Review

ACM Enterprises' UBEC

By Paul Williams.
Article posted 22nd June 2008.

A BEC ("battery eliminator circuit") taps current from the main drive battery to power the radio system. Using a BEC instead of a small receiver battery reduces weight and removes the need to re-charge a receiver pack. Additionally, the isolation loop doubles as a radio switch - pull the loop out and the whole boat is dead.

UBEC
UBEC in anti-static packaging.

If you're running a digital radio setup on 6 volts with high output digital servos, the radio system is likely to be drawing relatively high currents, high enough to seriously depress the voltage output of a small capacity nimh receiver pack. A BEC can draw a lot more current from the main drive battery and can maintain a constant output voltage.

UBEC
The unit is quite small, as you can see compared to a 10p piece.

ACM Enterprises' UBEC is a small, switched-mode device which is wired into the speed controller positive and negative inputs. The unit can output 5 or 6 volts at a constant 3 amps, and weighs 9 grams. It can operate on an input voltage of between 5.5 to 23 volts (2 to 5 series lipos or 5 to 15 nimhs) and the claimed efficiency is 89%, meaning the unit should run nice and cool.

UBEC
The small blue jumper sets the output voltage: 5 or 6 volts.

I bought two UBECs from Andy Karaolis at ACM. After testing each one worked, I sealed the ends of each BEC's heatshrink sleeving with acid-free silicone sealant to waterproof it. I'll update this article after I've had some runtime with these BECs in competition.

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Last modified: 08th July 2010 @ 09:06