Make the Best FPV Smoke Stopper with LED Cutoff Switch
Written by Mike Lindle
What is a Smoke Stopper?
A Smoke Stopper is used to prevent Magic Smoke, a term that refers to the plume of smoke that comes out of electronic circuits resulting from over-stress. The Smoke Stopper aims to redirect the electrical current into an alternative destination, in this case, a lightbulb. The Smoke Stopper draws excess electricity off the motherboard of your quadcopter and towards the lightbulb. If the lightbulb does not light up, you’re good to go! If the lightbulb lights up, you’ll want to cut the power as fast as possible as it indicates that there’s too much electricity in your circuitry which ultimately risks smoking out your system.
In FPV, you should be soldering and building your own rigs. If you solder a wire in the wrong place or you compromise the integrity of your circuit connections you risk damaging your chipset. The Smoke Stopper is your fail-safe Hail Mary to save your chipset from blowing out, and the lightbulb offers a clear visual indicator to cut power.
Unlike a circuit breaker with fuses, the lightbulb doesn’t “blow” it just lights up a little bit. Generally, there won’t be enough electricity coming off the battery to damage the lightbulb. The cutoff switch makes it much easier to cut power than unplugging the XT60 connectors since they can be tricky to unplug quickly.
If I had this tool for my first chipset, I wouldn’t have had to buy another chipset. I blew my first board and had a smokeout. I got the plume of magic smoke and had to buy another flight controller chip.
Materials You’ll Need
- 3-Wire 90 Deg. Front and Rear Socket
https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-12589-85832.aspx?origin=keyword
- 1157 Auto Mini Light Bulb
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sylvania-1157-Long-Life-Auto-Mini-Bulbs-Pack-of-2/54633842
- Automotive Round Rocker Switch
- 12 GUAGE SILICONE WIRE
You’ll want some extra wire laying around if you plan to make a Smoke Stopper or need to repair your battery cable on the aircraft.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABOPMEI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Soldering Iron + Rosin Core Solder
If you build your own drone you will need to solder several wires in place. Plan in advance and find a few YouTube tutorials that walk you through the process. Here’s the soldering kit I’m currently using.
Soldering Iron - https://amzn.to/38hd0JB
Rosin Core Solder - https://amzn.to/2SAG4VD
- Heat Shrink Tubing
In case a wire breaks or you need to cover your receiver in tubing, you’ll want to get your hands on a variety of heat shrink tubing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFA3OFA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- 3rd Hand Tool
Perfect to hold wires up while soldering, this 3rd hand tool should not be overlooked.
- XT60 Connectors
You’ll need XT60 connectors if you plan to make a Smoke Stopper or need to repair your battery connection on the aircraft. Helpful to have more, you cannot typically find this at your average hardware store.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q2SJSZ1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Regular Flux Paste
Pick this up at your local hardware store for $3
The Build
Here are a few images during the build process! If you’re new to soldering, I’d suggest you find a few intro tutorial videos on soldering and specifically soldering XT60 connectors.
I followed the below step-by-step instructions when soldering.
This video does a great job explaining the process!
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