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nerdomatic · 10-23-2015, 05:55 PM

Hello. I hope everyone is well. First, I would like to say that, while I just recently joined, I have read the most enlightening and useful things about RC tech I have yet found on this site. So I appreciate that.

I do not currently own any RC equipment of any kind. I have ordered a few things to tinker with; however, my purpose for joining is a little different. I'm an engineering student. Initially, I was studying Computer Science and Information Security. While it's a great field and in need, I can't help but be interested in hardware; namely, electronics.

I am partially disabled and this makes it a little harder for me in school as I can't do all the same tasks that some interns can. Therefore, I miss out on money making opportunities and I am stretched a little tight.

So, in order to finish school I need a scholarship. Essentially, I am taking a risk and changing my major against everyone else's advice so I can be interested by my future career.

I have a 4.0, I work hard and my competency is better than my peers; however, that isn't enough. I don't understand why, but even though my GPA is higher, and I have more letters and merits, I cannot get a scholarship based on my work. So I am going another route.

I was fortunate enough to have a chance encounter with the dean of engineering to a certain very well-known school that I wish to attend in order to pursue a Ph.D., and he made me a deal. I told him about my interests and an idea I had, and he told me if I could make it work he would give me a scholarship and I could take all the classes I wanted for free and get books too. For me, that is an amazing offer. However, I have some work to do.

I am in the process of pursuing an idea that repurposes RC equipment as a DIY replacement for certain types of highly accurate automation. It's somewhat complicated and revolves around magnetic position tracking, PWM, multiple microcontrollers, custom RTOS's, and a fair amount of custom designed electronics too. So, it's safe to say, the dean doesn't think I have a chance at that scholarship. However, I know I do if I can just iron out some things.

I am looking at the small, 3-phase, brushless AC motors that are used in a lot of RC equipment. They are quite excellent for my purposes and there are a plethora of tools and add-ons that will greatly reduce the amount of fabrication I have to do.

Unfortunately, there is caveat to the most lofty goal of my master plan: providing power. I need to get my hands on a bunch of different ESC's in order to recreate their circuitry, probe them, and observe how they are handling certain actions. So there is a potential issue.

The main reason I stopped lurking from the shadows and joined was to see if there people who had broken ESC's they would be willing to sell. I don't need nice, properly-functioning ones, I need just need quantity.

The more I have, the more I can compare power-design and see how events are handled. Also, the diversity of BEC's/UBEC's and microcontrollers is of great interest as well.

I know that most of the controllers are Atmega8's or clones; however, I would be especially interested in seeing any deviations as well. I really just need to see as many higher-amperage ESC's as I can.

So while it might sound crazy, I want to reverse-engineer the ESC's, as best I can, so that I can either use suitable ones that are modified, or use what I learn to build a custom power solution.

I hope this is allowed and isn't viewed negatively. I have to say though, looking at the RC hardware has really piqued my interest in flying machines for sure.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. Also, if you have higher amperage ESC's that are a lost cause, and want to sell them, then let me know! I need as many as I can get! Thanks

kavic5150 · 11-08-2015, 11:42 PM

Hi Nerdomatic, welcome to HF. If its busted ESC/BECs you're after, just ask. You can probably get them for next to nothing. I suggest making a thread here in the WTB section:

https://www.helifreak.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

Have you looked into hall sensors or other methods of precision outrunner motor control? I've been working on an ebike project and one of the things I'm considering is going beyond simple hall sensors and instead using either an encoding ring or maybe even absolute optical encoding.

Something like this:

http://www.electropages.com/2010/09/...tion-feedback/

Or a setup with one of these that doesnt need to be super clean:

10-23-2015, 05:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
nerdomatic Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2015	Huntsville, AL, U.S.A. - Broken ESC's? Hello. I hope everyone is well. First, I would like to say that, while I just recently joined, I have read the most enlightening and useful things about RC tech I have yet found on this site. So I appreciate that. I do not currently own any RC equipment of any kind. I have ordered a few things to tinker with; however, my purpose for joining is a little different. I'm an engineering student. Initially, I was studying Computer Science and Information Security. While it's a great field and in need, I can't help but be interested in hardware; namely, electronics. I am partially disabled and this makes it a little harder for me in school as I can't do all the same tasks that some interns can. Therefore, I miss out on money making opportunities and I am stretched a little tight. So, in order to finish school I need a scholarship. Essentially, I am taking a risk and changing my major against everyone else's advice so I can be interested by my future career. I have a 4.0, I work hard and my competency is better than my peers; however, that isn't enough. I don't understand why, but even though my GPA is higher, and I have more letters and merits, I cannot get a scholarship based on my work. So I am going another route. I was fortunate enough to have a chance encounter with the dean of engineering to a certain very well-known school that I wish to attend in order to pursue a Ph.D., and he made me a deal. I told him about my interests and an idea I had, and he told me if I could make it work he would give me a scholarship and I could take all the classes I wanted for free and get books too. For me, that is an amazing offer. However, I have some work to do. I am in the process of pursuing an idea that repurposes RC equipment as a DIY replacement for certain types of highly accurate automation. It's somewhat complicated and revolves around magnetic position tracking, PWM, multiple microcontrollers, custom RTOS's, and a fair amount of custom designed electronics too. So, it's safe to say, the dean doesn't think I have a chance at that scholarship. However, I know I do if I can just iron out some things. I am looking at the small, 3-phase, brushless AC motors that are used in a lot of RC equipment. They are quite excellent for my purposes and there are a plethora of tools and add-ons that will greatly reduce the amount of fabrication I have to do. Unfortunately, there is caveat to the most lofty goal of my master plan: providing power. I need to get my hands on a bunch of different ESC's in order to recreate their circuitry, probe them, and observe how they are handling certain actions. So there is a potential issue. The main reason I stopped lurking from the shadows and joined was to see if there people who had broken ESC's they would be willing to sell. I don't need nice, properly-functioning ones, I need just need quantity. The more I have, the more I can compare power-design and see how events are handled. Also, the diversity of BEC's/UBEC's and microcontrollers is of great interest as well. I know that most of the controllers are Atmega8's or clones; however, I would be especially interested in seeing any deviations as well. I really just need to see as many higher-amperage ESC's as I can. So while it might sound crazy, I want to reverse-engineer the ESC's, as best I can, so that I can either use suitable ones that are modified, or use what I learn to build a custom power solution. I hope this is allowed and isn't viewed negatively. I have to say though, looking at the RC hardware has really piqued my interest in flying machines for sure. Well, I hope everyone is doing well. Also, if you have higher amperage ESC's that are a lost cause, and want to sell them, then let me know! I need as many as I can get! Thanks

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11-08-2015, 11:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
kavic5150 Banned User Join Date: Jan 2010	Hi Nerdomatic, welcome to HF. If its busted ESC/BECs you're after, just ask. You can probably get them for next to nothing. I suggest making a thread here in the WTB section: https://www.helifreak.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38 Have you looked into hall sensors or other methods of precision outrunner motor control? I've been working on an ebike project and one of the things I'm considering is going beyond simple hall sensors and instead using either an encoding ring or maybe even absolute optical encoding. Something like this: http://www.electropages.com/2010/09/...tion-feedback/ Or a setup with one of these that doesnt need to be super clean:

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