FingerTech tinyESC v2

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!

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.

Features:
- Bi-directional single brushed motor controller.
- Ultra-compact and lightweight.
- Undervoltage, overcurrent, overtemp 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 both directions and calibration.

 Wiring Diagram

*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 in v2.4 and higher, 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 now no worry about damaging the tinyESC from higher voltages.
*Includes 0.01uF capacitor. Solder between motor 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.)


SERVO Magazine Reviews:
SERVO-2010-12-tinyESC-review.pdf
SERVO-2014-11-tinyESCv2.4-review.pdf

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).
BEC Output: 5V, 100mA (can run other electronics like receivers and other ESCs, but not motors or servos. Receivers with telemetry [such as the FS-IA6] require a stronger/separate BEC.)
BEC current is reduced for voltage above 8V - see graph: BEC Derating Graph.
Frequency: 1953Hz (v2.6 and above), 976Hz (v2.5 and below).
Motor is braked to stop rather than coasting. This gives precision motor control, crucial for robot drive!
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
- 2 Maxons 13mm up to 18.5V
- 3 BotBitz/Pololu/Sanyo 12mm
- 1 Kitbots 1000RPM 25mm up to 11.1V (needs capacitor)
- 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: 1.27x1.27x0.41cm (0.5x0.5x0.16”)
Outer heatshrink size: 1.35x1.85x0.48cm (0.53x0.73x0.19”) - calibration pins have been changed from male to female in v2.4 and removed entirely in v2.5 to reduce length and fragility
Wire guage: 26AWG
Weight with wires: 3.7grams (0.14oz)
Weight without wires: 0.6grams (0.02oz) [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 Spark motors are not noisy and do not need the capacitor.

Previous code revisions:
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!

R/C Stick	Arduino Pulse	Motor Output	LED status
Full Forward	2000µs	Full Forward	Solid Green
Forward	1510-2000µs	Forward	Flashing Green
Centered	1500µs (+/-10µs deadband)	Off	R2.6: Both LEDs on solid R2.5: Either LED Could Flash
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

Click the Videos tab to watch a calibration in action.
V2.6, 2.7 Calibration - 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) Briefly short the two tinyESC Calibrate pads with anything metal. A small flathead screwdriver works. Careful not to poke in too far and touch other circuit board components. After removing the short, 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) Briefly short the two tinyESC Calibrate pads 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).

V2.5 Calibration - 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) Briefly short the two tinyESC Calibrate pads with anything metal. After removing the short, the Red LED will turn on solid indicating calibration. (see image)
4) 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) Briefly short the two tinyESC Calibrate pads again to save the settings and exit the Calibration routine.
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).

V2.4 Calibration - 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 unpowered radio receiver. (Or to reset to defaults, do the following steps with the tinyESC unplugged from the receiver.)
2) Jumper the two tinyESC Calibrate pins with any piece of wire. (see image)  
3) Power up tinyESC. The green LED will go solid. If not solid, cycle power.
4) Move transmitter stick to high and low limits. (Or if resetting to defaults, skip to #6.)
5) Return transmitter stick to center.
6) Remove the jumper.
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 that motor. You may have to try different amounts of trim to get the motors to behave exactly the same.

Calibrating the tinyESC:


SparkFun has created a nice introduction video for the tinyESC:


The videos below show a tinyESC running a powerful "B62" 22mm diameter motor that draws over 5A stall at 12V.
On the left is 11.1V operation and on the right is 14.8V operation.
- At 11.1V, the tinyESC runs at full power even with over 2.3kg (5lbs) of weight on the wheel.
- At 14.8V, it takes 2.3kg (5lbs) before overcurrent protection kicks in. (Remember, that's 5lb per wheel!)

     


A quick video showing the difference between "coasting" a motor to a stop and the tinyESC's "braking" to a stop. tinyESCs give much more control when driving!

 

 tinyESC_v2.IGS