Radio Control Electric Switch

his switch is quite simple but has some great features and worth a try. All of the parts are readily available from most electronics stores or if you tinker with electronics a bit you may have them in your junk box as odd spares. I've recorded how to make the printed circuit board as it is so easy and is a rewarding experience to complete the whole job yourself. There are no suggestions of how to mount the switch. As you can see by the photo, I didn't put it in a case as it would just add weight and I can't see why it would need it if you can have it held by foam rubber. I cut a cavity out of some foam and wrapped a rubber band around it all. The relay is mounted away from the circuit so the motor current has less effect and cause glitches and mounted with double foam tape. I mounted the relay away from the board to keep electrical interference to a minimum. The circuit doesn't have to be made like this as you could have a go at building it up on a veroboard but I do find it a fair bit harder, some don't. It is a bit bigger than it's commercial counterparts but this is as small as I think most people can go with an ordinary soldering iron and tools. A 6v relay seems to work fine even though the receiver voltage is only 4.8v. There are no pads included on the P.C board for the switching side of the relay as it depends on what sort is used. Be sure to find one that can handle the current that is put through it and do a good job of the soldering as there is a lot of vibration in a model aircraft. Relay Positive in

A double pole relay can be wired to short out the motor when power isn't on so a folding prop can stop rotating and fold properly. See diagram in previous column. Adjust the trim pot so that the relay turns on at the desired position of the radio stick. Note there is a slight delay in switching. You can get a receiver plug by buying a servo extension lead and cutting it to the desired length. How to make P.C Board. Buy ;

Blank board copper on one side. (Fibreglass is preferable but the older bakalite type material is ok. It fractures easier though) Dalo pen Ferric chloride (You can get it already as a solution or as powder and mix it yourself. Read the warnings about it's corrosive properties as you may end up with no sink pipes.) Carbon paper (The same sort of stuff that you get in receipt books etc.)
Draw out diagram by placing the carbon paper onto copper face and the master on top. Then fill in the tracks you've drawn onto the copper with the Dalo pen. Cut board to size & put in Ferric Chloride till excess copper is etched. You could warm up the ferric chloride to make it work a little quicker. Swish the solution around a bit to keep fresh solution up to the copper. Wash & clean up then drill holes. The holes are quite small and you may need to but that size drill at an electronics store as well. Centre punch the holes first makes it easier to drill.

This is what mine looks like in situ.

Motor Negative in

You may need to obtain a chart that shows how to orientate the transistors the right way. In the diagram there are markings for each leg as B,E,C which is base, emitter and collector. These have to be the right way round and as they vary on different transistors of the same sort you'll have to do some digging yourself or as the supplier of the parts. The Integrated circuit the electrolytic capacitor and the diode are the other three parts that must go the right way. The IC usually has a notch or similar at the end that corresponds with pin one marked on the diagram.

The diode has a black band at one end and that also can be seen on the diagram. The capacitor usually has negative or positive marked on the case and you'll see the + marked on the board diagram. The trim pot RV1 uses only the middle and one outside leg. Just bend the other out of the way. To find the way to wire the receiver plug, look on your servo wires and see if there is a red, black and another colour wire as it is probably red for positive, black for negative.

Copper Side
without relay Full Scale with relay

Parts List
Resistors R1.......68k ohm 0.5 w R2..... 10k ohm 0.5 w R3.......10k ohm 0.5 w R4..... 4.7k ohm 0.5 w Capacitors C1........022 uF Polyester C2.......47uf electrolytic Semiconductors D1......1N 4004 T1......Bc 549 T2......Bc 559 IC1....4011 Miscellaneous RV 1...100K trim pot Relay _ + Sig Futaba Plug

To Relay

T1
B C

D1

C1 + C2 R4 R1

C E B

1 R2 R3 RV 1

T2

To Receiver + To Reciever Sig

To Reciever -

To Relay NB. If Mounting Relay Off The Board You Still Need The Diode. Mount it on the relay & be sure it's facing the right way.