If my understanding is correct there is no difference in input/output when using the T500 and (T200) Basic ESC at 18V and when using the T500 Basic ESC, right? Doesn’t that mean that using the 24V T500 Basic ESC and using the 18V T200 Basic ESC are the same?
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Hi @Piz, welcome to the forum 
Both our ESC options are capable of controlling the speed of a brushless DC motor, and support an input voltage range of 7-26 V - the main practical difference is in the output current-capacity. In particular:
- Our original Basic ESC is limited to ≤ 30 A constant current (assuming there is sufficient cooling)
- Our Basic ESC 500 supports up to ≤ 50 A constant current (also depending on cooling)
If you check the technical details of our T500 Thruster, you’ll see in the “Current Draw” graph that
- when powered with ≤ 18 V the maximum current draw is below 30 A, so either ESC is suitable, and
- when powered with ≥ 20 V the maximum current draw is greater than 30 A, so the Basic ESC 500 is recommended to support the full performance of the thruster
- The original Basic ESC is still capable of driving the thruster at 20-26 V, but the maximum thrust will be limited because of the ESC’s current-capacity limit
Hi @Piz -
One other thing to note - the T500 at same voltage will produce more thrust than T200. For example, T200 at 16V is ~11.6 lb and the T500 is closer to ~20.4 lb. They use the ~ same amount of power at this voltage though so it’s much more efficient in producing this thrust!
Just to clarify, @tony-white is talking about the thrust output of our T500 Thruster vs our T200 Thruster when each is provided with the same supply voltage - not comparing our two ESC options when both used with the T500 Thruster (which I believe is what this post was asking about, although I may be misunderstanding).
With a voltage input within the expected range, and sufficient current-capacity for the input command, both ESCs should have equivalent performance when used with the same thruster. If the supply voltage and input command are in a range where the thruster will try to draw more current than the ESC can provide, then it just provides as much as it can and the thrust gets limited.
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I have a question regarding the phrasing here guys.
It says “If you’re operating at 18V or less you may also use the original Basic ESC”. What would happen if I tried running a Basic ESC on 24V?
I’ve read multiple times that the Basic ESC is rated at 7-26V, it even says so on the unit itself.
I wonder if it’s possible to power 3 or 4 T500-thrusters with a single 22.2V 6S BR battery and the same amount of Basic ESCs. I don’t have space for the ESC 500 units, but I don’t want to destroy my components. Any tips?
Hi @Erlingns95 -
The BasicESC has a maximum power rating. If you operate a T500 at voltages higher than 18V, you will be exceeding the power rating for the Basic ESC (30A). It is possible to pull more power than the BasicESC can provide, which would damage the ESC! If you’re running with a throttle limit above 18V you shouldn’t have any issues.
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Hey @tony-white!
My apologies for the late reply, but thank you for this. We are successfully running T500 thrusters on Basic ESCs (22.2V BAT). What we’ve done is adjust the PWM values for each servo (in QGC). My question now is as follows:
When we are using 50% gain, can I assume that this is now 50% of the “new 100%”?
Example:
Servo 1 max PWM: 1800ms
As 1500ms is neutral (or 0), the range is 300ms. Right?
When we are running on 50% gain, will the ESC receive 150ms? Or does it only function as a limiter, meaning that 50% gain still supplies the same torque as it would without adjusting the PWM parameter, only it stops at the limit we have set it to?
Please let me know if you don’t understand the question and want me to phrase it differently:-)
Hi @Erlingns95 -
You are correct, if using ArduSub firmware, 50% gain is 50% of whatever the maximum servo PWM has been set to. So yes, 1200-1800ms, 50% throttle will correspond to 1500+150 (or minus 150) being sent to the ESC.
The ESC is targeting RPM, not torque, when responding to throttle signal input. You can verify the servo outputs being sent by monitoring the Vehicle Setup / PWM Outputs page.
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