Capacitor?

[jordanxt]

I've finished assembling the Tiger Moth, and must say Im impressed. It looks much better in person!

While reading some older postings, someone mentioned capacitors. What are these? Do I absolutely need them, or do most motors come with them pre-installed? I haven't sent any power to the motor as of yet, but I'm really anxious to fly! (GWS IPS, 280 mah/7 cells, if it helps)

Ok, let me sneak in one more question... Do you guys normally use on/off switches on board slow-flyers, or just plug in and fly?

Thanks much for any info on either topic. Your help has made this a very enjoyable experience so far. Also saved alot of time and money!

Andrew

[gjohnson]

You do need capacitors on most motors. The GWS motors already have them installed. That's what the small cream colored round things on the very back of the motor are. Just plug it in and fly.
--Gordon

[andrewhalst]

hi, Andrew

Glad to hear you are almost ready to commit aviation with the TM - everything I read suggests it is fun! :D

The motor has a Capacitor already fitted so go ahead with confidence.

I don't use a switch on any slowflyer but i have universal plug/sockets on all my battery, ESC and motor leads, etc. So I plug in the battery to the ESC and fly. In fact I have made up some plug-in switches that would fit in the system, but don't generally use them for r/c.

Altho' my plugs/sockets are not polarised, I <Never> plug them in the wrong way round. Or only twice so far :o

Tell us how it goes.

[gjohnson]

On the subject of plugs, Hobby Lobby sells the small "Deans" connectors. They also have these connectors already soldered to wires. For a park flyer you can generally use the smaller Deans connectors, not the larger ones, which Hobby Lobby does not carry. The small Deans connectors come in three varieties. Two prong polarized (a single prong coming out of the front of each plug), two prong not-polarized, and three prong polarized (there is a larger gap between two of the prongs). Some people use the three prong plugs, but just leave one prong unused. The weight doesn't matter much. If you start out with your batteries having a certain plug and orientation, and you solder the corresponding plug on your charger leads, you are on your way to a setup where any plane you build can use batteries from another.

On the other hand, if you bought a GWS flight pack, you can go with the plugs on the battery and ESC for now, and cut them off to convert to Deans or something else later. If you need GWS compatible plugs to use with your charger, Todd's Models and Cloud-9 RC carry them separately.

--Gordon