Forge Electronics E-ZEE ECL mini User manual

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer
The ECLm is an entry level timer that still
offers enough features to make it the ideal
choice for most ECL sports models.
Motor power and runduration are
adjustable -xed motor ramp up and down
periods, end of ight warnings and a user
selectable option of a xed 30 sec start
delay to allow solo operation are all
included as standard
Instruction videos are available on You Tube –
Video 1 Introduction https://youtu.be/SKAXKxXnsiY
Video 2 Setting Flight Duration https://youtu.be/cqKGNAaUtbc
Video 3 Setting Motor Speed https://youtu.be/CFniQuFf4Ik
Video 4 Setting Start Delay https://youtu.be/HbaTdlp2ejQ
Exclusive Stockists:-
1
Stevens AeroModel
26405 Judge Orr. Road Calhan
CO
80808
USA
719-387-4187
[email protected]
Dens Model Supplies
3Victoria&AlbertCottagesBeatrice
Avenue
East Cowes
Isle of Wight
PO32 6LN
UK
01983 294182
[email protected]

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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INTRODUCTION
Electric Control Line (ECL) is clean and quiet,
ideal for the 21st century environment. The huge
Electric RC market ensures that components such
as motors and ESC’s for Control Line are available
at very attractive prices and are totally reliable.
Battery technology has progressed such that the
weight of an electric power train can be similar or
better than conventional glow or diesel power.
World class aerobatic Control Line pilots have been quick to use the technology as it
ensures the perfect motor run every time. The competition ECL and ‘full house’ sport
timers can be too sophisticated for the needs of novice sport yers. The E-ZEE mini C/L
timer has been designed and developed as an ‘entry level’ timer so that novice sports yers
can enjoy all these advantages at a realistic price. Equally it can be of value to experienced
yers if weight and space are an issue in small C/L models.
Key Features
•Flight duration:- adjustable 10 to 300 seconds, set in 10 second and 1 minute
increments
•End of ight warnings - visual (high intensity LED) and motor power ‘burps’
•Motor power:- adjustable from zero to full throttle
•Motor soft start:- xed 1 second
•Motor run down:- xed 5 seconds
•Optional xed start delay (for solo operation) – 30 seconds
•Push button immediately stops the motor at any point during the ight prole
•Flight duration and power settings saved in memory- even with the battery dis
connected – single button push repeats previous ight.
IDENTIFICATION
AfreeightversionontheE-ZEEminitimerusesthesamePCB
so to identify the different functionalities of these PCBs the
appropriate legend on the underside of the board is marked with
ablobofyellowpaint.

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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INSTALLATION
This image shows the system
components, note that power does not
ow through the timer. The timer is fed
from BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit)
provided by the ESC and in turn sends
signals to the ESC.
So the timer can be used with any size
of motor/ESC/battery combination
subject to the following warning
The chip used in the timer has a
maximum rating of 5.5v, so ESCs with
a6vBECmustNOTbeused.
As seen above the ESC connects to the only set of pins on the
timer. Note the PCB has silk screen markings of plus, minus and
signal to assist with correctly connecting the ESC lead.
The ESC signal wiring colours are most likely to agree with the
servo wiring conventions shown in the diagram (left)
QUICK START
Having connected and checked the system components it’s time to power up and simulate
aight.Asreceivedyourtimerwillbesetasfollows:-
Motor Speed 100% (best to remove the prop before testing)
Motor Run Time 20secs
Start Delay Disabled
The following parameters are xed:-
Ramp up time 1 sec
Ramp Down Time 5sec
Ramp times are added to the Motor Run time….. so the factory settings will cause
the motor to run for 21 secs and then Ramp Down over the next 5 secs

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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Step 1: Standby Mode
Connect the battery; there is a ve second delay at power up.
Most ESC’s will enter their setup routine if they detect full throttle at start. Thus without the
enforced ve second delay, trying to start a ight immediately after power up could cause the
ESC to enter its set-up routine.
During the power up delay the LED will ash at 1 sec intervals and after 5 seconds settle in
to a continuous icker….. LED in continuous icker indicates ‘Standby Mode’
Step 2: Simulating a ight
Briey press and release the button (must be less than two seconds or the subsequent
set-up routines will be entered instead) and upon release the motor will start. The LED will
be ON at reduced brightness during the 1 second ramp up to speed. The motor will run at
full power for 20 secs and then ramp down over the next 5 secs…. the LED will ash at 1 sec
intervals for the rst 10 secs…for the last 10 secs the ash will be much longer and 3 secs
before the motor run time nishes the motor will ‘burp’ to announce end of ight is
imminent….the LED will be ON at reduced brightness during the 5 sec ramp down time. It
will be appreciated that locating the timer so that the pilot can observe the LED is a great
help to ight management.
During ight a long LED ash indicates remaining ight time is 10 secs or less
For safety the pushbutton is disabled at the end of the timed period so that an inadvertent
start will not occur on retrieval…..this situation will continue until the system is reset…. At the
end of the timed period the LED will stop ashing and remain ON permanently….LED ON
permanently indicates ‘End of Flight Mode’
The timed period may be aborted by a brief press of the button at any time and the unit
will indicate end of ight and require resetting.
Step 3: Resetting the system after a ight
To re s et t h e sy s te m p re s s an d h ol d t he b u tt o n… . th e L ED w i ll  a sh  v e ti m es a t o n e
second intervals then go ON permanently …..release the button and this will take you
back to LED in continuous icker indicates ‘Standby Mode’
The ve second manual reset is to guard against inadvertent motor start when retrieving the
model. Releasing the button before the ve seconds have elapsed will return the timer to
‘End of Flight Mode’.
Simulate a ight and reset a number of times until you are familiar with the routine and LED
indications.

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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CHANGING THE TIMER SETTINGS
The timer has two adjustable features that govern the ight and a third option to toggle the
start delay feature on/off - these are shown in the chart below:-
Features 1&2 are self-explanatory…..used frequently
Feature 3 is used to enable/disable a 30 sec delay before the motor starts…..this allows
time to walk to the handle and y solo…..used to allow solo ying
Data Input is entered by pressing the pushbutton for long or short periods.
Reporting is indicated by LED ashes ….solid for long increment….ashing for short
increment.
Feature Selection -toalteranyofthesettingsafeaturemustbeselectedrst.
The feature selection cycle
1. From standby mode hold the button down continuously
2. LED ON and
3. Two seconds later LED OFF
4. Continue to hold the button down….LED remains OFF
5. Release the pushbutton
6. LED ON but dimmer….this starts the two sec feature selection period
7. Two seconds later the LED reverts to the ‘Standby’ mode icker
In the above example because no feature was selected the timer returned to the ‘standby’
mode……try this cycle a few times to familiarise yourself to recognise the two second
‘feature selection’ period.
During the feature selection period, a feature is selected by pressing the button the same
number of times as its feature number in the table above:- ie
1Press SetMotorRunTime
2Presses SetMotorSpeed(Power)
3Presses ToggleStartDelayON/Off
The LED lights for each press and the length of time the button is held pressed is not critical.
However, each time the button is released a 2 sec timeout period commences for the user
to make further button presses as necessary to select the desired feature. These timeouts
allow the timer to ascertain when the user has nished pressing the button and move to the
next stage of adjusting the selected feature.
Feature Parameter to set Data Input &
Reporting
Increment Range
1motor run short 10 sec 10-300 secs
long 1minute
none report
2motor power short begin adjust 0-100%
long end adjust
3start delay none toggle state 0/30secs

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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SET MOTOR RUN
Go to the two sec feature selection period.
1. Select ‘motor run’ duration by making a single button press/release
2. Two secs after the button release the dimly glowing LED goes OFF to signal the start
of a two sec data entry period for setting the motor run.
3. During the data entry period short or a long button presses are made to alter the
motor run duration using the increments shown in the table.
To ma k e a long press (one minute) hold the button down until the LED stops
ashing and goes ON.
To ma k e a short press (ten seconds) release the button before the LED stops
ashing.
Short and long presses may be made in any order and the overall time is accumulated
and stored in memory.
If a motor run time relating to the number of short/long presses exceeds the feature
range then only the maximum range time setting is stored.
The chosen motor run time is saved into non-volatile memory and maintained for all
further ights until changed by the user. The duration setting is maintained even with
battery dis-connected
As before each data entry button press starts a two sec period awaiting the next data
entry button press.
Reporting
When data entry is complete, after a brief pause the LED reports the settings entered
for motor run period by a series of ashes and then by a series of ickers as follows.
•LED ON - units of one minute
•LED ickers - units of ten seconds
In the event that no button presses are made during the data entry period then the
current motor run duration is reported, as above. Reporting always shows longest settings
rst no matter in what order they were entered. The timer now reverts to standby mode. Note
that the (xed) ramp settings extend the overall running time of the motor as shown in the
diagram below :-

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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SET MOTOR POWER
This is performed with the motor running so the user must be prepared to safely restrain the
model and take care to avoid contact with the propeller at all times.
Go to the two sec feature selection period.
1. Select the ‘motor power’ setting routine by making two brisk button press/releases.
2. Two seconds after the nal button release the dimly glowing LED briey goes ON and
the prop gives a short ‘kick’ to signal that motor power can now be set. In view of the
motor potentially running up to full power during this procedure the prop ‘kick’ serves
to doubly warn the user that the power selection routine has been selected. The LED
is now dim again. When ready to commence motor power setting, press and release
the button. The motor will now slowly and repeatedly ramp up and down between zero
and full power, pausing for a second at full power to aid easy selection of the latter.
The LED slowly ashes ON/OFF during this procedure.
At the desired power level, press the button, holding it down as long as desired to
freeze the setting and verify the power selected is satisfactory. Releasing the button
then stops the motor. In the event of a rapid press/release of the button the motor
continues at the selected power for one second and then stops. The chosen power
level is saved into non-volatile memory and maintained for all further ights until
changed by the user. The power setting is maintained through any power cycles.
TOGGLE START DELAY
Each ‘toggle’ reverses the current state of the start delay – so if it is currently disabled then
‘toggling’ it will enable the start delay - and vice versa.
Go to the two sec feature selection period.
1. Toggle the ‘start delay’ by making three brisk button press/releases
2. Two seconds after the nal button release the LED briey goes OFF and the timer
then reverts to standby mode.
3. To show the changed status of the start delay, in standby the LED will icker
continuously (disabled) or in groups of three ashes(enabled)

E-ZEE ECL mini – Electric Control Line Timer Document Version: 1.03 27th Feb 2019
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SAFETY
The motor must be considered ‘live’ whenever the propulsion battery is connected. B e
careful not to inadvertently press the start button during handling the model as the prop may
begin to turn as soon as the button is pressed.
Be aware that electric motors behave differently to IC engines. With the latter your straying
ngers might get anything from a smart whack to a nasty gash depending on the size of the
engine, but nine times out of ten the engine will stop instantly. With electric motors, no matter
what the size of the motor, as long as the battery remains connected, it will attempt to turn,
and continue doing so - even if it becomes so overloaded that it melts itself, the ESC or the
battery in the process. So, an encounter with a spinning prop can result in your ngers being
continually slashed, until the power is cut. A few high-end ESCs do feature a safety cut-out
if the prop is stalled or the governed revs drop below a predetermined threshold but you
should not rely on this. YOU WERE WARNED!
Note that the blue LED used is a high brightness type to ensure good visibility
outdoors in bright sunlight. If the timer is operated in the workshop under poor
lighting conditions avoid looking directly at the LED to avoid potential damage to
your eyes.