ESC question???

[FlyMike]

Not sure if this is the best section of the forum to ask this in, but my questions seems applicable.

So I have been working on a 50% scale down of the FT Tiny Trainer, kind of, its more like it was inspired by it.


Until now I have been building with larger parts. But due to the space limits of this plane I ordered a 2300kv motor, some 6" props, a 2s 1000mah lipo, and a 15a esc. Everything fits nicely. BUT when I connected everything to the receiver There was no power. After a closer look I noticed the 15a esc only had 2 wires going to the plug that connects to the receiver and not the normal 3 wires I am used to.



The 15a esc appears to not have a power wire to connect to the receiver. So can I power the receiver some other way, or modify the esc to supply power to the receiver?

Also are there different types of esc's? And why does this one only have 2 wires?

Or am I SOL and need to find a esc with 3 wires like normal?

 

[Ricci]

This is a so called opto ESC. Thst means the ESC has no BEC and will not supply the receiver wirh power. You need a separate BEC to power the receiver or a 3.7 additional battery to power the receiver.
This ESC's are normally used for multirotors.

 

[FlyMike]

This is a so called opto ESC. Thst means the ESC has no BEC and will not supply the receiver wirh power. You need a separate BEC to power the receiver or a 3.7 additional battery to power the receiver.
This ESC's are normally used for multirotors.

Yeah I had no idea there was different types of esc's. I thought there was just esc's and bec's thats it. Thanks for the info on the opto esc thing.

So this kind of stinks. There isn't really space for additional hardware like a bec (assuming its at least as big as the tiny esc I have) and keeping the plane balanced. I do have a small 800mah 1s battery, but the space for it isnt there, pluss it would add a fair amount of weight which this plane already scales in at 6.75oz fully loaded. (For a small wing it may not fly well as it is)

So I know its unsafe to connect the full power output of a 2s or 3s battery to the receiver, but I saw a few things online elsewhere suggesting using a capacitor somehow. I'm not really sure what the capacitor setup would need to look like, or if the guy was just nutz...

Or possibly using the balance port (used to power fpv hardware, but I imagine could work for a receiver). but using the balance port like this seems like it may be unsafe as it would draw additional power from one cell making the batter unbalance correct?

 

[PsyBorg]

Call support where you got the esc from and tell them you got an opto by mistake and need one with a bec. See what their exchange policy is. If not small esc's like that are reasonably cheap just order one with a bec while you are on the phone.

 

[FlyMike]

Call support where you got the esc from and tell them you got an opto by mistake and need one with a bec. See what their exchange policy is. If not small esc's like that are reasonably cheap just order one with a bec while you are on the phone.

Yeah that seems like its probably my best option. I wanted to test this plane this weekend, and I hate returning mail order stuff.

Was really hoping for a good trick or workaround lol. But at least I now know there are different types of esc's and to watch out for.

Thanks for the info

 

[ElectriSean]

What receiver are you using? Some (like Frsky) can take 2s lipo directly. Some demand 5V though, so check the rating.

 

[quorneng]

If you are into 'small' space limited planes there is no doubt an ESC with a BEC is the best way to go. After all saving weight and space was after all why BECs we created originally.
Don't forget that with everything tightly packed you do have to consider how to dissipate the heat generated.