New brushless ESC options

While looking for ESCs for brushless pump motors, I ran across an ESC firmware package called BLHeli. What really caught my eye was the ability to set the motor to bi-directional operation. Plus there was a pretty large list of ESCs that could be programed. So I ordered some KingKong BLHeli 12A ESCs and an Afro 12A ESC with the associated programmers to test them out. The reprogramed ESCs worked great, starting and running smoother than the Trackstar 18 ESCs that I use now.

The BLHeli package is found here: https://blhelisuite.wordpress.com/

There are two types of ESCs that can be reprogramed - those with Amtel chips and those with Silab chips.

Amtel ESC list: https://github.com/bitdump/BLHeli/raw/master/Atmel/BLHeli supported Atmel ESCs.pdf

Silab ESC list: https://github.com/bitdump/BLHeli/raw/master/SiLabs/BLHeli supported SiLabs ESCs.pdf

In addition to picking an ESC from the list, I recommend you also look for an ESC with either the BLHeli or the SimonK bootloader installed. ESCs intended for multi-copters are a good place to look for this feature. Having a bootloader means the ESC can be programed through the servo lead.

You can still reprogram ESCs without the bootloader, but it's a lot more complicated and generally involves soldering wires to several points on the ESC board.

First up, the Afro 12A opt0
This ESC comes with the SimonK bootloader installed and you can get a USB programmer for it.

A quick note: Both ESCs I bought were opto-isolated, so there is no onboard BEC. It is recommended that if the ESC has a BEC that you pull the center power wire before attempting to reprogram it, so that you don't fry the USB stick.

I opened the BLHeli software hooked up the ESC to the USB stick and applied power. Intitally I had problems getting it to connect, I think because it had the SimonK bootloader instead of the BLHeli bootloader. Finally I just selected "Flash BLHeli" and it connected and reprogrammed the ESC. From that point on it connected and updated as expected.


Screen shot of the BLHeli setup for the Afro 12A ESC

The circled parameters are mandatory settings to make the ESC work for ships. The rest of the parameters can be varied according to your individual preferences.

The first parameter is actually choosing the type of firmware to program. BLHeli has separate files for "main" "tail" and "multi". The "main" type is set up for helicopter main rotors and uses a governor mode, so we don't want than. The "tail" type is for the tail rotor and is mostly OK, but it has mode that continues running the motor after the ESC is commanded off. So pick the "multi" file when reprograming the ESC.

Next is making sure that closed loop mode is off and PWM input is off. These are specialized settings used with the multicopter controllers.

An interesting feature is the beacon. This will beep the motor if it doesn't see a signal for a certain period of time. Set the beacon strength to the maximum if you want to use this feature.

Next is the KingKong 12A ESC:


Some how I forgot to add the USB programmer for this ESC to my cart before checking out. I spent a couple of hours trying to get the Afro USB programmer to work and finally gave up. But the BLHeli has an option to use an Arduino to program with, so I grabbed a spare Mega 2560 board and hooked it up. The Arduino is programed directly from the "Make Interfaces" tab of the software. So I flashed the Arduino, connected two pins and I was in! Less than five minutes to get connected. So if you have a spare Arduino sitting around, you may just forget buying the USB adapters.

The KingKong ESC had version 13.3 of BLHeli already installed, so I updated to version 14.6 and turned on the bi-directional operation. This ESC was just a smooth in operation as the Afro.

So there's a couple of options to run your drive motors without needing to buy a car ESC. I hope this helps.

 

Once I had the first two ESCs working, I was so excited that I started looking through my ESC box for more ESCs to reprogram. Sure enough, I ran across two Turnigy Plush 18s that are listed as compatible. I originally bought these to reprogram for bi-directional operation using a different firmware. But the design had recently changed from an Amtel chip to the SiLab chip, so I was unable to reprogram them at the time.



Since these didn't have a bootloader installed, I had to reprogram them though the SiLab C2 interface. This involves finding two pads on the board and connecting to them. Fortunately, the internet provided the information I needed:



That red and white dot was what I needed to connect to. You also need to connect to the ground, but fortunately you can do that on the servo plug. Rather than trying to solder to these pads, I used a spring loaded contact that I had purchased from Adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/products/2430 Don't let the Adafruit picture fool you, these pins are only 0.040" in diameter. I glued the pins into a piece of plastic and used a crude clamping system to hold them in place.



The ESC was reprogrammed using the Arduino and works just as good as the other ESCs. So while a little more complicated, reprogramming the Silab ESCs can be done. I do recommend using the pogo pins from Adafruit if you plan to go this direction, since once setup they can be moved from ESC to ESC with little effort.

 

Nice work!

I'm curious as to what sort of settings are you looking to tweak that aren't typically accessible? aka why bother with this since there are plenty of simpler options available? ("because I can" is a perfectly valid reason as far as I'm concerned, just wasn't sure from your post if that's what this was or if you had experienced an issue and was doing this to fix it.)

 

Most of the tuning options are very similar to what is available on all but the most basic ESCs, so no point in going to the effort for that. For me there were two reasons to look into it.

First was just the availability of more ESC options to choose from, particularly in the cheap ESCs where I don't have to worry about losing one in a sink. I know some people that use the 100 amp Hobbyking Car ESC, but why buy a 100 amp ESC if all I need is a 5 amp ESC?

The second reason is good starting, good response, and smooth running. Some of the cheap ESCs really fail in this department. This software is programed for the serious multicopter user that needs instant response in all situations. You can get ESCs with programing of this quality, but I'm too cheap to buy $75 Castle Creation ESCs for each of my boats.

And yes, there is a little of "because I like to do this stuff" involved.

 

Thanks for the detailed info! This may be enough to convince me to go brushless...

 

I forgot to mention that it's confusing what file to use for the Kingkong since it isn't listed as a compatible ESC in the PDF. Fortunately the instruction sheet provides the information.