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Thanks. I'm having fun with this stuff. Look forward to your motor reviews. Are you building or buying a test rig? My bench motor setup is just a relatively cheap thrust meter (link). It works, but on my project list is a plan to build a much better solution. I haven't started that project yet...

I'll do it, no problem. Since we are in the HiCopter review, I'll take one of their ESCs and start in.

Testing on a multiple motor setup could be a real challenge. But I think the point is a good one -- there is nothing special about the connection between the end of the ESC wire and the power distribution point. Beyond that we have yet more wire, other ESCs, and even the connection path from...

I think there is some neat work that could be done regarding the need for capacitors. One way to get at it is to stress test the ESCs over some period of time, but with different capacitors installed (de-solder the capacitor(s) and add incrementally to see how the performance is affected). I'll...

I am using a BK Precision model 1901 power supply for bench work. For firmware updates, testing, etc., you can limit current availability (e.g., set the voltage to, say 22.2v for 6S power, but only allow an amp of current -- plenty for setting flight control parameters, but too little to allow...

I have been thinking about this a lot lately: http://www.multirotorforums.com/showthread.php?19923-Product-Review-**-JETI-HiCopter-30A-Opto-ESC Completely agree with you. There are some objective ways to evaluate ESC quality and performance, but in planning the review above I found very little...

This was a tough review. At one level there is a very simple conclusion: JETI's HiCopter ESCs work as promised and offer simple installation with no needed user settings. But as we can see, there is a huge amount of complexity and detail that I have only begun to explore. This review is much...

PART 4: COMPONENT DETAILS One might expect the design of ESCs to be so standard that makers tend to pick the same hardware, with differences limited to software and packaging. That is not exactly true, though we can see that design among the three ESCs examined here does have some common...

PART 3b: MEASUREMENT and COMPARISON Punch It What happens when you hit the throttle? Does the ESC deliver power quickly? To find out I started at mid-throttle and punched in an instant shift to full power. The scope was set to trigger on the jump in the PWM input signal — the moment the...

PART 3a: MEASUREMENT and COMPARISON Here is the HiCopter 30A Opto ESC with the shrink wrap removed, on the bench, and ready for analysis. You can see a current probe at upper left, a standard 10:1 passive probe at mid-left, a differential probe at upper middle, DC current being measured by a...

PART 2: ESC DETAILS An ESC’s job is to take DC power from your battery and convert it to 3-phase AC power for a brushless motor. In addition, the ESC responds to throttle input to regulate how fast the motor spins. All of this is accomplished imperfectly. The 3-phase AC output power is not a...

JETI HiCopter 30A Opto ESC Review PART 1: OVERVIEW In the simplest sense, what we want to know most about an ESC is whether it works. So let's deal with this most essential question first: Yes, these HiCopter ESCs work just fine. I plugged them into a test quad with a Naza v2 flight...

In response to some photo requests: https://vimeo.com/97195954

Probably the best thing to do for most is to avoid anything that hasn't been tested by real users over a reasonable period of time. I don't think this is just a DJI issue. Can anyone name a flight controller that hasn't had development issues at one time or another? If there were a clear winner...

Could it be a battery issue? Where was the throttle when you switched to manual? The instant tumble to the ground when you switched to manual is a important clue as to what is going on, I think. It tells you the receiver was working, the radio was working, the NAZA was getting the signal to...

This is why these software based restrictions are a bad idea. Apparently DJI accidentally released an update with the restrictions turned on by default. What that means, and why it would affect people outside restricted areas is unclear (maybe lack of GPS input to confirm being in a...

I'm thinking about selling my A2 and just getting a WooKong for the second build. There really is nothing in the A2's new features that I need, and I have never had an issue with the WooKong. I've considered an update to 5.26, but 5.16 has been so solid I hate to change it.

I'm interested in the most reliable flight controller available. GPS is nice, but more important is ultra-reliable attitude control, and particularly on larger/heavier builds. If you were doing a new build, about 20 pounds all-up weight, what flight controller would you use? I don't care...

Lower prices: Zenmuse alone: $1,600 Camera, lens, filters: $350 Everything: $1,900

I have plenty of questions -- feel free to edit: In 35mm full-frame terms, what is his ideal lens (e.g., 24mm?, 35mm?). Does he shoot most aerial shots at the aperture that produces the best combination of sharpness and depth of field (e.g., f/8, f/11) or are there other considerations for the...