For a big motor a powerful ESC!
Here I am continuing, little by little, with my review. Today we talk about voltage regulators for electric motors. To manage this powerful Dualsky GA6000 engine, which is actually very beautiful aesthetically and massive on the construction side (see crankshaft, support flange for the spinner plate and propeller and body) I had to choose a regulator that was up to the level of performance.
The brushless controller is in fact the most important device in an electric motor: not only does it allow simple min/max adjustment of the power (and rpm) of the electric motor, but it must resist both operating temperatures (often high) and absorption loads (Ah, ampere) which in our case can even reach peaks of 125Ah. There are a vast variety of them on the market with features for all needs but, often, they are from unknown companies (at least to me...) that are not popular among model makers or that have prices that are too low to have an adequate quality standard. In my laboratory I have an HV regulator for 12S which had a maximum absorption of 120Ah and which I therefore did not use to avoid running into overload problems. I therefore had to purchase a new ESC and after personal evaluations which concerned both the brand, the quality and the cost, I decided to purchase a 160A (Opto) ZTW Mantis HV G2 which can support up to 14S and a peak amperage of 180A (therefore well above my needs). The oversizing allows me to feel more at ease regarding the amperages and a possible temperature peak. In my tests I had already used a ZTW brushless voltage regulator but only for EDF motors and I had already had good feedback in terms of quality and performance. The ZTW Mantis HV G2 160Amp. It weighs 230 grams (in line with regulators in the same range) for a size of 78x54x32mm (but this configuration is available in the same model starting from 25A).
Salient features of this ESC are a new 32-bit processor, a particularly efficient heat dissipation system (thanks to a fan that is factory installed in the upper part of the ESC and which takes power from a 4-pin port also used for programming) and the possibility of managing the rotation inversion from the remote control. This function is obtained by connecting to the Rx an additional yellow cable present where the plug that goes to the Rx is in the motor channel and, using another channel on the TX it is possible to reverse the rotation of the motor (this is useful for the fans!). Of note is the real-time management of regulator data such as current, voltage, temperature, RPM, accelerator and ESC status thanks to the optional Bluethoot interface combined with its specific smartphone application and therefore limited to the vicinity of the model; this accessory (cost approximately 24 euros) is useful for modifying the operating parameters even on the flying field. Alternatively, for programming you can use the small ZTW viewer (not included) or even via Tx like all Esc. The 160A ZTW Mantis HV G2 is also equipped with a
safety protection that allows power to be cut off to the motor if the transmitter signal is lost for more than 2 seconds.
This ESC does not have the output to power the receiver as it is (Opto) but this is a condition common to high power regulators which therefore require a separate power system for the receiver. In my case I used two 2S batteries combined with a Pioneer Powerbox servo control unit (cheap, small in size and very convenient both to set up and use).
In practice, during the first tests, the regulator proved to be very precise in the linearity of its response to acceleration and despite having subjected it to prolonged tests with a 24x10 carbon propeller, overheating was never excessive (the regulator goes into overdrive above 110 degrees). protection and limits the number of revolutions to allow cooling).
