Talon 4/2/2013

Talon and Talon SR User

Manual
Brushed DC motor controller

Version 1.3

Cross the Road Electronics, LLC

www.crosstheroadelectronics.com

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 Talon 4/2/2013

Device Overview

Clear, permanent polarity

indicators Mounting holes for
optional fan.

Brake/Coast Jumper
Secure PWM cable
connection.

Smart LED

Calibration button

Cast heat sink design

helps prevent debris from
entering the enclosure

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Talon 4/2/2013

1) What is a Talon?

Both the Talon and Talon SR are devices used to control the
rotational velocity (speed) of a brushed DC motor through
modulating power over time. The differences between the Talon
and Talon SR are indicated in Orange text throughout the manual.

2) Features

• Passive cooling design (heatsink)

• Conformal coating
• Locked-antiphase rectification (Talon)
• Synchronous sign magnitude rectification (Talon SR)
• Lightweight small foot print
• Smart LED, blinks proportional to throttle.
• 15 khz switching frequency
• Metal chip resistant
• 6-28 volt DC input
• Up to 100 amps peak 60 amps continuous current.
• Mounting holes to allow for optional 40 mm fan.
• Secure PWM connection
• Simple calibration
• 10-bit input and output precision
• User selectable brake/coast
• 4% neutral dead band
• Linear throttle response

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Talon 4/2/2013

3) Power

The Talon may be powered from any DC voltage source from 6 to

28 volts.
WARNING! The Talon does not have protection against
reverse polarity. It is important that the user ensures that
power has been connected in the correct polarity before
powering the Talon. If polarity is reversed, the Talon will be
permanently damaged. ONLY connect power to the input
side of the device. Connecting unregulated power to the motor
side of the device will damage the H-bridge.

The housing of the Talon has clear markings to indicate polarity.

The red ‘+’ sign indicates the positive power terminal. The white
‘M+’ indicates the positive motor terminal. See Figure 1 below.

Positive Power Positive Motor

Terminal Terminal

Figure 1

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4) PWM Control Signal

The Talon requires a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) input signal.

This signal should be between 1-2.0 ms (milliseconds) in duration
with a center (neutral) pulse of 1.5 ms. The PWM cable should be
a standard hobby servo cable with a .100” pitch. Insert the cable
into the housing with the black (or ground) terminal aligned with
the letter ‘B’ on the housing. See Figure 2 below. The Talon SR
uses an external crystal to reduce input timing drift over
temperature range of the device.

Insert PWM cable

into housing

Letter ‘B’ should be

aligned with the
black wire of the
pwm cable

Figure 2

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5) LED
The LED is used to indicate the direction and percentage of throttle
and state of calibration. The LED may be one of three colors; red,
orange or green. A solid green LED indicates positive output voltage
equal to the input voltage of the Talon. A solid Red LED indicates an
output voltage that is equal to the input voltage multiplied by -1(input
voltage = 12 volts, output equals -12 volts). The LED will blink its
corresponding color for any throttle less than 100% (red indicates
negative polarity, green indicates positive). The rate at which the led
blinks is proportional to the percent throttle. The faster the LED
blinks the closer the output is to 100% in either polarity. The Talon
SR has a more defined blink when transitioning between 100%
throttle and 99%.

The LED will blink orange any time the Talon is in the disabled state.
This will happen if the PWM input signal is lost, or in FRC, when the
robot is disabled. If the Talon is in the enabled state and the throttle
is within the 4% dead band, the LED will remain solid orange.

Talon SR – The Talon SR has an additional LED state that blinks

red/orange when a fault state is detected. A fault can be caused by
one of three things; under voltage (< 3.3V DC), over temperature
(>170 degrees C) or a shorted output transistor. During a fault the
output of the Talon is disabled until the fault condition is no longer
present.

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6) Calibration

The calibration procedure takes the minimum, maximum and center

values of the PWM input signal and scales the output based on these
values. Calibrating the Talon will allow full range of control with PWM
signals that are not within the default range. Calibrating will also
correct any non-center issues with input devices such as gamepads
or joysticks.

To calibrate the Talon:

1. Press and hold the button labeled “CAL” with a paper clip. The
LED should begin to blink red/green.
2. Continue to keep the button pressed while moving the joystick
full forward and full reverse. You may do this as many times as
you like.
3. Center the joystick and then release the CAL button.
4. If calibration was successful, the LED will blink green several
times. If the LED blinks red several times, the calibration was
not valid. If this happens, the Talon will use the last valid
calibration values.

All calibration values are retained after power cycle or reset.

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Talon 4/2/2013

7) Brake/Coast jumper

The Talon has a jumper that allows dynamic braking or coasting

when the PWM input signal is within the 4% neutral dead band. If
braking is desired, place the jumper between the center pin and
the pin labeled ‘B’. If coasting is desired place the jumper
between the center pin and the pin labeled ‘C’. See Figure 3
below. If the jumper is set to brake, the brake will remain on ANY
time the talon is not outputting voltage, this includes the disabled
state.

Letter ‘B’ for Letter ‘C’ for

braking coasting

Figure 3

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Talon 4/2/2013

8) Optional Fan

The Talons heat sink has two bosses tapped to 6-32. These
bosses may be used to install an optional 40 mm x 40 mm fan or
to mount the Talon. The talon does not require a fan for operating
currents of 30 amps or less. A fan of 4.7CFM or greater is
recommended if the Talon will be subjected to loads that are
continuously greater than 30 amps. Figures 5-7 show the
relationship of current and temperature vs. time. These Figures
should be used to determine if your application requires a fan.
The average current may be used in determining if a fan is
needed.

Fans are available at: www.crosstheroadelectronics.com

Figure 4 Talon shown with optional fan.

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Talon 4/2/2013

9) Mounting

The two mounting holes of the Talon are sized to allow screw
sizes to 6-32. Screws should be hand tightened to prevent
damage to the Talons case.

WARNING! Do not use anaerobic curing thread lockers such

as Loctite 242 to secure screws used to mount the Talon.
Anaerobic curing thread lockers break down ABS plastic
and will cause the Talon’s case to crack. If use of a thread
locker is required, a cyanoacrylate based thread locker such as
Loctite 425 should be used.

10) Test Configuration

All tests were performed using a test fixture consisting of two 2.5”
CIM motors (part #PM25R-45F-1003), connected to an AndyMark
CIMple box (part # AM-0734), connected in a master slave
configuration (one motor back driving the other). The leads of the
slave motor were open for the linearity test and shorted for all
thermal testing. Throttle was used to obtain the desired load to
the master motor.

Temperature vs Time
20 Amp Without Fan

25 160
140
20
Temperature F

120
100
Current

15 Current
80
10 Temperature
60
40
5
20
0 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0
Minute s

Figure 5

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Temperature vs Time
~30 Amps Without Fan

35 160

30 140

120
25

Temperature (F)
100
20
Current

Current
80
15 Temperature
60
10
40
5 20

0 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
M inute s

Figure 6

Temperature vs Time
40 Amp With 4.7CFM Fan

50 120

40 100

Temperature F
80
Current

30 Current
60
20 Temperature
40
10 20
0 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0
Minutes

Figure 7 (test duration limited by motor temp)

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11) Linearity

Figure 8 shows the relationship between RPM and Input throttle.

RPM vs Throttle

600

500

400
RPM

300 RPM

200

100
4% DEAD BAND
0
0.05 0.25 0.43 0.61 0.75 0.90

Throttle

Figure 8 (slave motor leads open, apx. 6 amps)

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12) Drawings

Figure 9 provides the dimensions ([mm]/inch) of the Talon to allow

design integration.

Figure 5

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Talon 4/2/2013

13) Electrical Specifications

Input voltage 6-28 VDC
Continuous current 60 A
Peak current 100 A
Input PWM signal 1-2 ms @ 333 Hz
Input resolution 10-bit (1024 steps)
Output resolution 10-bit (1024 steps)
Output switching frequency 15 kHz

14) Version History

Version 1.3 – Added Talon SR changes. Updated warning

language on page 4.

Version 1.2: - Updated Input PWM signal refresh rate.

Version 1.1: -Added section on mounting.

-Renamed images to figures.
-Increased visibility of warnings.
-Updated expected PWM values.

Version 1.0: Initial releases no changes to note.

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