Transmitter/ESC/Motor issues

Hi guys, just reposting this as separate as I haven’t found a solution to this weird problem yet:

Here’s a link to a couple of test videos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CB-_pG__UBO_RJ41EyNbDnK7AVm69zfy/view?usp=sharing

and showing the throttle: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DRGNKPxEf_X9hHaqEyQooBkAwu56cTn3/view?usp=drive_link

I hope you can see in the second, but as I push the throttle up on my remote, the brushless motor kind of cuts out and then slows down back to the minimum speed.

When I go full throttle, all the way to the top, the same thing happens, and the same happens without the blade attached to the motor

Is this an ESC, motor or transmitter problem, and how do I go about fixing it? Unfortunately, I don’t have any replacement motors/ESCs to test against. If this is an ESC / motor problem, then please bear in mind these components are about 2-3 years old, and were just sitting in a cupboard.

Cheers guys,
Ollie

P.S how the heck do I sign up for Infosec? I can’t find a link for a google form anywhere lol

I’m thinking battery to be fair. Whenever I’ve had that throttle loss on a spinner it’s normally been because I’ve been flying too close to the sun with regards to discharge rates and current draw. It’s an abnormally large load for the motor.

Have you got a bigger pack that you could test that theory on?

Otherwise it’s going to be the ESC trying to save itself from a current draw or spike. If it’s a bheli or similar programmable one you should be able to link it up to a laptop and turn off the boring safety features that stop it from having too much fun.

Do you have a smoothing cap on the ESC? Could be a little spike that is causing a mini brown out which then needs the throttle reset before it goes.

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Likely a battery issue. Had this a couple of times with previous large horizontals & switching to a higher C rating has helped significantly with the brownout problems previously had.

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Hi guys, thanks a bunch for the help - I’ve just gone and tested it with a larger 35C battery (compared to the 20Cs that I’ve currently got) and the exact same thing has happened unfortunately.

Is it worth getting a battery with an even higher C rating and testing that as well?

Also the esc is a bheli, so I’m going to go buy an arduino and try pissing around with the settings.

And finally what is a smoothing cap and how do I get rid of it/stop it from making my motor act funny?

Cheers,

Ollie

Given you said it still happens without the bar attached, it probably isn’t a current draw issue, so a bigger battery probably wouldn’t help, nor would a smoothing capacitor.

If it was a current draw issue, you would want to add a smoothing capacitor. Most small ESCs don’t have them. It’s a largeish electrolytic capacitor wired across the positive and negative terminals. It smooths out sudden changes in current draw.

Your video showing the transmitter throttle is private, so I can’t see what’s going on there. I would guess the issue is throttle calibration though, or (assuming you’re using one) having the Malenki in servo extender mode.

Thanks a bunch for your help - I’m not using a malenki, just the normal brushless ESC on the website, with two red ESCs for the drive motors.

In terms of throttle calibration, what sort of settings should I mess around with in the transmitter settings?

Here’s a link to the throttle video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DRGNKPxEf_X9hHaqEyQooBkAwu56cTn3/view?usp=sharing

Hope that’s helpful,

Cheers,
Ollie

Throttle calibration is on the ESC, not the transmitter. It’s telling the ESC what the minimum and maximum throttle signals are.

  1. Make sure your robot and transmitter are both turned off.
  2. Remove your weapon bar from the motor, in case it spins up during calibration.
  3. Turn on the transmitter.
  4. Push the throttle stick up to full throttle.
  5. Turn on the robot. The ESC should play a little tune, instead of the normal few beeps.
  6. Bring the throttle stick back down. The ESC should then be calibrated correctly.

Hopefully that fixes your issue

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Yep, this worked a charm, even with my smaller C rated batteries - thanks a bunch!