Electricity basics for RC fliers

Many people will already know this stuff but there are some who may be unaware of the simple factors that affect the electrics of your RC plane. However, if you think this is too "dumbed down", please let me know.
In this video I look at the relationships between voltage, current, resistance and power.
You'll see how something as simple as going from a 3S to a 4S battery can cause a significant change in the power your motor has to deliver.
You'll also see how using a larger prop can cause your motor to draw more current from your existing battery.
I hope those who are a bit rusty on their electrical theory get some value from this video.
In the next one of this series, I'll demonstrate this theory with real batteries, motors and props.

[@thepredator1943]

Hi Bruce, we had some very average science teachers at our school in the late 50s (giving my age away here) I do remember Volts times amps equals watts we were fed that parrot fashion. I never really understood that it was meaningless until would you believe it 55yrs later when a man called Bruce Simpson explained it all in perfect English,Thank you the fog has finally cleared.

[@alanpowell328]

Having completed an electronics apprenticeship in the early 70s, this is brilliant! For those of us that have forgotten more than we learnt and those who have never seen this stuff before, I cannot think of a better way of learning the basics. Please continue with this stuff. There are those who will whinge and wonder where the part twos are, but I ain't one of them.

[@chiro30]

As a ham radio operator for years…your teaching the needed basics is well done. A very nice job.

[@superpeteca]

Awesome, you should definitely keep doing this series of basic stuff, to better understand the more complex system this basic knowledge must be clear. Simply love it.

[@ballsys_builds]

I've probably just advanced to a intermediate rc pilot in last few weeks and a lot of my knowledge and understanding of the whole rc flying world has come from you and your videos So thanks a lot and keep the videos coming Regards Ben

[@adrianryan1975]

'Electric' has always been a type of black magic to me. These vids a just as magic. Well done Bruce. 👍👍👍

[@ohitstarik]

I honestly spent 8 hours going through your channel, and i'm still not done. I'm learning so much! Thank you.

[@Narsandorin]

It may be simple for every one else, but i was wandering how prop size and pitch will effect my planes and how every thing works regarding watts and amps, volts. Love your vids i learn a hell of a lot from them. My understanding and knowledge has grown. Thank you.

[@johntysjenilsson8665]

I wish you were my Tech teacher, way better at explaining than all my teachers. Great tutorial, was fun to re-learn this again :)

[@ianholt1]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge Bruce. I have been flying for about 14 years and electric only now for about 8 years and I still learn a lot from your videos. Many thanks.

[@carlosalbertoperezmoreno9971]

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your video explanations. I've been flying rc aircraft for 20 years now and could never understand the electronic pairing (edf unit+esc+batt) until I saw your videos. I've been looking a lot for a simple yet complete explanation and you made it happen with 5 stars :) Thanks a lot man. Carlos - Colombia - South america

[@tylersmith4160]

Better teaching than my electronic professors here in the states. Thanks

[@AFlyingGlenn]

You're a fascinating teacher, I wish my teachers back at school made it as interesting and educational as you have done in this video! Thank you for explaining! :D

[@wb8ujb]

I enjoyed the explanation Mark! I've been working in electronics all my life. Good job, it's fun to see the basics explained once in a while.

[@DrOksalev]

Very easy to understand... Please do make more of these Electricity for dummies videos.

[@970Pantydroper]

Thank you so much for your time and effort into this video! I learned so much!! I love learning about things related to a hobby I'm passionate about. Thank you good sir! And God bless. Keep the videos coming.

[@chbiscuit75]

You didn't need a new shop, all you needed was a new whiteboard. lol. Nice job Bruce. Keep at it man. I always enjoy your insight.

[@markhop9986]

Thanks for the refresher course on ohms laws. I have learned most what I know about RC from watching your video's. keep up the good work.

[@konstantinosfourkiotis7138]

I am a Nitro fun for many years now I always wanted to try myself with Electrics but I was a little bit afraid everything sounded difficult to me this video real helped thanks

[@FlyingMerf]

Bruce, thanks for the additional explanation. I for one would love to see you get into more of the knitty gritty of the theory behind the practical applications. Concepts like back-EMF, and how it applies to our electric motors, would be fascinating to learn more about. Thanks again for your videos. They are among the best on the tube.

[@aeroscience9834]

You should do a video explaining why resistance drops on a motor when you increase load.

[@imemyself2820]

You mean the voltage drops, the resistance increases.

[@Zwiesel66]

@@imemyself2820 You obviously have not watched the video closely.

[@wong2b]

Better yet, do a video on what happens to your power output when the switching frequency of the ESC gets waaaay up there.

[@FlyingMerf]

The "resistance drop" with a bigger prop makes mathematical sense, but not physical sense. In a physical sense, it would be more accurate to say that with a larger prop the motor produces more power, and therefore consumes more current. The motor resistance does not actually drop. However, the way you presented it is practically useful. You are a master at explaining things in a way that cuts the crap and tells us what we need to know to get stuff done!

[@xjet]

The "effective resistance" drops when you load up the motor - hence it draws more current. I could have gone into the details of how back-EMF reduces the current flow etc but for all practical intents and purposes, it can be thought of as a simple reduction in resistance -- since the effect (an increased current flow) is the same.

[@halsaied]

Really beneficial and easy to understand training, Big thanks Bruce.

[@GeorgeMartinRcScratchbuilds]

Enjoy being taught by a great teacher.

[@Ktrpilot]

This is exactly what I was looking for. School physics was a little while ago.. Thanks for an extremely helpful video.

[@paulward6312]

Very well done...helps to see quickly what you are messing with when you make changes thanks

[@chrisleech1565]

Good idea to gho over this because I have recently been just considering the increse in RPM. Though I have of course determined that the motor in question will tolerate a 4S, one must then consider the extra draw on the battery. A pragmatic dissertation on this matter Bruce. Thanks

[@JeroenBrosens]

A nice practical example of motor resistance is a vacuum cleaner. Hold your hand on the end of the tube and the RPM goes up. Why? The motor doesn't need to pump air through the system anymore (the resistance goes down) so it runs more efficiently.

[@torlaper]

I have put 10volt on my left ear, my brain has 3 ohm resistant, 30watts of smokes comes out of my right ear ;-) Youre really great Bruce!!

[@Granite]

I love the little refresher course.

[@richardlong3615]

Bruce, Thanks for the video. I don't think you can start too basic now you've laid the foundation I am looking forward to further videos in the series. I struggle to get my head round the specs of motors so something on that subject I would find useful. Richard

[@Jimgoodwin846]

This is wonderful! Not too dumbed down for me. Math has never been my strong point but I can understand this. I’m going to look for more on the practical use as you discussed at the end. Thanks for your work/videos.

[@clockguypete1128]

Great video Bruce! So greatfull you care to take the time to produce these informative videos. Looking forward to the next in this series. I am relatively new to electric powered aircraft, and got lucky when I installed a larger motor, esc, and 4s, 5000 pack in a plane and did not "blow things up" Thanks to you I am learning how things work, and will help me decide on what equipment to purchase for a large 14lb formula1 sundowner, that I wish to push as fast as the airframe can handle! Looking at all the listings of motors & specs is confusing between manufacturers, but you are providing some good knowledge to help engineer and select appropriate items. Thank you very much! Pete

[@crazycrow3378]

Super simple. Thanx to you Bruce. Should've had u as my science teacher back in high school. Maybee I would have passed then. Great job. Love your channel

[@triskellian]

Great presentation on the basics! This is on of the fun aspects of electric flying that lets you tinker a little more with power systems.I love the fact that experimenting with electric powered planes is quite versatile too.

[@pipeman010156]

I like the 101 approach. Please continue.

[@stevencristofero968]

Love it. This is some useful information for anyone having to manage power systems. Perhaps I am old school, but P is for power (in watts) , I is for current (in amps) and E is for voltage. I always remembered P=IE. Keep up the education, for all of us. This is definitely Need To Know stuff.

[@rolandog6388]

Fantastic video, it allowed me to understand what happens when I change from 4S to 6S on my quadcopter rig.

[@brianTwwjd]

Well done! I'm a computer engineer and I'm not that good with electricity. This helped a lot.

[@GeorgeGardinier]

really very good, it has been years that i took this class on electronics/electricity. keep doing this as a series please, great review. but when i was in school, we used the letter E as the voltage in the triangle. our teacher before learning this stuff was called Erny , so Erny Is Real, in the triangle. please do explain this stuff, change the prop on a constant same motor changes the current, wow, keep this up, i shall save the series, i do hope this is all correct though.

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

I like your videos very much. It makes me feel good watching them. Thank you for them.

[@MrHobbit60]

GREAT video, Bruce. Incredibly easy to follow, and fantastic explanation of the concepts. Very, very well done.

[@itchyliabdo]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Would love a follow up vid. Very straight forward.

[@MyTechWebTV]

Excellent job Bruce. I have always wanted to understand this better. You are a great teacher!

[@jdnpe]

Thanks Bruce. I like a lot your way to explain and make things very simple. Be sure that i learned a lot with your videos.

[@pyrexia2]

Great video Bruce, maybe basic to some but if your not doing this all the time it doesn't hurt to have a refresher tutorial.ATB

[@RCFlyer007]

This was great ! Thank you as I’m wanting to build my own RC airplane and this will help tremendously! Looking forward to the next class 👍👍

[@Ibushi]

Prior to going into flying RC's, the only thing I knew about electricity was that you connect + to - (i.e. putting batteries into a flashlight). Thank goodness that got cleared up before I got a soldering iron XD

[@erichenry3794]

I learned more from you in three videos than I did from my high school's science program... Some of that is my fault, though! haha. However, these videos are great. I would like to understand how electronics use DC current from the battery to the motor, and AC current when charging. My guess as to why the motor offers less resistance when in-use is because the spinning part of the motor increases the current in the circuit.

[@thomasdollenmayer4073]

great series! Keep it up, you explainer videos are the best I have seen. You keep it simple and easy to understand, and it all is extremely useful and practical info.

[@benemdav]

Great refresher! Thank you very easy to follow!

[@MarkFletcher16-07-76]

Brilliant and very easy to follow, thanks again

[@NormanLedoyen]

Great video as I am from the 50's also and the instruction much better then my science teacher way back then. I would like to suggest you show some samples of actual motors to ESC to batteries to props. Hands onvisual would be great for the acute novice.

[@truefoxxx]

Loved this kind of video. You would be a great teacher in my opinion Bruce.

[@TheRoggan123]

Great video! I am reasonably familiar with basic electricity and these laws but it was a good refreshment to get this into the context of props and batteries in relation to power. Looking forward to the next video in this series! :) Cheers

[@royallhawaii]

Still clear as mud as when I studied for a ham licence! But glad you're doing it as I'll try again to get a grasp on it..... I don't understand why they don't put a "W" in the triangle instead of the "I" That gets me confused. Of course, that's easy to do to me!! LOL

[@xjet]

I is the symbol for current. Don't blame me -- I didn't decide that (LOL).

[@JoseMartinez-qt8qw]

Great video. Really appreciate the time spent on tutorials. Like you said a lot of people know but for me its a new learning experience which I can use for my new hobby.

[@TruebritRacing]

Just the vid I've been waiting for, more please.

[@osiris031]

Looking forward to the videos on battery/motor/prop relationships.

[@seanjuan1973]

Great job! It's been a while since I thought about the basics, so this was a great refresher and I am sure those who didn't know before really have learned something from this. I would love to see you do one of these on capacitance, the mystery "C"... no one seems to know what C is and it would be a great way to share with them about it.

[@KhoPhi]

"I probably lost half of you" 7:45 Me: _writing notes_

[@travistreloar4103]

Yep, very good. I've stumbled onto a top channel here. Thanks mate.

[@b4566bb]

I really, really like this. Thanx Bruce!

[@garyquaresima9284]

Yes you should do more stuff on how the electronics work in rc planes.

[@ErnestShack]

I love your videos, thanks Greetings from the north of italy!

[@jetmanjo]

Great Video. A bit over my head, so I am looking forward to seeing the practical side of it with an actual battery/Motor/ESC demonstration to put all this into a physical comprehension my brain will relate to! :)

[@iamjakex]

Thanks for the basics videos, really enjoy your quick lessons as I wait for parts to come in or benefit from product reviews that you do.

[@CorrupteddSanity]

Very very very informative. Not at all difficult. I'm an accountant by profession. Thank you!

[@fett63]

Excellent idea of starting with the basics! Keep up the good work. Thanks

[@gruuthuse]

I'm wondering who in the world would give this video a thumbs down ??? i can only think of the wife that was looking up what there husband have been up to....LOL

[@rckeith]

Great stuff. I always believe if you don't know the basics your just guessing. Keep em coming even though I've know this stuff for years it always good to refresh the grey matter

[@j0nsey75]

This is a great video and what I have been looking for. Electricity/Power is the most confusing and complicated part of UAV building for me. Have you made a video that deals directly with batteries ESCs and Motors? I would love to see that one.

[@power-max]

I was wondering why this video seemed off topic then realized I read the title as RC filters lol.

[@VictoryGuitarShop]

Great lesson, keep more coming.

[@HerbsmanRevs]

Good vid Bruce, I'm looking forward to the next one. I think I've got my head round the electrical side of things, but if you have a rough guide to working out what prop RPM,dia and pitch results in what watt draw, you'd be my hero :D

[@Rcd872]

Thanks for the basics electricity video. It really helps to know this information. Do more plz.

[@lentalaga]

Thanks for this. A very helpful tutorial for us, 'the unintiated'.

[@mrcasehatter9580]

Good job now they need to see a system with a watt meter and changing props and batteries Bruce. I'd be lost without my watt meter best 25 bucks ever spent.

[@52mrdan3]

Awesome job Bruce

[@buggygarden52]

Great video. Love to see more

[@Irich1961]

Brilliant.. More of the same please Bruce..

[@snaprollinpitts]

Bruce, perhaps you could set up a motor, ESC, and battery with a watt/amp meter and change the prop and battery and show us what happens. oh and give the specs of motor to show limitations of what you can and can't do. good video, thanks mike

[@Bobmox13]

Great video Will use it to teach my kids the basic maths! See if they can grasp it!

[@fly15levy7]

I believe your instructs very good explain as your expert electricon. Android you tube has closed caption but won't provide often. I use pc or smart tv did working. Overall excellence

[@Bigmonkey410]

Thanks Bruce. Keep up the good work!

[@jaygdav]

The symbol I originates from the French term intensité de courant or in English current intensity.

[@zimmy1958]

great job Bruce Tokoroa International Model Park-supporter.

[@RChurricanes]

Great video, keep it going

[@hankus253]

Bruce I would like you to explain how putting a bigger prop on a motor "physically" increases the current flow. I understand the principles involved but I would like to see it demonstrated how increasing the load effects the motor current. It must be more than just an decrease in wire resistance because of increased wire temperature, but what?

[@charliespann3967]

Thanks a lot. Your videos are great and I've learned a lot.

[@daisy_boi2927]

Very easy to understand, keep up with videos ☺

[@TheRaptor1967]

Nice Recap. Thanks.

[@Dick.BaileyReading]

Basic, just what I needed Bruce. Will the next video show how to set about measuring ohms and amps. Again probably basic but I've never done that so I hope it will.

[@rueda82nd]

Great info Bruce, ya i was wondering if i put smaller prop on how it would effect motor or ESC

[@RCbattler]

Thanks Bruce, very helpful video!!

[@Pavelski_on]

Good video. I liked the way how you explained it. Simple to understand :) Keep going with this kind videos.

[@Glofilter]

Bruce, last example is 33 1/3 watts, not 30.

[@IgotHeliFever]

Nope you haven't lost Me cause your such an Intresting Chap I've been listening to you for Years!

[@hrvojemikulcic7074]

Good teaching with understanding

[@elsinore71]

Your videos are really useful (and good fun). They've helped me a lot. It's thumbs up and a subscription. Thanks for making them.