Welcome back aboard Ed!!!!!!

Glad to have you back😋

Hi EdW, good morning to all naval modelers.

I'm glad your surgery went well. I wish you a great recovery.
When you are in great writing shape I would love to read the article you have in mind to write.
I would also like to know your opinion on a topic we talked about in the: "Anatomy of the ESC for brushed motor ...".
A contribution of qualified information is always welcome. You can wander as you want.

https://model-boats.com/forum/132327#132619

Here is to a speedy recovery Len.

good luck with the article and recovery, Len

As you have probably noticed I have been quiet for the past few weeks, my operation has been been successful and I am back home and on the road to recovery.
As to the article, I have decided to cover the aspects of wiring design in sections as I am not up to long sessions on the computer yet. Starting with part1 next week.
This will not be a highly scientific article but merely common scenes approaches to wiring in our hobby.

Ed.
Good luck with your operation.
Speedy recovery 👍👍.
Regards
Bill.

I am busy writing the article an wiring design but I am going to be out of action for the next 2-3 weeks due to an operation. Will complete and post when I am back in action.🤞

Scratchbuilder... that was exactly my point. "Keep things simple and short." Couldn't agree with you more!

Lew
Florida ⛱️, USA

Dear All.
No playground fighting please.
Keep things simple and to the point.
Life is too short 😡👀
Regards
Bill.

I wonder if there was any confusion between brushed and brushless esc's?

I have used brushless escs but that was a few years ago and the ones I had refused to set up on a 2 channel set but would set up on a 4 channel set.

After this set up they worked OK on 2 ch. sets.(?). I decided then they were not for me and stayed with the old brushed ones.

regards
Roy

Hi Roy, I believe that all, or almost all, ESCs (let's say at least the ones I've seen) have a wired main switch that is used to turn off and on (simple On - Off).
Some (not all) have a small switch (soldered onto the board) or jumpers for functionality.
This is a "morphological" analysis of those I have seen on the market (from the bottom of my little experience in the hobby field, ahahahahah).
There are many other interesting questions like yours that I would like to ask about ESCs, but I prefer to take advantage of your expertise in an ad hoc topic, so there are no problems.
May peace and serenity reign supreme in this beautiful forum! ahahahahahaha.

If you scroll down on the advert until it says 'View more'. Go down a little more and you will see that all the wires and the switch are numbered and described.

You will know what I understood from the description of the esc.

If you wish to buy and all my ones work well, no failures, note the cost of shipping. I kept increasing the number I wanted to buy and 5 units came out as best option as the p&p does not increase.

I have run them up to 5 amps but would not trust them further!
I have at least 10 units with about half in use.

regards
Roy

Hi all and Lew the item that has excited the post was asked by a Canadian friend on the forum who specifically asked what the little switch was for and I answered.

I think if you look at the advert for the esc and how cheap they are, it will resolve others members difficulties with my answer.

regards
Roy


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005396499811.html?src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=494-037-6276&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=17866112291&albag=&trgt=&crea=en1005005396499811&netw=x&device=c&albpg=&albpd=en1005005396499811&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiApaarBhB7EiwAYiMwqtTyRKQLgVYc_nGMWvVR3ExA9z66X3BMDExKzfelnz3sk_y2QN-n2hoCuw8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=2eeb6946f1a94ac9bb15c7960fa4d4ab-1701420575876-09122-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=2eeb6946f1a94ac9bb15c7960fa4d4ab-1701420575876-09122-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=c5c003e51fb04a8aa2865c66f2f4f31e&afSmartRedirect=y

EdW, et al.

Did anyone read the original "Things that never work right" and the responses? That being said I would like to move on.

Like you, I have over 50 years experience in dealing with electronics. (I'm not going to bore you with what I did.) This has given me great insight into this hobby.

I'm glad that you are preparing to write a new thread (How To) on wiring. There are some in this hobby that should find it very helpful as well as for solving problems along that line.

Lew
Florida ☀️😎, USA

I have just charged some batteries up and powered up a boat. The small switch has no effect on switching the esc on or off!

The small esc switch in one position it had forward and reverse as expected, switched to the 'outside' positionit went forward straight away but it hesitated to go in reverse.

Which is what I have associated with the brake function on other esc's.

However after carefully switching to a lower forward speed with the small switch in the more central position it seems to alter where the neutral position is for the esc!

Further checks when at full speed by moving the switch there was a small increase in speed.

Not having a car to check braking I cannot resolve.

In my defense it was performing like some of the Viper esc's were with a hesitation to go into reverse, in fact you had pull the Tx lever down twice to get reverse.

On the small esc this must have activated the neutral and it appeared to have the same characteristics.

A puzzle as to why there would be a neutral adjustment on the esc. I know some RC sets do not have 1.5 msec as neutral which may be the reason.

I am open to any other ideas, but that can wait until tomorrow as I am off to bed!

Roy

Hi all, on my small esc there is a tiny switch on the edge of the pcb and a much bigger and thicker wired switch which turns the power on for the receiver. 2 swiches in all.

It could be we are talking about different esc's but then again how many have a tiny edge switch? The unit I have is a bare pcb with a plastic sleeve revealing the electronics beneath.

I have used this esc on a low voltage for the drive motor. I made a separate intermediate servo wire with the red wire cut and it all worked nicely.
The receiver power came from a separate 4.8 volt battery pack and I did not need the large switch to be on.

Maybe there are some crossed wires here?

regards
Roy

My “ideas” have nothing to do with ego, just sharing facts based on a degree in electrical engineering and over 50 years of experience, I normally charge for advise but here it’s free 😂😂😂

I am busy writing an article, which I will publish on a new thread, on the fundamentals of wiring design.

Abso-flippin'-lutely Rowen.👍
They're cheap n nasty, suffer from corrosion and contacts simply snapping through metal fatigue😝
Cheers, Doug😎

Suggest remove that little slide switch and put it in the bin.
They give innumerable problems once in a damp atmosphere, such as a model boat.
Replace with a good quality toggle or push switch. You will save yourself a stack of frustration

So I am "content police"? So I can't have input? I made the suggestion about answering someone's good question without going off on a bunch of ego minded ideas that blurs the original specific question.

I also suggested that a new thread be opened based on what these responses were about. Did you not notice?

Just my opinion (if you allow me to have one).

Lew
Florida ⛱️, USA

Hi everyone, I take advantage of the presence of modelers with technical skills and experiences beyond modeling (like EdW, Doug, RodC, Roy, Mike Stoney, Colin and sorry if I forgot anyone) for a question that was off topic but is now in theme.

I'm really enjoying this forum!

Do modern ESCs have any "similarities" to switching power supplies that have replaced classic linear power supplies?

Clearly they do not have the function of lowering and rectifying the voltage (from 230 AC to 6-24 DC for example).
I am referring only to the part that adopts PWM and Duty Cycle.
I am referring to the ON - OFF switching to vary the voltage, from the maximum voltage (which can be drawn from the battery) to the minimum voltage.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram and functional block diagram of a modern ESC?
I was sure (Doug confirmed this) that in the end there were power transistors to create a duty cycle proportional to the desired voltage.

Excuse my ignorance but I was a technician and therefore I cannot compete with engineers. Furthermore, my subject was electrical engineering and not electronics. Finally, a lot of time has passed.

P.S.
I had to re-edit the message for an important clarification.
My question was referring to ESCs for brushed motors.
Those for bushless motors, equally interesting, are completely different, as far as I know.

Hi Roy,
I don't know of any ESC with a slide switch to disable the Brake function.
But then I am obviously not au fait with every ESC type on God's good Earth.😉
Disabling the Brake function is a programming function on all my ESCs that have it.
Some types I believe do have switch to do that, but is a tiny DIP switch, looks like an 8 pin IC with 4 tiny white switches for mode selection. The Germans call them Mouse Pianos (Maus Klavier)😉
The switch attached to two external wires is simply the ON/OFF switch, nothing more.
Cheers, Doug😎

Hi ChrisF, you wrote:

"If posts were only limited to the very narrow specifics of the question asked then this and other forums would be very quiet and boring places!
Yes, we go off at a tangent sometimes but so what, that's how conversations and discussions go and often useful information and advice is forthcoming.
We don't need any self-appointed content police! "

I fully agree, well said.

Hi Rod,
"This tiny switch turns the esc on or off, but obviously doesnt handle full battery current."
No it doesn't Rod, it does just that, turns the ESC ON by supplying current to the signal processing chips, and thus also arms the BEC.
Only the power FET output transistors have to handle the high current to the motor(s).
Cheers, Doug😎

going off subject is just like my model boat started off with my original problem and ended up on jet flyingboats that never got past the drawing board like this one got as far as wind tunnel models

Roycv, your reply is enlightening on 2 other fronts but i was hoping that with your esc circuitry experience you could explain the function of a tiny slide switch on 28ga wires when the battery wires & the motor wires are 12-14 ga. This tiny switch turns the esc on or off, but obviously doesnt handle full battery current. What does it do within the esc??

Rod I think the tiny switch you are referring to is to to be able to program some of the functions of the ESC by turning this switch on. You really need to read the instruction on how to do this as they very from manufacturers.
This switch does not turn the brake on and off. Len

Hi Rod, esc's for cars have a regenerative braking system and this switches the function on and off.

You may have noticed that some other escs when used on model boats have a hesitation when going in reverse, this is the effect of car braking.

Hope this helps.
Roy

Roycv, I hope that you can enlighten me on one small matter about esc's. Most come with a tiny slide switch. The wires to this switch are a very small gauge and I assume that this is not a battery on off switch. What does this tiny switch actually do? What is its function? I add a higher amperage toggle switch between the battery and the ESC

I used to do a lot of hobby electronics as I was trained originally on radar equipment on aircraft. Mainly navigation gear but also how to bomb who ever was currently out of favour!

I developed and made working the first automatic water level controllers for steam powered model boats back in 1987/8.

Good fun but I find I can buy everything I need already built. I used to like building esc's.
But hardly ever bother now.
Roy

If posts were only limited to the very narrow specifics of the question asked then this and other forums would be very quiet and boring places!

Yes, we go off at a tangent sometimes but so what, that's how conversations and discussions go and often useful information and advice is forthcoming.

We don't need any self-appointed content police!

Thanks to you RodC.

I really admire people who, like you, have a thousand interests and always have an active and busy mind.
As you rightly said, your interests also have areas of overlap, points in common.
The fact that you do a lot of electronic experiments puts me in tune with you.
Even though I'm low level and often I should leave things as they are because then I break them, hahahaha.
Yet with small experiments I taught and entertained my son and this for me is a great result.

Alessandro, thank you for that, very well said. That is the perfect guiding principle. My other two Hobbies also require power connectors. Besides building and sailing model ships, I am also an Amateur Radio operator, call sign VA3ROD. Plus I do a lot of electronics experiments. Fortunately my three Hobbies overlap in some areas. I restrict my amateur radio activities to QRP which means only restricted to very low power. Although my certificate authorizes me to use 2,500 Watts I have transmitters only 5 watts and less. As a result all operations are using batteries, and although Anderson power poles and Sermos connectors are common in the hobby I find that Dean's are perfect for the low voltages and low amperages that I use almost daily.
Best 73 de Victor Alpha 3 Romeo Oscar Delta

Sorry Doug, you're absolutely right.
My typing error.
Whoever has voltage is always a socket (female connector) logically.

A slight but important correction if I may Alessandro,
"the female connector you have on the motor side"
The motor will (should!) always have the male part of the connector.
The inviolate rule is: Female on the voltage source side, Male on the load side.
The is to prevent inadvertent potentially disastrous🔥 short circuits when the load is disconnected. And for safety reasons with higher voltages.
Think of the 115 - 250V AC wall sockets in your home!!!💥

Otherwise I agree 1000% with Lew's comments👍
Cheers, Doug😎

Hi Stephen, if you have limited the problem to the connectors between the esc and the motor it is better.

Normally a connector must present a certain resistance both to be inserted and to be removed. If it "dashes" it's not good and electrical continuity is not guaranteed.
But this is a mechanical factor and can be seen immediately. A loose connector should be changed. When in doubt, it's better not to have doubts.


As for replacing the connectors, all the opinions given to you in this topic are valid.
There remain opinions and opinions that you can take into consideration, nothing has changed.
In fact, there is no rule that requires you to put a type of connector, it is not written anywhere that you have to put bullets or banana ones or deans, etc. etc.
The only rules you have to follow are Ohm's laws.
Once you have respected the current ratings for both cables and connectors, the choice is yours.
There are connectors that have greater mechanical strength, others that are soldered more easily, it is often a subjective choice.

If I may give you some advice: check that the female connector you have on the motor side has not widened too much. In this case, replacing only the male part will be useless. It might be enough to tighten it a little but that's not a given.
However, there are many methods to mechanically tighten the bullet connection.

P.S.
By typing error I wrote female connector on the motor.
As Doug rightly pointed out to me (whom I thank): on the engine the connectors are male because the female connectors (sockets and not plugs) are on the ESC and are the ones that carry voltage.

Stephen T, thanks for the update to your problem. Seems like this posting had an overkill of responding to a simple issue. All sorts of OVER analysis, voting for the best connectors, etc.

As I suspected, the bullet connectors/wires. I suggest you replace them with the gold plated ones I mentioned earlier. These are pretty reliable connectors, inexpensive, easy to install, good current carrying capability and universal. As they are found on many ESCs so you just need the male connectors for the wires to your motors. I use these on ALL my model boats - no failures.

Use decent stranded wire and good soldering techniques, especially on the motor terminals which are sometimes hard to get a good electrical connection and you should be good to go.

As for the suggestions for Tamiyas, Deans, XT60's, and all the others, I suggest a new thread "power connectors ???) instead of knocking you self out on attempting to "solve" an issue such as this.

Lew
Florida ☀️😉, USA

Ye problem was due to suspect wiring so
from esc two wires one live one nuetral 2 inch wire then two bullets then a lenghth of wire to the motor wires also short, it seems some how when the boat is running i am losing the connection have full radio but no power so can only assume one bullet isnt connecting properly hope that is clearer

After using Tamiya and Deans have settled on the XT60.
Tamiya are rubbish, hard to solder and give sporadic conductivity.
Deans hard to solder. XT 60 are not perfect but the sleeves can be extracted, soldered properly and then refitted. Also relatively compact where the XT 90 is quite bulky

Another vote for XT60 and Xt90 here. Deans were my preferred choice and are good but I'm gradually changing all to XT. As said one reason is they are easier to solder the cables in.

Hi Stephen.

I have to tell you the truth, initially I didn't understand your question, the translation didn't make the sense well.
I got my bearings (I hope correctly) thanks to the other answers.

Now you have a lot of information that I hope helps you.
It would be helpful for everyone to see the specific problem with pictures.
Insert, if you want, some photos because the problem is quite unusual and it might be interesting to understand the causes.
Then, if you want, let us know which solution you thought was best and adopted.

I use XT60’s. They have always proved very reliable. You really need a 60w soldering iron to heat the joint if using fairly heavy silicone wire though to get good solder flow.😊

Most of the answers seem to be based on battery connectors. I did not see a clarification on the location of the connector. Is it between the ESC and the motor or battery and the ESC?

Bullet connectors make pretty good contact and can carry umpteen amps. If the failing connection is between the ESC and the motor, good bullet connectors (especially gold plated) are a good choice being easy to install and good for a semi-permanent connection where they only need to be replaced on rare occasions (like motor replacement).

Tamiya connectors as used commonly on batteries but are not as good as Deans.
XT60 connectors work good. I have had issues with Tamiyas but as to change them out I would have to to a lot of work with all my batteries, mating boat connectors, and of course chargers.

Lew
Florida 🌧️☹️, USA

What about a tennis ball and a long piece of string!😊
Roy

Further to my previous post the no 7 type is the XT type

They come as XT 30, XT 60, XT 90. I believe that XT 150s are available but I have never had the requirement for current that high. If you look at the specifications you will see the current rating(30A, 60A, 90A) and the recommended conductor size.

The only criticism I have of Deans type connectors is the flat tag for attaching the wires, the XT type has solder well and being round the heat shrink looks much neater.
I am a bit of a neat freak when it comes to wiring, dates back to my training as an electronics engineer.😂

Hi Stephen.

The choice of connectors should be made in step with the conductors used, i.e. based on the current intensity they should support.

It is not advisable to use connectors that support much lower currents than the conductors to which they are applied, for obvious reasons.
In general you notice this because they are much smaller and, therefore, you would not be able to crimp them onto thicker cables. Even those who have no knowledge of electricity could understand that something is wrong.

If I remember correctly, the XT60 connector, indicated by mturpin013, is one of the best in terms of current carrying capacity.
It's a connector that I really like.
The Deans T-plug connector also has good ranges but I've never used it.

If I can, I need to find a table with the various types of connectors and the supported currents.
Now I am not able to provide you with precise data, I would risk telling you nonsense.

However, if I understand correctly, your problem is keeping the connectors from coming off.

In reality it is very strange that a connector, even a very worn one, comes off on its own because once positioned it is not subject to movement.
However, a highly bent cable may have enough twisting or bending energy to cause a loose connector to slide out.
In this case, Mike Stoney showed you the best connectors in my opinion.
In fact, the XT-60 has a very stable mechanical seal (you have to exert a certain force to remove it) but the Tamiya ones (the white ones) also have an interlocking plastic tab, which makes accidental disconnection impossible.

Both the XT-60 and the Tamiya have mandatory polarity (so once assembled correctly you will no longer be able to get the polarity wrong).
This is not necessary for the connection on permanent magnet brushed motors (because they reverse the polarity to reverse the gear) but it is certainly not prohibited.
You just have to keep in mind that ESCs on the market almost always have pre-established connectors. They usually have a Tamiya or similar with mechanically forced polarity on the input side (i.e. towards the battery) and separate, bushing connectors (e.g. GTIWUNG Banana connector) towards the motor.

Many people advise against (probably rightly) "Faston" connectors.
We are obliged to use them only for the connection with lead-acid batteries of the AGM family (e.g. 12 volt 7Ah, 6 volt 4 Ah etc. etc.) for the rest we can conveniently avoid them.

If you see that the latter are loose, tighten them (but not too much) with pliers after cleaning them.

I use deens connectors , have not had any problems with these .
Very tight to push together and pull apart.
Scamp👍

Hi Stephen

I use the no B7 but have used no B1 as well to connect my batteries to the ESC or power rail. Never had one come apart even in a crash (RC aircraft)

I apologise for the gobble de hook not sure what went wrong. 👍😂😂