Mode Zero

Brilliant!
Maybe I can get one made here. Never tried before, but it must be doable.

@bluejets, I found this device on a local electronics supplier site. Seems to me like this could work? What do you think?
Thanks.

If you particularly want to DIY thats great Ian, but its cheaper to buy than to make, this is why I stopped doing escapement switchers:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006707517189.html
If you look at the 'related items' below you'll see a wide choice of low-cost on-board glow drivers

PS re your question immediately above Ian, no, thats just an electronic on/off switch controlled by a button or logic input,
its not controlled by an R/C channel

IanH wrote: 03 Jul 2024, 04:51 Brilliant!
Maybe I can get one made here. Never tried before, but it must be doable.

Possibly but not at the cost I mentioned earlier.

IanH wrote: 03 Jul 2024, 06:15 @bluejets, I found this device on a local electronics supplier site. Seems to me like this could work? What do you think?
Thanks.

As far as I can see it's basically a manual mosfet switch, nothing like the rc controlled unit I showed.

I've used the rexel ones in the past., good units. Once you add in the cost of the switch, leads etc, it doesn't make sense going the DIY route. That's unless you really want to.

No worries...I won't bother with the rest of it then.

I'm all for DIY Jeff as you know, thats why I offered Ian a pre-programmed PIC FoC,
but in his opening post Ian suggested that cost was a limiting factor, hence the suggestions
for cheaper alternatives. I'm always keen to see DIY projects so please continue and I'm
sorry if the suggestions came across as a put down, that wasnt the intention.
Cheers
Phil

Had a look to see if there were any PCB makers here. Found one, but it seems their prices start at $86 for one board! Fifteen bucks for twenty sounds like a much better deal.
I understand the problem with the pololu switch. I was thinking that, since the output from a receiver channel is kinda like a PWM signal (that can vary voltage) it might work. Tried measuring the voltage of the throttle channel and it ranged from 2.3v to 4.6v, so the theory works, but of course it couldn't control the pololu switch which requires 0v to >1v.
So it seems bluejets solution is the best.

PS @phil_g, checked out the link you posted to the item on aliexpress. Looks good but I've been burned on aliexpress before (ordered a pair of guitar pickups, turned out to be one pickup) It has a reputation of being a haven for scammers and ripoffs so I'm wary of wasting more money buying stuff there.

Hi Ian,l
Just to show the other side of the coin I've ordered well over 100 items from AliExpress now, with no issues whatsoever and never been scammed but you need to be careful when placing orders. I've clicked what I thought was say 2 items but when going through the purchase process it defaulted back to 1 in the shopping cart and I needed to adjust the quantity. I could have easily missed it.
I've saved hundreds of pounds, found it a good place to shop and can't fault it so far but I'm sure there are some sellers that are not great just like all the common on-line sales outlets.
Latest purchase was a Toolkit RC charger. £85.00 in the UK, £38.00 from AliExpress.

Cheers

Shaun

"Had a look to see if there were any PCB makers here. Found one, but it seems their prices start at $86 for one board"

Where did you look?

Try JLCPCB.com, it'll cost you $2 + about $4 shipping for 5 boards under 100mm x 100mm. It'll take about 15 days to arrive.

It seems to me you are trying to re-invent the wheel here. An on board glow system doesn't need to be cutting edge to deliver the maximum power to the plug that it can withstand, it only needs to keep the element warm. We have used nicad batteries for years to deliver 1.2V and that is ample for an on-board glow system. If there is no other power regulation to be done a simple Rx controlled switch will do the job (or a microswitch on the throttle servo for the luddites), they are cheap as chips to buy and simple to make if DiY is your thing (I have a dusty old draw full of them).

The RCEXL driver is also excellent if you must use a lipo.

In my experience aliexpress is no more a haven for scammers than ebay, amazon, etsy, banggood, temu or any other on-line selling agency (ok.. perhaps banggood isn't an agency but they are still capable of ripping you off).

The way things are going you might well not have the option of buying from China soon anyway.