Source: https://www.hyperflight.co.uk/getfile.asp?

code=SUN%2D21SIS&code2=2
How to Program BL Heli 32 Drone Esc’s for F5J Use

Ok, an early heads up. If you do not have good soldering skills/equipment then doing this is
probably not for you! Drone ESC’s range in size from small to very small. Unlike fixed wing
ESC’s most drone ESC’s come with no wires soldered onto the boards, meaning you have
to solder all the wires onto the board with a good degree of accuracy and joint quality. The
only ESC I have found to date which has all the wires soldered onto the board, other than
the 3 large motor wires, is the DYS Aria 70A. Being a 70Amp ESC it should cover just about
every motor/battery combination currently used in F5J. I purchased my DYS Aria 70A (£18)
from Flyingtech.co.uk who offered next day delivery with prices that were competitive
compared to the usual large Chinese web suppliers (see link below)

https://www.flyingtech.co.uk/electronics/dys-aria-70a-3-6s-blheli-32bit-dshot1200-
opto-esc-led

Flyingtech also sell another very high quality 65A ESC (Holybro Tekko32 F3 Metal 65A ESC
BLheli_32 Dshot 1200) which is slightly more expensive at around £24 but requires, as most
do, for you to solder all the wires onto it.

https://www.flyingtech.co.uk/products?search_api_views_fulltext=tekko32+f3

The trend, apparently, in drone ESC’s is for them to be supplied from the factory without any
wires soldered on. So going forward it’s likely to become more and more difficult to find any
drone ESC with wires pre soldered onto the board.

The ESC’s that I and the others who helped with the testing found worked well are the DYS
Aria 70A and the Tekko 32 F3 mentioned above. For the budget conscious I also tested the
HGLRC T-Rex 60AMP 60A BLHeli_32 3-6S ESC Dshot1200 (Around £10 Bangood) which
to date has performed very well but is not, visually at least, manufactured to the same build
quality as the more expensive drone ESC’s.

Another thing to be aware of is that whilst the BL-Heli 32 software supports LVC (Low
Voltage Cut-off) that we are all familiar with, this also needs to be natively supported by the
ESC itself. Finding out which ones actually support LVC in advance of purchasing is nigh on
impossible however. I have come to the conclusion that for F5J use where we do a
maximum motor run of 30 seconds that LVC is probably not a major concern particularly if
you recharge after each launch as most pilots do or use an independent battery back-up
switch. On my test units the DYS did not support LVC but the HGLRC TRex and the Tekko
one’s did.
HOW TO CONNECT & PROGRAM DRONE ESC’s

1 The first thing to do is to look at this video. It covers most of what you will need to know in
order to connect and program BL Heli 32 drone ESC’s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFDN0MGWz10

2 Order the Arduino Nano board (£4-5) which is the interface for connecting the ESC to your
PC, Linux, Mac or Android based phone/tablet. When you receive the Arduino Nano Board
make up the required 2 wire lead and solder it to the board as detailed in the video. These
boards are available from literally hundreds of suppliers on the web. I got mine from here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arduino-Nano-V3-0-Compatible-Board-Atmega328P-16Mhz-
Mini-USB-
Multipack/332833858510?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=541956407243&_t
rksid=p2057872.m2749.l264

3 Download and install the BL Heli 32 Software Suite from either of the links below and also
the manual as well. Be sure you choose the BL Heli 32 Software and not the BL Heli
software! When you first see the number of fields that can be programmed using the
software suite it can be somewhat daunting as there are a lot of fields included that fixed
wing pilots are probably not familiar with. Don’t be concerned by this. For the inquisitive who
want to know more as to what these fields actually do, take the time to read the manual
where you will find in depth explanations. BL Heli 32 Software is available for PC, Mac, Linux
and there is also an Android based App available from the Google Store which apparently is
very good and ideal for making changes in the field.

https://github.com/bitdump/BLHeli/tree/master/BLHeli_32%20ARM

or

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/dx6kfaasyo24l/BLHeliSuite

4 The first time I plugged the Arduino into my Laptop (Windows 10) it found the required
driver for the Arduino and installed it automatically. If your PC/Laptop doesn’t find a suitable
Arduino driver you will need to source one on the web and manually install it.

Once the Arduino driver is installed on your laptop follow the instructions in the video to flash
the Arduino with the Multi Rotor Software. I used the 4 way version he shows in the video
which works fine for connecting a single ESC. If the connection to the ESC using the BL Heli
32 software fails, try changing the BAUD rate in the field towards the bottom of the window.
Make sure it connects/reads OK but DON’T PROGRAM ANYTHING YET !.

5 Now disconnect the ESC from everything and do the following

5.1. Connect the ESC to any motor (No prop!) The motor is only required to hear the beeps.

5.2. Then connect the esc to your rx motor channel, connect rx power and turn on.

5.3. Put Tx motor control to maximum power and then Turn tx on.

5.4. Now connect the motor lipo. You will hear a number of beeps. When first long group of
beeps have finished put motor control to minimum power. You will hear another set of long
beeps followed by two end beeps. Once you hear the final two beeps disconnect the lipo
battery and the power from the rx. This procedure manually calibrates the ESC to the range
of the motor control and I’ve found it is is absolutely necessary before attempting any
programming. See the beep table in the manual for more info on the beep patterns. On
Futaba I set my Tx Motor end points to 115/115.

6 You are now ready to start programming the ESC using the BL Heli 32 Software but before
doing so be sure that the device you are using i.e. PC, Mac etc is connected to the
internet. (Note: The ESC must be connected to the motor Lipo in order to program it). My
understanding about the need for an Internet connection is that when first programming the
ESC the software calls home to ensure that the manufacturer has paid a royalty/licence fee
for the right to use the firmware. This only takes a couple of seconds. All the the ESC’s I
have tested connected and were certified as being legit via a on screen message which then
allowed programming to be done.

7 Connect it all up to your PC or whatever you are using to interface with the ESC and make
sure the connection check is ok and that when you click the Read button the software
populates the existing ESC values into the various window fields. There are several fields
within the software that for F5J you don’t have to be concerned with. It’s pretty obvious
which fields you will need to use/change as they will be familiar to you from using fixed wing
ESC’s. If you are unfamiliar with any fields just leave them at the default they read in with. It
took me a bit of time to work out which fields to change and their values to get the ESC to
work with all types of motors, ie High and Low Kv, in runner/out runner etc. One key field is
the Brake. I recommend that you set this somewhere between 50-70% especially when
using larger folding props for various reasons, not least that using 100% brake with large
folding propellers can damage the gear box.

The following field values might be a good start point to change in addition to the normal
one’s seen in fixed wing ESC’s:

Ramp Up Power: 90%

After you have changed the required fields to your chosen values just click on the “Write Set-
Up” button to save the settings to the ESC. You should receive an on screen message telling
you that the ESC was successfully updated.

8. As most drone ESC’s have no built in BEC you will of course need to use one to power
the servo’s Rx etc. The two I have used are the Castle Creations 10A one and the
Reisenauer Sunrise Model UBEC 6A one. Both have proven themselves to be reliable.

With any luck you should now have a small/thin/lightweight fully working Drone ESC that is
extremely smooth and runs cool. If you don’t, you will need to experiment with the various
software settings.

Always fully test your drone esc set-up on the ground before flying.
.