Foil Drive Assist, DIY

That is a brilliant idea! Nice work. When you get a second, tell us what you have done to make the xt60 connection waterproof.
Thanks

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So your motor is cabled with two three-phase wires in parallel then ?

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Yes that is correct regarding the wiring. I used the connectors shown below. One has two wires, one connector with a single wire. I then potted the backside (where the wires are soldered) in epoxy. I use dielectric grease to help keep them water tight.

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Have you seen the bigger brothers… AS150U:

Might need to order some, thanks!

Have just tested the flycolor 80a v3. It is great. It could handle all the amps I needed.
I have it stuck on to an externalized cooling heat sink, and the esc only got warm after 20 minutes.
I am very happy with it.

I really think the 80a esc is all that I need and the 150a is unnecessary/too much.

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Interesting, thanks for reporting back.
Is this the one you bought?

FLYCOLOR ESC FLYDRAGON-Pro-80A-HV3 Brushless outrunner Motor Speed Controller For RC Airplane - 80A Drone
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtD8QfI

I only have experience with VESC so far. Do these Flycolor ESC allow to configure some settings like low voltage cutoff or max battery and motor current?

These measurements explain why the Maytech foil assist motor just can’t get running properly. The Maytech stator only measures in at 40mm.

I don’t know, 40/46 is 87% and i guess some of the cheaper 63xx motors were around that?
Could be lower grade magnets too i guess.

The extra bit might just be enough to get past the threshold needed…

Yeah, could be. But with that small diff it might be possible to fix with the right propeller, did you find time to do some trials?

Yes that is the one. you want the v3 version. It has the heat reduction programming which actually works. Unfortunately the v3 version only has timing that can be changed. It does not have low voltage cutoff or over temp cutoff. The v2 has all these features but it doesnt have the heat reduction option.
This esc doesnt get hot with the externalized cooling plate, and I know when the voltage is getting too low.

I have used the v3 now a dozen times. I have 3 flipsky vesc that i have used , all with over 100amp capacity and after all the trials/ fooling around with settings etc etc etc, I have found a Simple/Small/Able/Extremely inexpensive ESC that I Love. I will never go back to the Vesc.

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less power when you press the trigger? maybe you could have an alarm beeper on the balancing cable and you’re good to go

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I love the spec on this esc on ali:

Which motor and kV do you use it with?

I can tell I am low on power 1st I have a power meter on my controller and 2nd I notice I have to use more throttle to get up onto foil. When I can no longer get up on foil—I call it quits. The voltage is 3.4v per call at this point. I use a 10s 3p or 10s6p setup depending if I am efoiling or using as a foil assist for wing foiling. I have a 6384 motor (120kv) with foldable prop and it provides plenty of power to get up 1800cm2 foil and 85kg. I can get up on foil easily until the very end ( individ batt voltage about 3.4v ) using a 10s setup.
I love these Flycolor dragon 80a esc that cost 32$usd. I spent about 700$ so far to find that the 30$ esc is the most reliable. Hahahaha
If you are going to put your money somewhere- put it on some good 21700 batteries, not on the vesc

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Which prop are you using?

So, if it doesn’t have low voltage cut off, do you have to manually monitor voltage while riding?

I would like to warn you about the non-obvious danger when using Flycolor ESC. If you break and restore communication with the remote and you press the trigger at this moment, you can accidentally enter the programming mode. This happened to my friend - a break in communication, and then the board suddenly went in the opposite direction and did not react to the release of gas. It looked very dangerous.

thanks ! do you have a photo of your setup? 30 cells or 60 cells is quite a big box ? how agile is it ?

This might happen, but would have to be very unique situation. This is not unique to Flycolor. This could happen to all esc’s where , when initially connected and throttle is pulled and not let go , it may go into program mode. There would have to be exact timing here for this to happen. I have used esc’s for years and this has never happened. Not to say it cant.
This can happen to all non-vesc esc’s . It could happen to Hobbywing, seaking , seashark esc’s. I have all of these and they all operate the same way.
I am a promoter of the KISS principle. The vesc are not part of it. keep it simple stupid. Thats me, after a year of battling with vesc’s !!

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