Connector options for brushless R/C motors

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northernmike

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Toronto
Guys, I need to figure out what connectors to use between my HXT 80-100-B and Castle 110 HV.

Both leads appear to be approximately 10 AWG.

The motor connections appear to be extensions of the windings, and a Kontronik product on the Tower Hobbies website specified that similarly constructed leads on that item could NOT be soldered, but must use "connectors" - without any specification provided.

I need to be confident that whatever I use will not separate by vibration, and I'm expecting to be able to run this thing near it's limits, so 100A peak capacity would be a requirement too.

The leads from the HV 110 appear to be high count copper strand in silicone - nice quality too!

What do you suggest?

Anderson? Deans? Venom?
 
I'm seeing these "gold plated" 5 and 6mm solder type in online hobby shops... I guess with heatshrink over them they would be pretty vibration proof. Cool!
 
Yes, the big 6mm bullet connectors are what you want. Put the female ends on the controller wires. The motor wires are coated, but the ends are tinned. I think what they usually say is to not cut the motor wires.

-- Gary
 
It would make sense to me that cutting would be an issue - unequal length wires could probably screw up the timing, no?
 
northernmike said:
It would make sense to me that cutting would be an issue - unequal length wires could probably screw up the timing, no?
Click to expand...

Not really, as they aren't very long coming out of the motor. One thing I've found is it makes almost no difference how long the distance is between the controller and the motor, but but run battery wires more than about a foot and it causes havoc with the controllers. I have a friend who does big (30-50 foot) RC blimps, as camera platforms, and had motors that ended up 20-some feet from the batteries. He had all kinds of problems, initially, when he had the controllers near the motors, and 20 foot runs to the batteries. He ended up having to put all the controllers close to the packs, and run 20 foot motor phase wires out to the motors. Worked perfectly then. :)
 
Would you guys recommend going bigger than 10 gauge if I'm to make the run about 3 feet? I was going to make the battery leads that long, and then I did some reading here - thanks! :D

I'm surprised at the small gauge wires on the HV 110 - in distribution you need # 3 for 100A, and that's at 120VAC!! I've heard that 14 gauge can handle 34A before starting to break down...

My battery leads are going to be paralleled runs of 10 gauge using 4 conductor SJ cable - should be no issues there. But three little single 10 gauge wires feeding the motor, at a length of 3 feet? Should I be worried?

Edit: to be clear, I'm using 2 conductors in, 2 out in the SJOOW. So the battery-to-controller connection will be good and solid.
 
Maybe some of this

009_274_002_002.jpg


And I'll turn down some solid copper on the lathe into a 6-to-10-gauge adapting connector and just solder it direct....

hmmn...
 
I have experimented with this at length (and the cost of a couple blown controllers). I tried using multiple runs of 10 guage wire in parallel and multiple connectors in parallel. This did nothing for the life of my controller. I still blew an HV110 with short runs of heavy guage wire. The important thing in reducing inductance is adding caps. Merely adding caps to the input does far more than thicker wire.

I would recommend trippling the capacitance. I would add two 1000mf caps to the input of the ESC as near to the board as possible.

Matt
 
Yup I ordered enough from DigiKey to do exactly that, and using Richard's circuit I should have even more - I just don't want to melt any wires!
 
Increased capacitance doesn't reduce inductance. What it does do is reduce the peak voltage that more inductance increases.
 
GGoodrum said:
northernmike said:
It would make sense to me that cutting would be an issue - unequal length wires could probably screw up the timing, no?
Click to expand...

Not really, as they aren't very long coming out of the motor. One thing I've found is it makes almost no difference how long the distance is between the controller and the motor, but but run battery wires more than about a foot and it causes havoc with the controllers. I have a friend who does big (30-50 foot) RC blimps, as camera platforms, and had motors that ended up 20-some feet from the batteries. He had all kinds of problems, initially, when he had the controllers near the motors, and 20 foot runs to the batteries. He ended up having to put all the controllers close to the packs, and run 20 foot motor phase wires out to the motors. Worked perfectly then. :)
Click to expand...

I'll confirm that I haven't had troubles running 7 feet worth of wire from the HV-80 controller to the motor.
 
On the connector front - I picked up some 6.5mm Castle Creations CC Bullets from John's Hobbies here in Toronto - and an eSky servo tester - but about the connectors - they're beautiful quality.

I was thinking of messing around with PowerPoles but these are a much better solution for me as I have little space in the area where they need to do their work.

I will be using Marine Grade waterproofing heatshrink tubing to seal these up - it has a goo inside that makes a watertight seal :D

I love that these connectors claim to be capable of 200A.. Being able to tell my girlfriend that you could run two small houses on these made her go :shock:
 
Hey guys,

I was just wondering what you guys think of these Deans connectors. I'm running two 22.2 volt 5000mah batteries in series and two in parallel. These adapters would accomplish what I need to do pretty easily, but I am not sure if they can carry the current I need. I am running the 100amp 12s controller, and just wondering if they would work. The only downfall, that I can tell, is that they cost $15 a piece. Do you guys know what size of wire I would need?

Thanks,

Daniel
 
For you Deans users check this out:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=2116&Product_Name=T-Connectors_10_Pairs_(20pc)

also all kinds of plugs at this site. Plug away......
 
For my high power or voltage systems I use the 6.5mm Castle plugs to the motor.
For the battery connections I use Sermos/Andersons power poles, 30a type for the batteries and series/parallel harnesses.
Then I use 6.5 connectors from the harness to the controller.


I use Deans exclusively in my RC cars, but found them to be horrible for my bikes since I like to have modular battery packs. It is a big pain to make harnesses for series/parallel banks without Sermos plugs.
 
Thanks for the help with the connectors. I plan on ordering them today. I also have another question. What are you using for a switch. My friend is using a DC line contactor, but if I could get away from something that bulky, that would be great. Thanks for the advice!

I was wondering about this arming switch:
http://www.rctoys.com/rc-products/MPI-ARMING-SWITCH.html

Daniel
 
I use one of those arming switches in my scale RC car. Would be OK for a bike, but the contacts would wear fast if you didn't have something to limit the current inrush when first plugging in the batteries. Sermos plugs do not work well once pitted, as they use a wiper contact. Once the wiper gets a pit the contact area diminishes severely.
 
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