Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Updated: August/19/2021
A different less Drunk tutorial can be found on Github here

Here is a video I made you can watch too, it also talks about using a flight controller to update and configure the firmware. It is where you would set your motor KV and change the startup power.
(At the moment it is outdated and shows using the power from the ST-link, Don't use power from the ST-link, they burn up too easy.)
https://i.ibb.co/7RW41HB/Screenshot-...-07-141654.jpg
Basically you can skip some of the more complicated things and do it all with just the STM32CubeProgrammer with 4wires, and the flight controller using the receiver plug and a battery.

I am basically copying these instructions from my PDF file I shared earlier in a few places. I will try to keep this post updated but if not all the files in my google drive will be the most recent.

This motor HobbyStar 2820 (3542) Brushless Outrunner Motor 1450KV
https://i.ibb.co/9ZmL54q/Screenshot-...-19-105957.jpg
works pretty good, the big downside is the 5mm shaft. so you need a 5mm pinion.
Holmes Hobbies, and Team Brood both have a wide variety of outrunners with 1/8th pinion shafts but they cost quite a bit more too.


How to program a Airbot wraith32 35A v1 ESC to run the Holmes Hobbies Revolver 1400kv or 1000kv silently.
First off a huge credit goes out to AlkaM from https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=696658 who Designed this firmware, and continues to update and improve it. I am actually older firmware here because I can’t figure the new stuff out yet.
Also Thank You to those who posted in his forums who have preceded me: MadMax, MGeo, possibly others…
The main purpose of this tutorial is to run a Holmes Hobbies Revolver with out all that noise. Other outrunner motors will probably work fine as well. I have only tested this with the 1400kv stubby revolver, and I have heard the 1800kv or higher will suffer in performance. I don’t know why, something to do with loosing torque.
The firmware I am using at the time of writing this does not have the greatest drag brake. I think its just a setting I need to find but… I haven’t found it yet… I’m hoping some one else will make me a nice firmware.bin file I had a different esc earlier that preformed better from a different version of the same opensource firmware and it ran great IMO.
I will not be covering compiling the firmware in depth, but I am using AlkaM’s firmware from here https://github.com/AlkaMotors/AM32-M...r-ESC-firmware and the target used for the wraith is MP6531. When you import it into STM32CubeIDE the project is called F051_II_bi_dir. That’s the quick version… That’s all you get…
Note, I have only tested this with the Airbot wraith32 35A v1, the Airbot wraith32 35A v1 and the 50A Airbot wraith32 Plus.
Step 1: Gather your supplies
You’re going to need a table… and an esc (probably this specific ESC), and a ST-link v2 programmer with jumper wires, a BEC or BUCK converter (to power the servo and reciever), soldering Iron with a small tip, wires, non acid flux, and a Windows 10 computer.
Recommended optional supplies –a magnifying glass, or a good zoom for your camera (because this crap is tiny!) I use open camera (for android) because it doesn’t fall asleep.
https://i.ibb.co/q9tZjhj/Wraith32-35c.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/V9h1pfK/ST-link.jpg
Step 2: Soldering- Part1
Solder Tiny wires to SWD (SWDIO), SWC (SWCLK), PWM, and - (GND, main negative power in for ESC).
Also Solder leads and a battery terminal to the (+POS - main positive power and - (- GND - main ground).
https://i.ibb.co/k0x4vfS/Wraith32-35-A.png
Tip: We need some tiny wire, I use stranded silicone 26awg wire. Its flexibility helps to keep it from tearing the tiny solder pads off.
Tip: An alternative to soldering wires to the SWD and SWC pads you can use pogo pins and just hold them in place by hand and use automatic mode when programming.
Note to self: consider updating this picture.
https://i.ibb.co/PryHxYQ/20210604-001741a.jpg

You Might as well solder the leads for the Motor and signal to the receiver now too.
Depending on how you do the wiring just make sure you send the power to the receiver without going through a bec first to lower the voltage, most receivers dont like 3s power.

Step 3: Download and install Software

STM32CubeProgrammer

We need this to disable write protection on the Option bytes, and to load the firmware. https://www.st.com/en/development-to...l#get-software
I think you need to register or something, but it's free, no credit card, just an annoyance.

Step 4: Connect ST-programmer
Relatively straight forward, make sure you got your wires in the right locations.
3 wires connect to the ST-Link, SWD (SWDIO), SWC (SWCLK), and - (GND).
For power use your battery pack connected to the battery plug on the esc.
It is better to not use the power from the ST-Link as its too easy to kill the ST-links if you are not careful.
Check your wires again, seriously, just do it! Especially the power wire.
Connect the ST-Link to your computer.
(Removed) Step 5: Unlocking something w/ OpenOCD
I am not 100% sure this step is necessary but were doing it because we went through a lot of work installing the software for it already.

Turns out it wasn't necessary...

Step 6: STM32CubeProgrammer

With your ESC and ST-Link connected open STM32CubeProgrammer and click the green connect button in the upper right corner.
1.Click on OB (Option bytes)
2.Select “Read Out Protection” and Set to AA
3.Select “Write Protection” and check all the empty boxes, scroll through, get them all and clickapply.
4.Now do a full chip memory erase
https://i.ibb.co/R3M3tJZ/read-out-prot.jpg
Oh I never told you to download the firmware.bin file… You also will need the interwebs, you probably have that if your made it this far, and the table is probably optional… Download the wraith_crawler_full_x.xx.bin file from (It is just a .bin file It could be called anything.bin) https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...cL?usp=sharing
5.Select Erasing & Programming from the left
6.Browse for the firmware you just downloaded
7.Set the start address to 0x08000000 if it isn’t already
Info: if you have already uploaded a full file you can upload a part file at 0x08008000, the part files do not contain the bootloader. Part files are better uploaded from the configurator though.
8.Check the verify programming box if it isn’t already
9.And start programming (we are not going to do actual programming, were just loading some firmware, get a hold of yourself man!)
10.Unplug the ST-link from the esc and computer, Leaving it plugged in to the PC causes them to overheat.
https://i.ibb.co/0mJwzzL/cube2.jpg
Tip: You only need to upload the bootloader with the ST-link, these can be downloaded here too - Bootloaders - Next in the configurator you can upload the firmware and then click load default settings to install the EEPROM.
Step 7: Optional Testing
This probably shouldn’t be optional, but I don’t feel like explaining how to connect all your receivers, motors and batteries. I mean really if you made it this far, consider your self a pro! You can do this!
Step 8: Unsolder and Resolder
Unsolder all these wires and pins
As usual you need to solder the positive and negative battery leads on the 2 tab side.
The motor wires go to the 3 tab side (if the motor is going the wrong direction swap any 2 of these wires)
This esc was not designed to power a servo, so only run the ground and PWM to your receiver
Connect all this to your RC car
That’s about it…
If everthing went acording to plan, you should end up with something that looks like this.
https://i.ibb.co/wWnTmkD/20201006-000622-1.jpg

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Creating a PC Link to AM32 using an Arduino.

I use the cheapest Arduino Nano's that I can find. They use the a ATmega328P chip but other chips also may work with Method 1. For example these amazon recommended ones will work fine.. You can also find Nano's with different USB plug types that suit your preference, they all work the same.

You want to connect the Signal/PWM from the ESC the pin D3 on the Arduino Nano and Ground to Ground (I know they call it one wire but there are 2 ��

https://i.ibb.co/7NFNgqv/20210526-111526.jpg

Note: Some of these cheap Arduino Nano's come with a different (Older) bootloader, but its no big deal, both of these methods will work with either bootloader.

Here are 2 ways to create an Arduino pc link.

Method 1 is probably the easiest way

Method 1 using BLHeli32 software

First go to https://www.mediafire.com/folder/dx6...4l/BLHeliSuite to download the BLHeliSuite software for your OS and then install it.

1) After installation is complete open the BLHeliSuite software and navigate to the Tab labeled "Make interfaces"

2) Plug in your Arduino, check to make sure that it shows up in your computer ports and select it.

3) Select your board from the dropdown list, The Arduino Nano may be "Nano w/ ATmega328 (new Bootloader)" or "Nano w/ ATmega328 (old Bootloader)"

4) Select Arduino BLHheli Bootloader to create a one wire interface.

5) Double check that your settings are all correct and click the button labeled "Arduino BLHeli Bootloader" and click confirm to program your Arduino.

https://i.ibb.co/dfYYVbS/Arduino-Interface.jpg

Method 2 using Arduino IDE

Learning to use an Arduino is fun and challenging. I highly recommend using Arduino IDE to get your feet wet in the programming world.
Here is a link to the BLHheli 1wire code that you can upload to your Arduino AM32pin3Link.ino.

This is slightly more involved then I can thoroughly explain right now. Basically after installing the Arduino IDE you will probably need to go into tools>Boards manager and install the drivers for your Arduino board, then again in the tools menu select your board, bootloader and port. Double clicking on the .ino file should import it directly then you verify and upload it.

Using the Arduino PC Link with AM32 config Tool

You must use version 1.67 of The Multi ESC Config tool

Connect your programed Arduino PC Link to your PC's USB port.

Connect your ESC to your Arduino PC Link using PWM on the ESC to pin D3 on the Arduino and ground to ground.

Connect your battery or power supply to the main ESC power terminals.

Open the ESC Config Tool.

1) Check Direct Connect when using an Arduino PC Link (not when using a flight controller interface).

2) Select your Arduino Port.

3) Click the Connect Button.

4) Read the ESC settings using the M1 button.

Now you can adjust your settings, change tabs and upload new firmware, or load default eeprom settings.

5) When your done save your settings.

To double check that your settings were applied, close the connection then re-connect and hit M1 again.

https://i.ibb.co/52Z3gqT/ESC-Config-Tool.jpg

This video shows the approximate performance of the setup, I will upload a video of this exact setup as soon as I can, but the firmware is the same, just slightly different hardware. Should be able to do it this week some time.
https://i.ibb.co/3Shw7v4/Screenshot-...-18-235824.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZdSyPusY8

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

:lmao::lmao:"thumbsup"
That is like some rigs look like even with a brushed setup

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

That is one very slow and quiet combo. How is the drag brake? Have you had a chance to put it through its paces yet?"thumbsup"

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

The active drag brake is pretty good, the regular drag brake seems a bit weaker then my crawlmaster pro 550 but not by much. Its pretty close to holding this truck on a 60 degree incline.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Awesome thread! I may have to tinker with this at some point.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Here is a video of a 55a wraith and the $25 motor. I have it geared at 56:1 which is about the same as an scx10ii with a 10t pinion.
https://i.ibb.co/SXS8Kbh/Screenshot-...-30-175529.jpg
This is what you can expect from the current firmware for cheap

If your wires aren't a wreck like this you did it wrong...

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Me likey��

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Very nice"thumbsup", i cant find any fault on this combo, once the esc is already built that is..super cool

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Oh man this is too cool.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

This esc is mostly unrelated to the Holmes Hobbies esc if that's what you are referring to. It's open source firmware on an off the shelf esc.

__________________________
Handy gearing spreadsheet

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I updated the Dixie Horn to sound close the the original :D
https://youtu.be/XHcDa8yTEbI

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Ever run one of your outrunners on a tekin esc? When I swapped my tekin esc out for a castle, it got a whole lot louder. Just curious if the outrunner would be quiter on a tekin. (I don't own any outrunners to test).

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I don't have any tekin. Their esc's are over 10x the price of these so there is zero chance I will be purchasing one to find out. $15 vs $200 esc. Can the tekin lay golden eggs? I get buying nice things. But honestly I have as much fun shopping and fiddling with rc as I do driving them. Tekin limits the amount of shopping I can do...

__________________________
Handy gearing spreadsheet

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

So here are 2 Videos using the stock BLHeli32 Firmware so you can see, the Wraith32 or other Quadcopter ESC's aren't terrible ESC's if you don't want to go through the work of reprograming them.

<a href="https://youtu.be/zLdP6-4fasw"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/F6Wgq39/Screenshot-2021-01-06-145004.jpg" alt="Youtube - Wraith32 35A Stock Firmware" border="0"></a><br />

<a href="https://youtu.be/e-wQsNfY3Js"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/qrx8v2J/Screenshot-2021-01-06-144934.jpg" alt="Youtube - Overpriced Crawler ESC Rant" border="0"></a>

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Update: I got some IFlight 50A Sussex ESC's they take different firmware but they work just as good as the wraiths. But only $18 for the 50A version. There is also an 80A version that would work the same, but I have not tested it.
I put the needed firmware on the google drive.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I have ordered one of these ESC to give it a shot.
My main concern is the programing. Still have to order one of those ST-Link. A cheap one from ebay is enough?
I will be trying it on a bit higher Kv Outrunner (2200kv), lets see how it will work...

Thank you for all the work you've put in to this!

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Yea, just the cheap ST-Link from ebay is what I use.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I have done everything to program the esc and it all looks good. When I plug in a battery it comes on for a short moment, chimes, and powers off. Can you help me please?

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Decided to take a second whack at this. Thank you much for sharing all the files and this tutorial.

This time seems to be more successful than last time. I get the dixie tune on start up but nothing beyond that. Thinking I fried the esc at some point? Never smelled like burning and never got any magic smoke though. The only sign of a fried esc is the indicator LEDs light up real bright when battery is first plugged in then fade like a cap going. But it will do this everytime I plug in.

Thanks much for the help in advance. Really would like to get the two escs Ive been tinkering with going.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Am I missing something here? I have 4 esc to try. No matter if it's a new or old esc, blue and green light come on for less than a second and fade. This happens in the st link and when I plug the battery in. Swcd, swc, ground and power are all verified good connections. I appreciate the write up, but please do it sober and don't leave out stuff, because this absolutely does not work. If anyone can help please do.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

What a great way to ask for help.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I just realized that I bought V2 wraith esc's.

Could this be the source of my problems?

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

yea the led does that every time, its normal. I think its hooked up to a debug pin or something. Because its not programed to light up, at least not on purpose. Try powering on the radio after you plug the battery in. There is some kind of intermittent arming issue in some of the builds. But if you hear the start chime the next step is arming. Some times its just trim, some times its turn on the transmitter after the car, I never have arming issues with my Arduino PWM servo tester. but i do with my Spektrum tx/rx, most of the quad copter people never have the issue. The full flashes are the best bet, because they have the EEPROM populated. if you load the bootloader separate from the firmware then you need to load or save EEPROM defaults in the configurator through a flight controller. I dont have much time to respond here because I'm in the last week of may BSN program and the stress is hitting me pretty hard.

The best place to get help is in the AM32 slack chat https://am32-invite.herokuapp.com/

I have no idea id the V2 is compatible with this firmware or not, I dont have one. I mean I sure it could be if it has a STM32F051 processor, but I dont know the Pinout.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Righton. Thanks much for the response. I went back after and watched the tut videos. I totally missed the EEPROM/Bootloader portion of things. Got an FC in the mail that should arrive tomorrow. Im going to try getting things going through the configurator.

Ill hopefully figure it out before you respond here but thought Id put the question out there incase anyone else knew. Just wanted to confirm that all I need to connect to the FC is GND + PWM(to the motor port on the FC) Just wanted to make sure I didnt have to connect up the TX pad to a telemetry pad on the FC. All my blheli experience is with either pre-wired combo fc+esc stacks or whoop AIO boards.

Thanks much, Good luck with your last week!

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

There is new firmware coming out and a new configurator with some new features in the configurator.
https://i.ibb.co/bW9zscR/Configurator-1-65.jpg

Using direct connect you can use an Arduino Nano flashed from the make interfaces tab of BLHeliSuite32 or download the Arduino INO file from my drive. I dont know if this works with other Arduino Boards, if you know Arduino then you should be able to figure it out looking at the pins in the code.

The new volume, and input settings are only available for firmware 1.65 and Higher.

There is also some firmware that allows BL32 ESC's to be used with brushed motors. But there are not settings to configure as of yet. I tested it on a scx24 and it had noticeably more torque then stock.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I've got two Wraith V1's and an ST-Link on order. Gonna give it a try.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Wow, great low speed control!

A few questions though:

1. Why would you flash the ESC with a different firmware? To be able to drive the motor at a lower speed than stock, or do you obtain other functions like drag brake, reverse and so on?
2. Is there a programming interface for this ESC? Can you change its working parameters on the fly?

Sorry for the basic questions, don't have much experience in heli ESCs. Thanks!

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

One more thing: would a motor like in the link work? It's a 3.17mm shaft so no need for 5mm pinions...
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/propdriv...ner-motor.html

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Why not "thumbsup"
I have a BG special 1450Kv and it works fine !
[IMG]https://s12.directupload.net/images/...p/3k3yr7bc.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Are you using it on 2S or 3S?

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

3 and4s ��

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I with ground based tr/rx no you can't change settings on the fly like with bluetooth.
maybe it can be done with a dshot command but I dont use that to know about it.

It gives you much lower RPM with an out runner, and its much quieter. outrunners have much more power then a standard motor and you can get them cheap, so that's why I love this firmware. but I suppose the original firmware was also quiet, so for the low end speed I guess. It has drag brake and active drag brake like the original firmware too.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Yes but that's a smaller motor its 28mm where as a 540 is 35mm in diameter,
The mounting bolt pattern is also smaller this motor is 16mm & 19mm where a 540 is a 25mm mounting pattern.

Much easer to use a 5mm pinion, yes?
or buy a revolver from Holmes Hobbies, or a riot from team brood, they have 3.15mm shafts.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Thanks so much, this makes sense, I will look into a 35mm diameter motor.
Are you on 2s or 3s?

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

the 50a esc is capable up to 6s. also makes me wonder... can these run brushed motors?

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

If they are not designed to be able to reverse the polarity (hardware limitation), I would say the most you could get would be to be able to drive a brushed motor one direction only.

A custom firmware might be able to fire all three phases together, this would offer forward only, no reverse.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

One more question, anyone had luck flashing the newer version Wraith32 V2?
V1.1 seems to be out of stock.

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

Looking deeper into this project, it turns out that the hardware has the capability to drive not one, but actually two brushed motors!

And some nice people are actively developing a firmware for it: http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/elect...ml#post5966401

:ror: :shock:

Re: Silent outrunner and ESC for less then $60
 

I have been flashing the v2.1 Wraith32 esc's with great success. Dont trust the images online. The swc and swd pads are on the board! Be wary of the KV rating you throw at these esc's. I have popped FETs immediately trying to run a 2500kv revolver. Seems that 1800kv is the upper limit of the wraith32 esc at the moment.

I have other boards in the mail to be tested. Im particularly interested in the capabilities of Metal FET boards.