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If you've been thinking about buying a Throttle Jockey Pro governor this new product may convince you to do it now. The new Auto-Glow is an onboard glow plug starter. The BIG difference in this one is it connects to the Throttle Jockey Pro governor and monitors throttle position and torque loading. |
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The photo above shows the size of the 1400mah NiCad battery and the PCB.
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This is the Auto-Glow Controller, the screws on the top simply hold down the wires inserted below in the terminal. The IC and PCB are wrapped in clear heatshrink.
There is an LED on this module that indicates power being sent to the glow plug. The heavy red wire goes to the coil on the glow plug and the heavy black wire goes to the engine mounting bolt. The glow plug cap is a spring locking type that works very well, just be careful not to pull to hard on the wire as I have seen this type break if you yank it too hard. |
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This unit provides convenient startup operations, you no longer need a glow plug igniter, the unit will only operate when the throttle is below 1/4 stick. This feature will prevent a hot start which I think makes it worth the money just for that feature. But it does a lot more than simply preventing hot starts. It automatically heats the plug for startup, just turn on your transmitter then the heli and hit the starter. The Auto-Glow gets it's commands from the Throttle Jockey Pro which is monitoring throttle position. The Auto-Glow will keep heat on your plug while it's idling, no longer will you worry about a slightly rich lowend carb setting that tends to kill the engine just when you're walking out to the flightline. Another benefit I see is during AutoRotations. I like the added piece of mind this device provides knowing my chances of my engine dying when I hit Throttle Hold is greatly reduced as the plug will have heat helping it maintain an idle without flaming out. Paul Beard, the genius behind all the fine products at ModelAvionics didn't stop there. Because the Auto-Glow is conneted and controlled by the Throttle Jockey Pro he's been able to come up with a slick feature that is totally unique to this product. The governor senses when the engine begins to bog down, it monitors the difference in actual and desired headspeed and if the range exceeds 100 RPM it begins to apply heat to the glow plug to assist in slightly hotter burning of fuel. At full power there is a lot of fuel entering the combustion chamber and it's a cooling action, applying heat during heavy loading can help the motor better burn the full when being delivered in this critical time. I charged the 1400mah Nicad with my SuperNova charger in Auto mode, it charged it with no problems. One complaint I have is the charge lead is really short. I'm going to ask Paul if he can't add another three or four inches on the lead. I'm lazy and don't want to pull the canopy to charge the unit and where I have the unit mounted it won't reach out of the Raptor 50 canopy much less any larger heli. I have mine mounted in the front of the battery, the lead going to the governor isn't real long either and you have to make a decision where you place the Auto-Glow in relation to the Throttle Jockey Pro as well. If you already own a TJ Pro, you may need to relocate it to better facilitate placement of the Auto-Glow. Keep in mind this is an electrical circuit and just for safety reasons I'd keep it as far away from my receiver and antenna as possible. Always range check your helicopter after any modifications to the electrical system. Be smart and be safe and enjoy the new technology! |
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Here's a peek at the instruction sheet and wiring diagram.
| The remote glow cap is the spring loaded type with a rubber boot to securely connect to the glow plug. The cap is connected by pulling the red wire back away from the boot. If you look down inside the boot you can see the spring and wire retracting as you pull it. |  |
Here's the Auto-Glow mounted in my Raptor 50V2.
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Here's the Throttle Jockey Pro with the Auto-Glow plugged into the Acc. Port on the far right side.
I really like the idea of the governor controlling the glow plug heat. It just makes sense and I really like the fact that Paul has on demand glow heat programmed in so it's there when you need it the most. I think this product will be a great compliment to any heli, the only thing is you have to have the Throttle Jockey Pro in order to take advantage of the features the Auto-Glow has. For more information please visit ModelAvionics website. |
Here's a shot of the Auto-Glow connected to my OS-50.
