HOW TO INSTALL YOUR TEXAS TIMERS BRUSHLESS MOTOR TIMER

This will walk you through what is hopefully a clear and simple procedure that will get  you up flying and enjoying electric flight without pain. Although this product was developed with the E-36 event in mind, the installation shown will work with any electric plane and is also suitable for AMA Electric A or B as well as F1Q. First, lets get the general electrical hookup in mind. The below drawing is quite simple. The three wire cable from the ESC (Electronic Speed Control) is typically  long, allowing you to locate the ESC close to the motor and our Circuit Boad where desired. The three wire cable can then reach the connector on the PLSR1 board. This board can be located to suit your needs. I personally like to have it just an inch or so forward of the timer.

A few notes are in order here. The optional switch shown in the battery red wire line. is no longer suggested. The switch adds too much loss. To avoid a slow battery drain even when the timer is off and the motor is not running you should unplug the battery from the ESC. All ESCs will draw some power when just sitting idle. If left over night, your LiPo will be dead and perhaps ruined as they do not like to be run down to 0 volts. (Ask me how I know this is true.)  You must have the battery connecter so you can disconnect it or remove it for charging or replacement..

The three wires from the ESC going to the motor are all the same length and same color. I am not aware of any standard in the color of these wires. The three wires in a cable from the ESC have a three pin male connector at the end  where it attaches to the male ESC connector of our circuit Board. The middle wire (+) is always Red. I have seen Brown and Black for the lower wire (-)  but others are possible. The top wire (S) is normally White or Orange. This is the signal wire to tell the ESC what to do with the motor. The length of this wire as supplied with the ESC is normally quit long. The two wire cable from our MICRO E is Brown and Red. It uses only two of the three pins on the Timer side of our Circuit Board.

This example assumes you have a removable hatch on the bottom of the fuselage for access to the  various electrical components. Unless you mount battery on the outside of the fuselage, you will always need access to it. Later on I will show you a way one modeler does it that at allows access to the timer components without such a hatch. While I am thinking of it. I have had good results using the industrial strength Velcro sold at Lowe's to mount the 2S battery. So far it has held it in place, even under a real nasty ground strike. Remember, this is the heavy duty Velcro, not  the stuff at Wal-Mart or a dress shop.

Now, lets look how one goes about installing the timer components.

On the left is the MICRO E timer. Installation is normal and usual for this. I suggest use of a thin ply frame on the outside to screw the faceplate down. . Don't break the red and brown wires on the switch. The wire colors here mean nothing. On the right is a small cutout for the push button switch located on the back side of the Circuit Board. This does not have to be a neat hole as we supply a ply  plate to dress up the outside around the switch. The thin CA shown is necessary as discussed later.

This is what it will look like on the outside of your fuselage.

Clean off the area of the circuit board with alcohol where the tape is applied to remove oils and any other contamination. Keep your fingers off the tape when you remove the protective backing from each side. Press the board firmly in place on the inside of the fuselage.

This is what it looks like with the board stuck in place. inside the fuselage.

This is a way to make sure the board stays in place, yet lets you remove it if needed. It may not be needed or necessary.

This is the finished outside with the included ply plate to make it look nice and keep your fingers off the tissue when pressing the button to start the motor.

And, finally, this is what it looks like with all the wires to the various points. As you see, there is no soldering. The two connector mate up with the two sets of pins on our circuit Board. You may need to solder appropriate connectors for the three motor wires and solder the battery up to a connector. But, nothing from Texas Timers involves a soldering iron in your hands. I have done it for you.

And, a close up of the two connectors in place on the Circuit Board.

Should the connectors stick out too far on the inside  of the fuselage, you may carefully bend the pins over a bit. Put the connector on the pins and support the board on the bottom so you are not bending the board and slowly push the connector over. This is not a bend it up and down thing. One bend and leave it.

WE PROMISED YOU A LOOK AT AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO INSTALL THE CIRCUIT BOARD. HERE IT IS.

The concept here is the Board is removable from the fuselage for connecting the wires or any other service. There are two ply plates involved. The inner plate is glued to the fuselage and serves as the base for two screws holding the rest in place. The Board is fixed to the outer ply plate with the black DS tape and it has a small hole for the pushbutton switch. Here is what it looks like going together.

Obviously, you would want to make the switch hole a bit neater. This is only to show a mounting concept. If the two screws are removed, the outer ply plate and the PLSR1 pull out from the fuselage with the wires still attached.

This is how I made a sub-plate from 1/32 birch wood and some .005 CF sheet. It lets me easily remove the entire board, timer, servo and mousetrap from the box fuselage as one unit. It is help in with only two short screws going into a small piece of hard wood inside the fuselage. I could use the same timer in two planes by removing two screws. Note, the way I do the DT arm is very different today, but the same sub plate concept still works. This concept is so popular that one kit maker now includes a pre cut ply version of it. See Here for the Top Notch Products mount that is included with their kits.

QUESTIONS ABOUT SOLDERING?

As a service to our customers, I have put together some guides on how to solder small electrical items. No, for the Texas Timers product you do not know how to solder, but you will need to for the battery and motor connections. You can go Here to learn more