leave it.
Size the MJordan booster is small compact and has built it switch. As far as I know very reliable I have 2 and knows lots of people who run them with out problems.
They cost approx £35 I battery and charger about the same.
Why would you want to use both .???? Maybe some else will answer that one.
But Voltage booster for me ,runs perfect with the Tekin RS esc.

[Chris ODonoghue]

I used a receiver pack at the euros on a GM speedo as it simply didn't like the booster. It worked fine on the Tekin RS before that though.

[MattW]

You'd use one or the other, but can't think of any good reason to use both.

[TrevCoult]

As Matt says, no reason to use both. Like Vince I'd highly recommend the RC Dynamics booster by Mark Jordan. Boosts to 6V, very stable and you never have to charge it!

Trev

[petera]

I use the 200mah li-fe battery packs sold by Demon.. Good for 2 races with plenty left over. Only reason for not using a voltage booster was radio problems. (tried novak and RC Dynamics). Some weird compatibility issue with my setup ,I think , rather than anything wrong with the boosters as such. My first choice would be to run the RC dynamics if I could.
PeterA

[PDW]

If you're going to use a receiver pack, here's a way of avoiding having to use a voltage regulator. Wire the receiver pack into the switch harness of the speedo, so it uses the speedo voltage regulator, and switch it on and off using the speedo switch. Clever...

Use one or the other, never both. I also use the RC Dynamics booster and it's the puppies privates - so reliable, so easy to fit, so buy one!!

[Viking]

Now then Puff Daddy.... there is an issue here.

I had this exact set-up for my rx pack. Whilst in storage the lipo was still being drained by the radio gear, so much so that I lost two rx packs. The first one I thought was just one of those things - when I lost the second I realised something was not quite right.

(note - there is a rule here to bear in mind.....once is just something that happens, twice is a problem, thrice is unforgivable as you should have fixed it after the second time)

I would strongly recommend that this circuit is not used - if it is, then make sure the lipo is completely disconnected from the circuit whilst not in use so that the battery does not get fully discharged.

I cannot explain why it happened - i just know that it did.

Why rx pack and not a booster? I think I prefer to have the radio gear powered by something other than the drive pack if duration is in any way risky. With full mod this is the case, so I elected a rx pack over a booster. Thats just my preference. So I use a lipo rx pack with a regulator... lots of wires and boxes to fit into the car, but nothing challenging...

I know that Nigel uses the booster without issue, so its a choice each individual will have to make -they both work.

[PDW]

Fair point Viking. I always disconnected my LiPo pack from the receiver anyway, as I didn't want anything to go wrong that might affect the receiver. Same logic as not leaving the main battery pack connected was my thinking.

[tellor]

If you have just a receiver pack will the servo still only operate at 3.7v or is the receiver pack wired in series or parallel or separately?

I was thinking that the receiver pack will be used to increase battery capacity (albeit separately to power the servo) and the voltage booster increases the voltage so that servo is operating at the correct voltage?

Unless the receiver battery pack is connected in series with the main lipo then I can't see how the servo will operate at more than 3.7v therefore not fully function?

Am I missing the point or does the servo work perfectly well at 3.7v?

[Chris ODonoghue]

Receiver packs are 6.6v (Life) or 7.4v (Lipo), so you need a regulator if using a lipo, but not if you're using a life pack. You could always use a nimh/nicd 5-cell pack too

[PDW]

If you have just a receiver pack will the servo still only operate at 3.7v or is the receiver pack wired in series or parallel or separately?

I was thinking that the receiver pack will be used to increase battery capacity (albeit separately to power the servo) and the voltage booster increases the voltage so that servo is operating at the correct voltage?

Unless the receiver battery pack is connected in series with the main lipo then I can't see how the servo will operate at more than 3.7v therefore not fully function?

Am I missing the point or does the servo work perfectly well at 3.7v?

There are two separate circuits in operation here. One needs 6v to provide power to operate the receiver, the servo and the control circuits of the speedo - the circuits that switch the FETs on and off to control the motor. We need to provide power to both circuits. The FET/motor circuit is powered by the main battery.


The speedo has a voltage regulator in it that uses the main battery voltage and reduces it to 5v or 6v - this is not the same circuit as the FET/motor circuit. This regulator works when the speedo switch is used - is on. The voltage the speedo produces is fed into the speedo control circuit, the receiver to power it, and the servo. There are in effect two circuits in the speedo. One operates the control circuit - decodes the signal from the Tx and switches the FETs on and off - and the other is the power circuit - the connection of the main battery, through the FETs, to the motor

When you use a booster, or a receiver pack, it is plugged into the receiver, and powers the receiver control circuits (only), speedo and servo. In this configuration the speedo is not (MUST not be!) switched on. The speedo regulates the main battery power going to the motor as usual on that separate circuit, and the receiver pack provides the power for the speedo control circuits, the receiver and the servo to work.

The receiver pack is not on the same circuit as the main battery, it is separate. A voltage booster is doing exactly the same thing, but doesn't require re-charging. The circuit the booster runs in is separate from the main battery/FET/motor circuit. HTH