Safety Loops

[jcald2000]

One other item that can help

The driver of a disabled boat MUST put the transmitter down and NOT touch it until after he has his boat in his hands.

[properchopper]

Is there any concern with safety loops on accidental "shorting" across the two exposed connectors when the boat is on the table? Just wondering if that matters.

Seems like a female connection insulated from the outlet would be safer?

Let's be real - the safety loop doesn't substitute for the practice of keeping batteries disconnected until the boat is ready to run. If one leaves the battery connected and inadvertantly shorts the two male connectors (how likely is this to happen ?) AND the Tx is left on, the boat will most likely just arm.

My design can be configured to use male or female connectors or a combination of both. Two female connectors would look cleaner but can hold water unless dried out and can cause conductivity issues when corrosion inevitably takes place from trapped water.

I agree with Jim, safety loops are just one part of the equasion in the retrieval operation - they're not the end-all solution.

[carlcisneros]

think about the shorting on the table that was on one of the replys here.

what do you use on the end/ends of your battery leads when they are just sitting there?
same thing applies to the shorting plug. Use a cap over it UNTIL you get ready to plug it in.

just plain old common sense is all.

just think SAFETY when you operate/transport your FE units.

[properchopper]

think about the shorting on the table that was on one of the replys here.

what do you use on the end/ends of your battery leads when they are just sitting there?
same thing applies to the shorting plug. Use a cap over it UNTIL you get ready to plug it in.

just plain old common sense is all.

just think SAFETY when you operate/transport your FE units.

Three good points

[martin]

These loops have been used for years here in the UK & Europe, If you want to race at official meetings you have to have loops fitted. No loop no racing, All these things being raised like What if this happens or that happens. In reallity these things simply are not a problem. You unplug the loop & turn tx off & boat is not live.People here dont think twice about using loops even if they dont race as you can turn your tx of in between runs because your unplugging the boat & not having to untape the boat to turn it off which no one wonts to do unless its for a change of battery. Martin.

[graill]

Thanks. Sometimes I actually scare myself.

And those with carbon fiber hulls. (Grin) Any isolators so no metal contacts the CF hulls?

[Chilli]

Regardless of what sort of safety loop you use, the retriever still has to pick the boat up out of the water to unplug it! They just need to be trained to stay away from the prop...PERIOD. The safety loop doesn't REALLY make it any safer in my opinion.

First the state of CA is considering requiring fitted sheets in hotel rooms..........now safety loops????

I'm just kidding my west coast brothers. But here is my perspective.

There is always inherent risk in this hobby. We do what we can to minimize it. Education is probably the best prevention. If the IC guys are that concerned about their safety while retrieving boats then the FE guys should be required to retrieve thier own boats like we do in IMPBA 12 and 13. The IC boats have just as many if not more potential risks. Ever see someone slip at waters edge while launching a cranked up gas boat. I have and it was scary stuff. Ever see someone get burned why brushing against a hot exhaust after a heat. How about runaway boats?? I saw two last race I attended. I wonder if these same retrieve people would support requiring ignition failsafe to prevent runaway boats?? How about prop guards installed on boats to protect people from getting cut in the hot pits and launch area?? Maybe exhausts systems should be required to be wrapped or recessed in hulls?? If I recommended any of these safety measures at my next district meeting, I would get laughed right out of the joint!

[Grazacind]

Hey there Nauitboyz the intention of starting this thread was not to encourage everyone to use safety loops. Rather those who have have to use as we do in Aus what is the best and most effective method.

My opinion is that in the pits IC guys should have porp covers on or take the props off while running motors up. Unfortunately education doesn't fix mashed up fingers or hands.

[Heath M]

The only reason we have them in Aus is because the IC guys were to scared to pick the dead boats up out the water, thinking they might go off at anytime, and yet i've seen some of them stand in waste deep water and try and catch an out of control nitro boat before it hits the bank lol
At the end of the day they do make it safer to retreive the boats and more convenient when test and setting up the hull. No need to untape the hull to disconnect the battries when you want to make prop or strut adjustments.

[carlcisneros]

sounds like a Fall project for me to put 2 safety loops on my twin mono.

one question, where would a good place to put it on a Outboard Tunnel?

[Jacked1]

I have a way to do this with a 3 channel radio if anyone is interested.
Just get some hi-current mosfets and connect them in parallel to a leg in the power to the esc and use the third channel to turn it on or off.
If the radio fails, the mosfets would turn off since they need a voltage to turn on and it would probably weigh about as much as a couple connectors. This would also give you the ability to program the esc while it was in the water if you wanted.

And as for a production design the only installation would be to plug in series with the negative side of your battery plug and plug in the 3rd channel in to your receiver so you could buy one and use it for all of your boats.

[7500RPM]

I have a way to do this with a 3 channel radio if anyone is interested.
Just get some hi-current mosfets and connect them in parallel to a leg in the power to the esc and use the third channel to turn it on or off.
If the radio fails, the mosfets would turn off since they need a voltage to turn on and it would probably weigh about as much as a couple connectors. This would also give you the ability to program the esc while it was in the water if you wanted.

And as for a production design the only installation would be to plug in series with the negative side of your battery plug and plug in the 3rd channel in to your receiver so you could buy one and use it for all of your boats.

I thought of that years ago, BUT, it has it's own issues, If any water migrates to the FET board, even if it is water proofed ( never 100 % ) it WILL turn on the FET's, or if the FET's short out with the high current being pushed thru them so much for the on/off function. I have repaired and built many ESC's over the years, and have seen many combinations of failures, the best and only way IS to have the Safety Loop, just make it as short as possible to disarm the boat, and place it in the Positive side.

You need to remember in the old days with Brushed motors if you had a speed control failure, FET's shorted, the motor ran out of control, BUT with brushless, if the FET's short you have a speed control that burns to the ground and a motor that gets burned up too! Maximum Current flow! I have seen a well known controller turned into a blob of carbon! Once epoxyglass PCB boards start burning and creating carbon on the board, it just adds more to the fire and it just gets out of control with all that current available from your batteries.

[Jacked1]

I thought of that years ago, BUT, it has it's own issues, If any water migrates to the FET board, even if it is water proofed ( never 100 % ) it WILL turn on the FET's, or if the FET's short out with the high current being pushed thru them so much for the on/off function. I have repaired and built many ESC's over the years, and have seen many combinations of failures, the best and only way IS to have the Safety Loop, just make it as short as possible to disarm the boat, and place it in the Positive side.

You need to remember in the old days with Brushed motors if you had a speed control failure, FET's shorted, the motor ran out of control, BUT with brushless, if the FET's short you have a speed control that burns to the ground and a motor that gets burned up too! Maximum Current flow! I have seen a well known controller turned into a blob of carbon! Once epoxyglass PCB boards start burning and creating carbon on the board, it just adds more to the fire and it just gets out of control with all that current available from your batteries.

I was more so thinking to put the fets on a small cooling block and then dip them in a couple layers of epoxy without a board at all. It would be pretty easy to make it a lot more water proof than the esc would be.

[7500RPM]

I was more so thinking to put the fets on a small cooling block and then dip them in a couple layers of epoxy without a board at all. It would be pretty easy to make it a lot more water proof than the esc would be.

The waterproofing of the board is the least of your worries, you need to see the rest of the posted message to gauge the real problem of the design and failure points.

[Chilli]

My apologies for getting your thread off track Andrew.