RC Tanks Australia Forum

I am currently using the RC5HL with an OrangeRx and a DX9 and I have got all functions working, however I decided to removed the gun travel motor in the turret and replace it with a servo to give proper control of gun elevation. The servo is plugged into Channel 6 of the OrangeRx and is set to the dial button on the top of the radio, the trouble is it seems that no matter what servo I use the power drain seems to be causing issues with the RC5HL. Causing erratic behaviour or restarts and the servo functions extremely slowly or not at all. I have tried a bunch of different servos and multiple OrangeRx's .
Anybody else done this mod and have some clues as to how I can move forward with this ?

Thanks

HI There

The regulator on the RC5HL is capable of delivering 1 amp. That is the same as the regulator on say an El Mod Eco board. The same regulator is present on the MAKO2 board which drives a recoil servo and I have had no reports problems there either.

I will set up and video a RC5HL and some servos and post the results.

Typically one would use a GEKO board connected to your RC5HL for precise turret and elevation control as below:



With GEKO you have the option of powering the motors either from the RC5HL at 5 volts or direct from your battery. In such a way you can still use the existing sticks for control

If you are convinced that such a 'power drain' exists you can simply power your servos from a separate BEC and just connect the signal wire from your OrangeRX to the servo. Bypassing the RC5HL completely. You could even power the receiver and servo from a separate BEC sending only the signals to the RC5HL.

As a side note we no longer use OrangeRX gear anymore for testing. So any video will probably show FRSKY receivers and Turnigy servos

Cheers
Kevin G

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rctanksaustralia.com

Yes you are correct the RC5HL will not reliably take care of anything but the smallest of servos. The fix though is quite simple and it will involve using a separate BEC (Battery Elimination Circuit) to power your receiver and servos

You can get 3 Amp BECs cheaply online for less than $5 or even a bit fancier one for a bit more. Use the BEC to power the receiver. When you do this you need to connect ONLY the signal wires from the receiver to the RC5HL. If you are using the supplied servo connector cables simply remove the middle red wire on all 5 cables. You could remove the black one as well but it is not necessary.

Here is a video of a separate BEC powering the receiver and servo in a RC5HL setup



As you can see there are no issues when powered up this way.

As per your questions - If you have a 6 channel or LESS OrangeRX receiver you can remove the jumper entirely. It is only required for receivers with more than 6 channels.

As for your question about the cable - The RC5HL is supplied only with the 5 servo connector cables or the newer slim link type cable. These are used to connect the RC5HL to the receiver. I'm not sure what cable you are referring to.

Cheers
Kevin Grannum

_________________

rctanksaustralia.com