Cheap FOCer 2 (Open-source, Low-cost, VESC 6 based ESC) (v0.9 Release. Beta testing ongoing)

doomy · February 4, 2021, 11:32am

The upgrade makes v0.9 compatible with the v1.0 firmware but it still goes into limp mode.

shamansystems/Cheap-FOCer-2/blob/Developer-Branch/guides/upgrade/readme.md

# Upgrade hardware from 0.9 to be 1.0 compatible
The changes from beta 0.9 to 1.0 are mostly hardware only, however there is one hardware change that required a software modification. 
This makes 1.0 firmware incompatible with 0.9 hardware. 

Thankfully this change can be done to existing 0.9 hardware boards. 
This will not make your board into a 1.0 board, however it will make your board 1.0 compatible. 

1.0 compatible boards have the following advantages:
1. You can use 1.0 firmware which is available in the main bldc repo and VESC Tool. 
1. It will fix the DRV error locking issue where DRV faults require a power cycle (you can still get a single DRV fault, but it wont require a power cycle).  

## How to upgrade!

Replace resistors R64 & R65 with 10k ohm resistors. Easy peasy!
- ***Resistory Details:*** 10kΩ ±1% 0.1W ±100ppm/℃ 0603 Chip Resistor
- ***LCSC Part #:*** [C25804](https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Chip-Resistor-Surface-Mount_UNI-ROYAL-Uniroyal-Elec-0603WAF1002T5E_C25804.html)

![](./upgrade_guide.jpeg)

ilisparrow · February 7, 2021, 5:52pm

Hello,
I did what you said, re-soldered everything with more attention, It does power on correctly .
Now I need to test with a motor.

Thank you.

Flux · February 7, 2021, 5:56pm

Hi doomy,
maybe do you happen to have a cheapfocer available?

Thanks!

Battery_Mooch · February 7, 2021, 7:32pm

That’s great news! Good luck with the motor test.

doomy · February 8, 2021, 5:52pm

Hi flux,

Not right now. I thought about doing another group buy, but i would have to up the prices. Jlcpcb is now around 35% more expensive. The good news is that they have the drv8301 chip in stock again.

Helno · February 8, 2021, 6:30pm

I’ve still got a few.

[US/CAN] Cheap Focer 2’s - Esk8 Parts Market / New Parts for Sale - esk8.news forums

RDs · February 8, 2021, 8:14pm

When did you last checked?
I ordered set of 10 1.5months ago and ended up with price of 25.60eur per unit with taxes, shipping to EU and all parts - BMI

approachinglogic · February 8, 2021, 8:14pm

Care to sell some

RDs · February 8, 2021, 8:16pm

Saddly no, all the extras I had got picked up by other electronics folk arround me. The price is unbeatble though.

doomy · February 8, 2021, 8:27pm

A few days ago, i think price was 400$ for 30pcs without shipping. When i did the last group buy in may it was 309$ with shipping included.

shaman · February 8, 2021, 8:52pm

Looks like JLCPCB’s price points have changed. But it also looks like they have more parts available. Even some through hole JST style connectors and USB connectors are now there.

Has anyone tried the assembly service with any of the through hole stuff?

shaman · February 8, 2021, 11:08pm

Looks like indeed they now do some through hole stuff. Cool!

brycej · February 8, 2021, 11:44pm

That is awesome! I’ve heard they might add usb connectors but it looks like a whole ton of them!

Gotta draw something up to try it out!

Mr.Electronicist · February 9, 2021, 12:07am

I don’t think 10 uF caps are on the BOM. You are gonna wanna get larger ones if you want that ESC to be reliable.

ziploc · February 9, 2021, 1:06am

I’ve bought a few of the HW 1.0 units from Helno and can recommend him.

RDs · February 9, 2021, 10:12am

This is without extra components from jlc and shipping ^^^^
~112eur = 135$ for 10 pcs = ~ 13.5$ a peace
In your case it’s ~400$ for 30pcs = ~ 13.3$ a peace,
I honestly don’t see a huge jump in price for assembly and parts

To look at this more objectively we have to count in lcsc parts and import taxes aswell
Here is my entire order in both eur and dollars:

roflas · February 9, 2021, 12:35pm

We already got 30 pcs a few days ago and it is also 345USD including shipping. I also do not see significant price increase. We did diode test on all 30 and they seem to be good. But not all of them are soldered yet.

Helno · February 9, 2021, 1:29pm

That will be nice.

I just finished hand soldering 100 USB-C connectors on my heater boards.

shaman · February 9, 2021, 2:40pm

@Helno @doomy @RDs and anyone else that’s been making and selling the CFOC2. How’s it been doing out in the wild? I don’t hear a lot of feedback even when I deliberately give people units to test.

RDs · February 9, 2021, 2:47pm

Only got them recently and sadly it’s snowing outside, so I am patently waiting to test them on my, soon to be, 12s4p daily beater and DIY hoverboard. Friend of mine may also put it on one of a kind EV for old people with hover board hub motors. Will let you know how they will hold together once I have chance to test them.