Help:FAQ:General/en

MICROBEAST PLUS vs. MICROBEAST PLUS HD

I intend to use the MICROBEAST PLUS on my 600/700 heli. Should I go with the HD version? What's the difference?

Today's servos and especially so-called high voltage servos typically have a very high power consumption. When using Futaba BLS 451 servos for example these are very modest. Savöx 1258/Align DS610 are much more demanding - one alone taking up to 15Amps peak for the instance of a second. And for very extreme example take high voltage Savöx servos SB-2271SG HV. They demand up to 27Amps (1 Servo!) peak which you can see when measuring the power consumption with an oscilloscope. So besides using a good stable and high rated power supply you have to ensure proper supply of the servos with this power. But when only connecting one servo plug with power leads into the receiver this may be insufficient and cause a "bottle neck" in power flow. Also when the current must take a long way through the receiver, the wiring and the MICROBEAST, this will produce high resistance due to the connections in between and additional loss of voltage. There is no benefit if the power supply/BEC itself can deliver 20-25A when this amount of current is not able to flow to the consumers.

Now the idea behind MICROBEAST PLUS HD is to provide a power connection that allows for using thick power cables and directly connect these to the unit, close to the servos. So the voltage loss due to wiring and plug connection is reduced to a minimum. In general for helis with standard size servo you should always use MICROBEAST PLUS HD, because this will eliminate the "servo plug problem" as one important factor that may be critical in regards to the power supply. But also keep an eye on the design of your power supply in general. I.e. when using an ESC with only one BEC line there will no benefit of using the HD version as you already have a "bottle neck" at the power output. The small wire will not be able to transfer more than 5 Amps continuous current. Connecting this little wire to MICROBEAST's HD input will not help very much here. If on the other hand you have at least two or even three BEC lines then this can be different as you may solder the power wires from the BEC together to the MICROBEAST PLUS HD high power plug. Then you have a much lower contact resistance compared to only connect the wires using the standard servo plugs, which is a real benefit for providing a stable power supply. Ideally you have a BEC or receiver battery that already comes with thick power wires. Here it is ideal to use MICROBEAST PLUS HD. Also when using a separate receiver battery i. e. on nitro or gas helis using MICROBEAST PLUS HD is the ideal way to connect the battery to your RC system. In addition to the adequate connection plug here you have an integrated switch system for switching the heli on and off, so there is no need to buy an extra switch.

In regards to software and functionality in general there is no difference between MICROBEAST PLUS and MICROBEAST PLUS HD! Both use the same firmware and you can buy and upgrade both devices to ProEdition firmware.

Can I use MICROBEAST PLUS with a gasser heli, especially with RPM Governor and AttitudeControl?

We did do several tests with gas powered helis and we do not see any restriction on this. Gas motors produce very low frequent vibrations which normally can be filtered by the gyro sensors very well. So you should be able to fly with MICROBEAST PLUS and use AttitudeControl without issues on gasser helis. Also the RPM Governor function can be used with gas motors. Only restriction is that a rpm sensor with digital sensor output (PWM) must be used for proper function. Analog sensors like the Futaba GV1 magnet sensor or StatorGator which are often installed on gasser helis can't be used.

JR GSR260Z Sports FBL with MICROBEAST PLUS

Is it possible to connect 4 swash plate servos to MICROBEAST / MICROBEAST PLUS?

No, sorry this is not possible. At the moment all our devices support helicopters with 3 swashplate servos only.

Where can I find information about the different firmware versions?

Please have a look at the product overview page.