On Thursday, July 3, 2014 5:04:00 PM UTC-7, noel.wade wrote:
All -



Appreciate the suggestions and yes a bank of toggle switches would work; but would require me to monkey with the panel and the wiring, which I'm trying to avoid (its flying season!) :-)



Steve - That works and _does_ provide several benefits. But you either need to divide the load relatively evenly between your batteries, or do maths and ensure the Ah of your batteries matches the relative draw of each circuit (but then you have to remember which batteries to install where, in your glider).



The Cole-Hersee line is a bit bulky and doesn't appear to match the 6-position, 60-degree switch function of the Marquardt unit (which is OK from a functional standpoint, but means re-labelling the panel). I'll keep it in mind; but the hunt continues... :-)



--Noel

I found a near direct replacement, 4-amp, 6-position micro rotary switch that I've been using for 2 years. I looked a long time and could never find a make before break micro rotary switch. Instead I put a capacitor (several actually) and a power resistor across the circuit to keep continuity - which works well as long as the voltage isn't too low. With LiFePO4 batteries voltage drop isn't a problem. One of the positions is also battery 1+2 slaved together through a pair of power diodes so if one battery goes bad in flight it doesn't take down half my panel or the other battery (and my entire panel). Again, with LiFePO4 batteries' flat voltage curve the slight voltage drop through the power diodes isn't a problem. I never get a low battery warning now. If everything goes to hell, I saved one position on the switch for the 5 Ah SLA tail battery.