Electronics

The eLogger V3 from Eagle Tree Systems is an in-flight data logger which continuously records volts, amps, watts, and milliamp-hours to enable pilots to analyze the performance of their electric power systems. In addition, it supports a wide variety of optional sensors to record altitude, airspeed, component temperatures, RPM, and more.

If you've spent any time browsing Futaba's web site, or your favorite online dealer, you've probably noticed the incredible number of servos available. It can be daunting for modelers to choose the right servo for a given use.

It turns out that for airplane applications, there's probably only two servos you need to consider. (If you're one of those very serious flyers with a 10 foot wingspan, 5 horsepower monstrosity, you don't need this quick guide anyway). That's because most planes call for either standard or micro size servos, although it's worth noting that not everyone seems to agree on what micro means. This table lists the two models to look for:

 

Mikael Pedersen is one clever guy. He's built a very impressive home made servo tester with many cool features. From his site:

• Generates two separate signals for driving two servos.
• Sweep mode for stress testing servos.
• Input for reading a servo signal (from a receiver).
• Receiver signal quality analysis.
• Very high resolution at both input and outputs. 0.1µs (which equals 10,000 steps between 1 and 2 ms).
• Voltage and current readout.
• Simple user control. Access all features with just a single rotary knob with integrated push button.
• 2 x 16 character LCD.
• Optical tachometer.
• RS-232 connection for future expansion.
  

Mikael has complete hardware plans and the software needed to build your own tester freely available. If you're a servo geek and handy with a soldering iron, check it out!