550 ESC up in smoke :(

[ghost2212]

is this a result of me doing something stupid?

i unplugged one of the motor cables so it couldn't spin up, am I supposed to make sure I disconnect them all?

i do the same on all my smaller models and have never seen anything like this happen....

If you only disconnected one then it maybe the cause, This means that current can only through two of the windings I believe. You would still need to apply throttle so the ESC tried to do something though. Did the motor move at all?

Steve? Am I right in what I'm saying?

[ghost2212]

Yeah - I was just pointing out that Align use the Talon now. I think it all boils down to choice. Some people think I'm skimping and being cheap for not forking out for a Kontronic to power my Goblin. Personally, I think the CC Talon is fine for it and a fraction of the cost. I would have second thoughts though about a YEP/Hobbyking product - no justifiable reason why - just me!

You pay your money and you take your choice I guess! Personally I would go with the Castle, but a lot of that is to do with the fact that I now know it.

Yeh i knew about the Talon but was putting the YEP forward as a cheaper option that should also work equally well, They are actually a clone of YGE so decent hardware and software design but at a much lower price. My Friend has the 80A one on his 500 and it works brilliant, The Governor holds very well and it doesn't get very warm at all.

I've got the 120HV model to put on the 700 that I'm getting soon.

[RcRotaryMadness]

this is why i run a seperate lipo for the rx and hv servos etc... if the esc fails then it all should be ok

[Pod]

I had my Align 70A go on my 550 yesterday too..

Its 11 months old with only 60 flights on it. On an inverted pass less than a minute into the V3 test flight it all went quiet..... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> THUD!

It has taken out the 3GX and the DS620 tail servo with it. The motor is being looked at as well now.

That is £200 to start with..

[bulldog5046]

Well, on the bright side the 3gx, servos and receiver all seem to be working fine.

I think I'm just going to have to shelf this one for awhile, already spent £450ish this month on it.

[xygax]

in theroy removing a single motor wire will make it so it cant spin up. in practice remove two. then it cant pass any current either... if it pops then its a design fault caused by shoot through / overlapping upper / lower drive pulses or not providing suffucent current to turn off the fets in good time (most likely)

Steve

[bulldog5046]

This Talon 90 ESC, do you have to buy the USB kit aswell? or the programming card i guess?

[tomatwalden]

You don't have to - you can program it "old style" via the transmitter if you want. However, it is *ALOT* easier with the GUI on your laptop PC! It's a free download, but you do need the USB kit or programming card (the programming card allows connection to a PC to - and comes with the USB cable).

Personally, I bought the programming card too and used my PC to set it up. (EDIT : that is to say, if you get the programming card, you don't need the USB kit too - it's one or the other)

The software is a doddle, and has a demo-mode too so you can learn it without mucking up your ESC

If you do get the Talon - make sure you get the "Align version" which has 4mm bullet connectors, which I believe should be compatible with your motor without requiring any re-soldering.

[tomatwalden]

I had my Align 70A go on my 550 yesterday too..

Its 11 months old with only 60 flights on it. On an inverted pass less than a minute into the V3 test flight it all went quiet..... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> THUD!

It has taken out the 3GX and the DS620 tail servo with it. The motor is being looked at as well now.

That is £200 to start with..

Lot's of 3GX's seem to pop up for sale here - usually around the £50 to £60 mark (BNIB most of the time). People keep swapping them for AR7200BX's.

[Si Goodchild]

Surely this isn't an expensive fix. Mate, get yourself a 100Amp hobbyking ESC for a few quid. For peace of mind you can choose to disconnect the red wire on the throttle servo-lead to inhibit the BEC (don't bother if it's an opto or no-BEC ESC) and get yourself a 1300mah LiFe pack to run the rx (good for 4-5 flights easy). The spool-up may be a bit rough but you can always give the head a gentle shove in the right direction to take the jerk away from the maingear (I have to do this with my Raptor 90E with a £200 Scorpion ESC!).

If money is tight, there's no reason not to fly in my opinion and it seems a pity to shelve a really good heli just because of one bad experience. The 550 is great!

why not try the following (both in the UK so quick and cheap postage):

Hobbyking YEP 100A (2~6S) SBEC Brushless Speed Controller (UK Warehouse)
or
Turnigy dlux 100A SBEC Brushless Speed Controller w/Data Logging (UK Warehouse)

[bulldog5046]

I really don't know what to go for. This morning i was pretty set on ordering the Talon 90, but where ever i look there are stories of people frying their electrics with any of the ESC's with internal BEC.

It's tempting to get a receiver battery to run seperately, do you need a BEC if you use a seperate 6.6v LiFePo4 battery?

And, is LiFePo4 the same as LiFe? not sure if my charger supports it or not....

Does it get teedious having to charge a receiver battery aswell?

[tomatwalden]

I really don't know what to go for. This morning i was pretty set on ordering the Talon 90, but where ever i look there are stories of people frying their electrics with any of the ESC's with internal BEC.

And frankly I think that's a good call (obviously, it's what I use!). The BEC is huge (9A cont/20A peak) and it's what Align are using now for this bird.

It's tempting to get a receiver battery to run seperately, do you need a BEC if you use a seperate 6.6v LiFePo4 battery?

No - the purpose of a Battery Eliminating Circuit is that it eliminates the need for a separate battery! If you have a separate RX battery, by definition you don't need a BEC. Although you might need a voltage regulator, but not sure on that one.

Does it get teedious having to charge a receiver battery aswell?

I'm sure it does - and there's always the risk you'll have a crash because you forgot to check the voltage on the RX pack. Fundamentally, there's no "right answer" on this - just what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I choose to use an ESC with an internal BEC. I've thought about a discrete BEC, but ultimately I prefer the simplicity/neatness of the internal route.

I am thinking about a Scorpion backup guard though for the Goblin, but not decided yet on that.

[ianmat]

Unplugging only one of the motor wires will short out the speed controller, I learnt this the hard way with my first electric heli. I'm not an electrical engineer but I think it had something to do with overcurrent in a single phase. You have to remove 2 of the wires from the motor to avoid killing the speed controller.

[bulldog5046]

Life without the internet and forums would be so much easier, you'd just buy what tom, dick or harry recommended. Although sadly it would also mean i wouldnt have a job.

It seems crazy my little 450 that cost's a fraction of the price of the 550 is flawless and runs a cheapo hobbyking underrated ESC but on a more expensive ESC they suffer with what appear to be getting the basics right.

If i spend £75 on the Talon and it fried everything i'd be pretty f*ing angry about it.

If i spend £50 with HK on the YEP and a receiver battery i'd be a bit less upset if the ESC failed but still had radio, but i have to contend with charging an extra pack.

Charge time for a 1700mah 6.6v pack @ 6amps would only be a few minutes wouldnt it?

Despite the obvious advantage of going with the YEP and seperate battery i'm still leaning towards the Talon for convenience, just don't want to get burnt....

[tomatwalden]

Unfortunately, I think you've got to accept that the burnout was possibly your mistake by only unplugging one motor wire. Before I bought the Talon, I read as much as I could find on here, and on helifreak for views/reviews etc. It seems Castle had some bad press due to early problems with their "ICE" range, though concensus of opinion seems to be that the Talon is a solid product - hence why I'm betting my Goblin on it!

1700mah pack at 6amps would be a 3.5C charge rate, so not something you'd want to do regularly I'd have thought. 1C is my normal charge rate (1.7 amps in this example).