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Built in ESC or 4-in-1
#1
I've seen a few motors with ESCs built in and also some 4 in 1 ESCs. Very enticing to achieve a super clean build!

Any thoughts on which would be better to go with? I get the limitations of no longer having the flexibility to have modular parts, especially when either the ESC or motor breaks.
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#2
I would still rather keep all of the parts modular. It may not make such a clean build, but for me in the long run it would save money rather than having to replace an esc and motor when only 1 is actually broken.

Just my thoughts on this. Smile
lol FPV
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#3
I agree with lolfpv.. Especially with mini quad we crash and break things so often it gets expensive to replace everything everytime lol

Also it makes upgrade cheaper, if there is just new motors or ESC's you want to swap out
Don't be a LOS'er, be an FPV'er :)  My Gear - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
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#4
I can see a 4in1 ESC being useful on a 120/130 size quad where the arms are quite narrow and a normal ESC won't fit.
Current quad: ZMR 250 / DYS SE2205 / Littlebee 20A ESCs / Drone Lab 1500 4S / Naze32 Rev5 / BF 2.7.1
FPV: Runcam Skyplus / Aomway 200mw VTX / Fatshark DomV1
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#5
Hi,
I have a question. Is it possible to use a PDB that have a 12v and 5v for the VTX and camera with an 4 in 1 ESC?
If so, is the follwing setup will work:
1. The battery plug is on the 4 in 1 so I will connect 2 wires, the positive and negative from the ESC to the PDB, at the same place where I will normally plug the battery on the PDB.
2 Now from the PDB I use the 5V output to connect the FC and the camera and I use the 12V output to connect the VTX
3. I will connect the signal wires from the 4 in 1 ESC to the FC.
I hope my question is clear Smile
Thanks a lot for your help!
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#6
(08-Mar-2017, 07:47 PM)Mydall Wrote: Hi,
I have a question. Is it possible to use a PDB that have a 12v and 5v for the VTX and camera with an 4 in 1 ESC?
If so, is the follwing setup will work:
1. The battery plug is on the 4 in 1 so I will connect 2 wires, the positive and negative from the ESC to the PDB, at the same place where I will normally plug the battery on the PDB.
2 Now from the PDB I use the 5V output to connect the FC and the camera and I use the 12V output to connect the VTX
3. I will connect the signal wires from the 4 in 1 ESC to the FC.
I hope my question is clear Smile
Thanks a lot for your help!

yes that should work, you only need to connect the +/- between PDB and 4in1 ESC.

1. Each ESC outlets on the PDB is only designed to carry 1/4 of the current capacity, so really you want to connect all 4 + and 4 - to the power of the 4in1 ESC... or directly from the input of the PDB to the input of the ESC.

the rest looks fine.
Don't be a LOS'er, be an FPV'er :)  My Gear - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
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#7
Hey Oscar,

What would you think of this setup?

QAV-Skitzo Dark Matter
Betaflight F3 Flight Controller
Cicada 4in1 BLHeli S 30a 2-6s ESC
Xnova Hyper Racing 2205/2300kv motors

I'm thinking it'll be a clean build and if I use bullet connectors on the arms the replacement factor will be simple.

Gee
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#8
(10-Mar-2017, 08:34 PM)Gee4ZFPV Wrote: Hey Oscar,

What would you think of this setup?

QAV-Skitzo Dark Matter
Betaflight F3 Flight Controller
Cicada 4in1 BLHeli S 30a 2-6s ESC
Xnova Hyper Racing 2205/2300kv motors

I'm thinking it'll be a clean build and if I use bullet connectors on the arms the replacement factor will be simple.

Gee

I personally wouldn't use FC with integrated PDB with 4in1 ESC, kind of counter productive... I would probably use standalone ESC with that FC Smile
and just direct solder them... I really don't see how often you would replace motors... bullet connectors are too heavy Smile probably adds 20g extra to your build.. direct solder is clean too
Don't be a LOS'er, be an FPV'er :)  My Gear - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
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#9
Hi,
I have a question about the Racestar 4in1 6A ESC with a 5V BEC. I use it to build a TomoQuads XBL117. I have connected the black and the red one from the ESC to power up the Piko BLX FC. It's seems to works fine but when I connect my TX03 camera, my smoke stopper light up and it's seems that the TX03 don't wok properly.

Is it normal? Will be better to connect the FC with wires direct from the battery?

Thanks a lot!
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#10
(23-Apr-2017, 06:40 PM)Mydall Wrote: Hi,
I have a question about the Racestar 4in1 6A ESC with a 5V BEC. I use it to build a TomoQuads XBL117. I have connected the black and the red one from the ESC to power up the Piko BLX FC. It's seems to works fine but when I connect my TX03 camera, my smoke stopper light up and it's seems that the TX03 don't wok properly.

Is it normal? Will be better to connect the FC with wires direct from the battery?

Thanks a lot!

The 5V BEC on the racerstar 4-in-1 can only supply 500ma.  The camera alone can take up to 510ma in 25W mode, so yes, you are probably overloading the BEC.  Be aware however that the Video+ connector on the Piko BLX is at VBat voltage (or BEC voltage in your case).  You will probably want to wire your battery directly to the Piko.  WARNING: if you are planning on flying with 2s, that will exceed the voltage of the TX03 (max 5.5V) - in that case you will need a step down regulator.  I know this because I had to do that with my Piko BLX on 2s with a Boldclash Cam.
If you are powering from 1s you should be fine.
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#11
(23-Apr-2017, 07:09 PM)sloscotty Wrote: The 5V BEC on the racerstar 4-in-1 can only supply 500ma.  The camera alone can take up to 510ma in 25W mode, so yes, you are probably overloading the BEC.  Be aware however that the Video+ connector on the Piko BLX is at VBat voltage (or BEC voltage in your case).  You will probably want to wire your battery directly to the Piko.  WARNING: if you are planning on flying with 2s, that will exceed the voltage of the TX03 (max 5.5V) - in that case you will need a step down regulator.  I know this because I had to do that with my Piko BLX on 2s with a Boldclash Cam.
If you are powering from 1s you should be fine.

Thanks for the info slscotty!
Another question about the VBat. How do I made the wire connections so I can use it?
Do I have to connect the VBat spot with the positive of my battery?
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#12
(27-Apr-2017, 04:30 PM)Mydall Wrote: Thanks for the info slscotty!
Another question about the VBat. How do I made the wire connections so I can use it?
Do I have to connect the VBat spot with the positive of my battery?

You should connect the main power leads from the esc to Bat+ and Bat- on the Piko.  (I used individual escs, so I am using the built-in PDB on the Piko, so I didn't need to do this.)  If you do this, you should leave out the BEC wire and just run signal wires from the esc.  You can run the battery pigtail from the Piko, and then wire the ESC mains to the same spot (I couldn't find a picture of this way), OR you can put the battery connector on the ESC mains, and run same gauge wire to the Bat+ and Bat- on the Piko, like in the photo below.

[Image: 14dfd9b89be5c59da445bcf062bc1cc4bc1e113d_1_500x500.JPG]

(photo courtesy of micro-motor- warehouse)
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#13
(27-Apr-2017, 05:01 PM)sloscotty Wrote: OR you can put the battery connector on the ESC mains, and run same gauge wire to the Bat+ and Bat- on the Piko

There is no need to run thick wires like that to the Piko if it won't be supplying power to the ESC. You can quite happily connect from the 4-in-1 to the Piko with 28AWG as the amount of current those wires need to handle will be far less than 500mA.
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#14
(27-Apr-2017, 05:58 PM)unseen Wrote: There is no need to run thick wires like that to the Piko if it won't be supplying power to the ESC. You can quite happily connect from the 4-in-1 to the Piko with 28AWG as the amount of current those wires need to handle will be far less than 500mA.

Could be more than 500mA with the TX03 camera tapped off the FC (especially if running more than 25mW) - that's what originated this.
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#15
(27-Apr-2017, 06:15 PM)sloscotty Wrote: Could be more than 500mA with the TX03 camera tapped off the FC (especially if running more than 25mW) - that's what originated this.

28AWG is rated for 1.4A and that short length will handle 2A without problems. There's simply no need to use wires that thick when they won't be carrying any significant current.
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