What is the difference between a ServoStation and a BEC? And what is a BEC anyway?
A BEC is a Battery Eliminator Circuit. RC vehicles typically need 5 volts to power their radio receiver and servos. Unfortunately electric motors usually require batteries that have a much higher voltage than this. A BEC solves this problem by taking the main battery voltage and regulating it down to 5 volts. This avoids the need for a second battery to power the receiver and servos, hence the name. The main advantage of a BEC is weight – batteries are an order of magnitude heavier than an equivalent BEC. Using a BEC also means one less battery to remember to charge. The ServoStation achieves the best of both worlds: it is both efficient and low noise. Most Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) come with an on-board BEC. These are linear regulators, which work by wasting the excess voltage as heat. They are only really good for small craft with small servos. The higher the main battery voltage, the more heat they must dissipate for a given output current, and the more likely they are to
