Cross compatibility

[FletchyFletch]

I've spent the last few weeks researching and researching until I couldn't bare to keep my eyes open any more.
One thing I haven't been able to find is how cross-compatible the electrical components are.

Basically, will any old ESC attach to any old controller and similarly will any motor attach to any ESC?

I'd like to eventually build an APM heavy lifter but I don't even know if the APM is any good for such things or whether it really matters what controller you have.

 

[PeteDee]

Pretty much mostly yes but there are some that don't or need work arounds.

Bigger frames, some FCU's are great and others are not.

Pete

 

[DucktileMedia]

most esc's have the ability to be programmed such that you can use them on a multi. the way hoverfly explained it to me one time makes perfect sense. Some of the nicer esc's try to do to much to the signal to smooth things out. but in a multi you want a "dumb" esc that does nothing but listen to the raw signal and obey it. Thats why the cheapo Turnigy's seem to work so well, I think. You get into Castle creations and some of the other high end esc's and they might have some arguments with the FC. Best thing is to see what others have used successfully and ask the manufacturer.

 

[FletchyFletch]

Thanks guys. That advice on the ESC's is great! It also fits in with a what these guys are saying about their build.
That's pretty much the set up that I'd like to go for. I'd probably go for the HoverflyPro board to be assured that it's a tried and tested system but would prefer to use the APM because it's open source.

 

[DucktileMedia]

Hoverfly pro is a great board and easy to setup. Though it is going to become outdated soon and the gps is not up to par. I still use it but if you are learning you might want to try the Xaircraft SuperX as a lot of others are going that route with their increasingly good track record.

 

[FletchyFletch]

That SuperX looks so very tempting! However.. Is the APM capable of handling a heavy lift system with 3-axis gimbal?
I've been searching for information on that from the very start but haven't got very far.