Linear, Switching & Opto

[jimbo385]

Can someone please explain what the difference is between ESCs that have linear and Switching BEC? I understand that Opto has not BEC.

What';s better for us Multirotor peeps?

Thanks.

[guest325]

Have a look here:
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/info/bec

[teslahed]

A linear BEC wont produce interference but will produce heat, especially if you try and draw too much current.

A switching BEC is much more efficient but you may want a low pass filter on the output because they can produce small amounts of noise which can affect things.

If the BEC is built into an ESC a linear BEC will mean that ESC will heat up more. If you draw too much current that ESC will fail first.

If you use more than 1 switching BEC at the same time you may get interference issues so it';s best to only use 1. This is why people often remove the red wire from 3 of their 4 ESCs if they know they include switching BECs.

If you have a small quadcopter without any extras you can use the BEC built into one of your ESCs without overtaxing it. If you have a larger quadcopter you will want to use a separate BEC which will most likely be a switching BEC, possibly with a filter.