New tinyESCs Version 3.0!
Our tinyESC v2 - the workhorse behind thousands of combat robot drivetrains since 2010 - has been upgraded! FingerTech
tinyESCs pack the most power into the smallest package! They take up very little space but can handle more than enough motor current for your robots. They are incredibly robust, with several types of protection built in.
Upgrades from v2: - Upgraded microcontroller
- Clockspeed increase (8x more responsive!) with a higher PWM motor output
- Cleaner more efficient code
- Miniature pushbutton for entering Combat-Safe Calibration (much easier to use than v2, and only active for the first 10 seconds on power-up.)
- Most importantly: A juiced up switchmode BEC that can supply 600mA to all those power hungry telemetry receivers! (v2 was limited to 100mA.)
Features: - The tinyESC is a bi-directional brushed single motor controller.
- Ultra-compact and lightweight.
- Simple to use and super robust! Undervoltage, overcurrent, overtemperature, reverse-polarity, and BEC protection.
- Internal BEC (battery eliminator circuit) provides 5V to receiver - no extra receiver battery required!
- Calibrate function allows precision driving.
- Status LEDs for power, both directions, signal loss failsafe, and calibration.
- The tinyESC includes a Battery Eliminator Circuit. If there is no 5V supply present on the robot, this will power the radio receiver from the main battery. There is a blocking diode so multiple tinyESC BECs can be run at once, along with one non-tinyESC BEC (like in a weapon motor controller).
- If you are controlling the tinyESC from a powered device (like Arduino, etc), there is no worry about damaging the tinyESC from higher voltages.
Wiring Diagram
*Includes 0.01uF capacitor. Solder it between the motor's leads to filter motor noise and voltage spikes. (Not required for FingerTech Spark motors - they are high quality and do not generate dangerous voltage spikes.)
Specifications: Battery Voltage: 6.5V - 36V
Motor Current: 1.5A continuous (forever). For robots, usable continuous current is 2.0A.
Max Current: 3A. For robots though, 5A-stall motors are easily handled by tinyESCs (see
Videos tab). You will not wreck a tinyESC by trying to pull too much current - it will simply disable its outputs temporarily.
BEC Output: 5V, 600mA. Can power other electronics like receivers and other ESCs, plus motors and servos up to a total draw of 600mA. Receivers with telemetry (such as the FS-IA6)
CAN now be run by tinyESCs without requiring a separate BEC!
Frequency: 15.6kHz (8x more responsive than v2.6's 2kHz!)
Motor is braked to stop rather than coasting. This gives precise motor control, crucial for robot drive!
Failsafe written for combat robots: Motor outputs shut off if the receiver loses signal from transmitter, and do not require restarting the ESC when signal is regained.
Available with
MiniQD Connectors installed - these clip onto motor terminals (Spark and other FK050 motors) and eliminate the need for soldering!
Motors that our customers regularly run off a single tinyESC: - 2
Gold/
Silver Sparks 16mm up to 18.5V
- 1
22mm 16:1 Planetary Gearmotor - 2 Maxons 13mm up to 18.5V
- 3 BotBitz/Pololu/Sanyo 12mm N20s
- 1 Kitbots 1000RPM 25mm up to 11.1V (needs included capacitor installed)
- 1 B16 22mm up to 11.1V (2.5A stall)
- 1 B62 22mm up to 11.1V (5A stall)
- 1 BotKits 22mm up to 11.1V (5A stall)
*Note: Multiple motors on a single tinyESC can not be independently controlled. A standard drive would require 1 ESC per side, driving 1-3 motors each.
Dimensions: Circuit board size: 1.27x1.50x0.41cm (0.50x0.59x0.16”)
Outer heatshrink size: 1.3x2.1x0.48cm (0.51x0.83x0.19”)
Wire gauge: 26AWG
Weight with wires: 4.0grams (0.14oz)
Weight without wires: 0.8grams (0.03oz) [We don't know why you would ever need weight without wires, but other companies seem to think it's a selling point, so here it is to compare with!]
Built-in Protection: Currently there are
three two known ways to destroy a tinyESC. (So avoid them!)
1) Reverse battery voltage. Not anymore!
2) Applying battery voltage to the motor outputs.
3) Voltage spikes from noisy motors (not using the included
capacitor). High-efficiency motors like Maxon brand can create voltage spikes on reversing so the capacitor is needed on those as well.
-FingerTech's "Spark" series of motors are not noisy and do not need the capacitor.
R/C Stick | Pulse Width | Motor Output | LED status |
Full Forward | 2000µs | Full Forward | Solid Green |
Forward | 1510-2000µs | Forward | Flashing Green |
Centered | 1500µs (+/-10µs deadband) | Off | Both LEDs on solid
|
Backward | 1000-1490µs | Backward | Flashing Red |
Full Backward | 1000µs | Full Backward | Solid Red |
No R/C Signal | No Pulse Stream | Off (Failsafe) | Slow Blinking Red |
V3.0 Calibration - Click the
Videos tab to watch a calibration in action.
The tinyESC comes pre-calibrated with defaults that match the 1000-1500-2000µs of most radios, but if you wish to change the limits or center position:
1) Plug tinyESC into the radio receiver.
2) Power up the tinyESC.
3) Within 10 seconds of powering up, press the Calibrate button. (A small stubby tool can help get inside the heatshrink.) The Red and Green LEDs will alternate flashing indicating you are in the calibration routine.
4) Center the transmitter trims then power it on. Move transmitter stick to high and low limits. (Or to reset to Defaults, don't move the sticks at all.)
5) Return transmitter stick to center.
6) Press the Calibrate button again to save the settings and exit the Calibration routine.
A successful calibration will flash the Green LED three times, or if the Red LED flashes three times instead it means the defaults have been restored.
The center position is now “motor off” with full forward and full reverse speeds at the upper and lower limits.
*You may calibrate multiple tinyESCs at once (as in channel mixing).
Note for Spektrum users: The Spektrum transmitters do an odd thing with their mixing. If your motors only run full speed when the stick is in a corner (meaning going straight ahead/reverse is *not* full speed), then you will want to calibrate the tinyESC just like the directions above, but make sure you only move the stick
straight up and
straight down, not moving the stick sideways at all. This will give you full speed for forward and reverse!
Is one motor faster than the other?: When calibrating the faster motor, also move the trim on the transmitter up (when you move the stick to the maximum) and down (when you move the stick to the minimum). Recenter the trim lever, center the stick and exit the calibration. This will limit the top speed of the faster motor. The goal is to match to the slower one. You may have to try different amounts of trim to get the motors to behave exactly the same.
Previous code revisions: Version 2.7: We've tracked down and squashed a bug that affected ~2% of v2.6 tinyESCs. It would sometimes cause the Calibration bits to get scrambled on powerup. We will replace any affected tinyESCs. If you have one with this issue, email us!
Version 2.6: A code re-write from the bottom up has things running faster and smoother, with a more intuitive Calibration routine.
Version 2.5 does away with the calibration header and jumper. Now, to enter the calibrate routine at any time you simply short the calibrate pads. Short them once again when you are done and the routine saves and exits!
Version 2.4 introduced backwards-polarity protection - plugging a battery in backwards will not destroy a tinyESC! There is also now protection on the 5V receiver line so that other BECs will not affect the tinyESC - no need to disconnect the red wire anymore!