"Robert:  Yes the switchover will be automatic.  You could use diodes on the input if you are paranoid, the voltage drop there will not make any difference to the outputs and that will absolutely prevent a shorted (or reversed) cell from…"

"Switching regulators used to be much more noisy, but as switching speeds have gone up, the noise have dropped for a given inductor and output capacitor size.  Also, now that switching speeds are high enough the output cap can be a low esr…"

"My bad, I forgot about the minimum operating voltage.  The OKI-78SR regulators are pretty bullet proof and can be or'ed (will startup with a bias on the output).  How about just using two OKI-78SR regulators (one from each battery)…"

"I have done a board for two LTC4415s and an OKI-78SR-5.  This provides one battery input (7-36V) and one BEC input with a single BEC output.  The board is 1x1" and contains surface mount parts.  The LTC4415s are around $4 q1 and…"

"The issue with the LTC4415 is the 6v abs max on the inputs and outputs.  You are driving inductive loads (servos) with minimal clamping and filtering.  While I have not measured the BEC bus voltages I would strongly suspect that there are…"

"Using diodes will lower the BEC output voltage by the diode drop voltage (generally 0.4v or more for a low drop diode). Running BECs in parallel (with BECs that support paralleling) can provide backup power if you have a separate battery on each…"

"Consider a PCEngines Alix card http://www.pcengines.ch/.  A 2d2 with a mini-pci WiFi card runs around $130, which is a little more expensive than some of the other options, but unless you are going to purchase 100's or 1000's you will…"

"Don't confuse EIRP with actual power. You cannot cook a chicken with one watt regardless of antenna gain. The beam would have to be focused on a very small spot on the chicken to produce significant heating. With a dish the beam is never that…"

"Two possibilities: Get a 3g cellular aircard (e.g. Verizon EvDO) and do everything over IP or get a Technician Amateur radio license (assuming you are in the US). The power for a remote control link under amateur radio rules is limited to 1W (no…"