FUCK - I HIT PUBLISH BY ACCIDENT… OBVIOUSLY NOT DONE - edit: ok it’s sorta done now.
VESC tool is rad, but it has a steep learning curve for new users doing setup. I’m also occasionally discovering new ways my skateboard is trying to kill me.
Let’s get this VESC info in one place so people can have an easier time jumping into VESC tool setup and customization.
What do appropriate settings look like for your board? These are going to be powerful but conservative. Go higher at your own risk.
First confusing thing to understand about VESC tool: even if you have a dual motor controller (stormcore, xenith, ubox, etc) you are only setting the ESC on each side. One “side” of the esc controls each motor. They are linked by a physical cable called “can” if they are single escs connected. That can connection is built in internally in dual escs.
50 motor amps in settings means you’re applying 50 amp setting to one side of the vesc. 50 battery amps in one side will mean that you have 100 battery amps total (assuming 2wd). Same goes for Regen (battery negative).
Motor amps (also sometimes called “phase amps” - depends on your ESC upper limit per side, and your motors. You are setting this per side. If you have a stormcore or xenith, 80 amps per side is reasonable and powerful. If you have small motors, such as 6355 you may want to dial that down to 50 or 60 amps per side, or you will over heat your motors. If you have a high amp controller (little foccer) and high amp capable motors (reachers) you can increase the motor amps. You can set motor amps higher than battery amps (this is completely normal). The way speed controllers work - you can use a small amount of battery amps at a low speed, and you will deliver high motor amps - giving you a lot of torque at low speed.
Motor amps negative (braking) - Similar idea to above, but I typically go slightly lower on amps per side to make the brakes less grabby initially (personal preference).
Battery amps - for a p42a cell 30a continuous discharge is very reasonable. Add up the number of cells in each p group, multiply by 30, divide by two (to split in half for each side, so that in combination you get the total you want.) Example - 12s4p - 4 x 30 / 2 = 60 amps (per side)
Regen - for a p42a cell 8 amps per cell is fine for regen. Multiply how many cells you have in each p group by 8 and then divide by two (per side remember). So our 12s4p battery is 4 x 8 / 2 = 16 amps per side.
Absolute maximum current - the default will be something high like 200 amps. Don’t fuck with this. Leave it alone. It’s set high for a reason.
Other settings you should know about:
Default ESC fault time is 0.5 seconds. This is enough time to send you flying if you fault for any reason. Experienced VESCers have made it known that this should be set at 0.080 seconds. Enough time to be aware of a fault but doesn’t wreck your shit.
DO PPM MAPPING FOR YOUR HOYT PUCK MODE 3 (the highest mode) - probably also applies to other remotes with speed modes. Calibration on mode 1 or 2 leads to no good, very bad, things.
In VESC tool, it’s always good practice to read current settings before you do pretty much anything. I also recommend checking that your settings have been written to both sides of the ESC.
Duty cycle current limit start - Default in newer firmwares is now 85%. This value is fine, don’t mess with it.
Please feel free to suggest edits and I’ll add good ones. This also might be converted to a citadel wiki so people can just make changes as they see fit, but with the amount of bad information that is sometimes shared as advice, I’m hesitant to open it up completely. Yes, you can push the limits on hardware, but that isn’t what this thread is about.
Thanks a bunch and was wondering when someone was going to do this.
What’s the option in the App Cfg that changes the sensitivity?
Example: I have an VX4 remote, and when I’d apply pressure to throttle, I’d literally have to go a 1/4 throttle before the board started to move. Skyart ( I don’t want to keep bugging him) helped with this before and it’s a lot better, but I’d like to add just a little more sensitivity.
I believe if you’re using PPM you want to go to App CFG -> PPM -> Throttle Curve and adjust brake and acceleration. You could also mess with ramping time under App CFG -> PPM -> General
@Mdizzle agree with Jimmy here. Throttle curve adjustment is necessary. If you are using a hoyt puck as a right handed person, it’s going to feel unresponsive until you make the throttle curve steeper. I also reduce the deadband to 5%. Default is 15%.
Things will get much more punchy and fun when you start playing with the throttle curve.
Lol what about that cell you murdered like 2 days ago?
Jokes aside - I just don’t see any upside from increasing regen amps unless you really have awful brakes at speed and need it. You aren’t going to regen enough to make a meaningful impact on range, so why subject your batteries to it? @Battery_Mooch would love to hear any thoughts you have on this, and if I’m being overly conservative.
Thanks for getting back to me. I didn’t see anything for a brake and acceleration, but I did see the deadband. Changed it to 10% and the throttle felt a tad more responsive like I wanted. I might even go to 5%.
If weather permits, I got a group ride tomorrow and it’s 35miles, so I’ll have plenty of time to adjust it if necessary.
IMO there aren’t any “correct” limits/ratings and verrry little data to guide us when deciding how hard we can run regen. Even worse, the degree of damage/aging caused by high charge current levels varies by the cell’s charge level. That is, the charge current can be higher when the cell is empty versus when it is full.
Basically, we get to set our own regen current limits based on zero data and our wild guesses and tolerance for risk. We just don’t know when those risks become actual hazards for this stuff.
The higher the regen rate the faster any damage occurs. But there’s no data to say at what fast charge (regen) current levels certain damage occurs or what levels you must never exceed.
Add on that, IMO, if you are using a very high regen setting it should be reduced as the cells age and it all gets pretty complicated.
Sooo….use the lowest regen setting that gives you the braking performance you need. If you are above the rapid/fast charge rate for the cells then you might see shortened overall life if you use regen a lot, especially if doing so at high charge levels.
And we always have to remember that the settings can be completely different from what the cells actually experience when riding.
P42A’s are only rated for 8A fast/rapid charge at up to 45°C. Above that you need to drop to 4.2A for fast/rapid charge (which still shortens cycle life).
Since the cells in a pack heat each other up and the pack is typically well insulated with fishpaper, tape, and heat shrink it’s very easy for a pack to get above 45°C (which IMO feels “a bit warm”).
We can still choose to regen or charge a P42A at 8A if it’s warm but expect even more reduced cell life.
