BLHeli is an ESC firmware, and BLHeli32 is the 3rd generation after BLHeli and BLHeliS. BLHeli32 is written for ESC ‘s that utilize 32-bit MCU (STM32F0 Cortex-M0 at 48MHz), unlike BLHeli and BLHeliS ESC’s that runs on 8-bit processors. BLHeli32 does not work with 8bit Atmel or Silabs ESC’s. This app is for configuring BLHeli32 ESCs.The app requires that your device supports USB host mode (OTG).It supports the following USB connections to ESC (s):- USB connected flight controller.
Details
Wraith32 .The first ESC that supports BLHeli_32 has already been announced – the Wraith32 and Wraith32 Plus. Wraith32 32bit ESC
Note: only download the suite from the direct source for always the newest and clean copy: https://blhelisuite.wordpress.com/
Wraith32 Plus is a BLHeli_32 50A ESC that comes with a 6S powerhouse that supports voltage limiting and current limiting as well as a bright RGB LED. Wraith32 comes with a smaller 6S version that also supports voltage limiting and current limiting as well as a bright RGB LED.
RTFQ is the first to started shipping -orders on these two BLHeli_32 ESCs. You are having a chance to be the first one in the world receiving the ESCsBLHeli32 is the third generation BLHeli code, following base BLHeli and BLHeli_S.
IN STOCK NOW SHIPPING!
The RTF BLHeli_32 35A 3-6S DSHOT 1200 ESC w/ LED is a 32bit ESC features the latest gen. BLHeli_32 firmware, and it is compatible with the newest DSHOT 1200 protocol. The 32bit archetecture enables the ESC to run at incredible speeds resulting in better performance, faster input signals and lower latency compared to older 8bit ESCs.
The ESCs are low profile and compact in size, saving weight and making builds easy. These ESCs are OPTO (no BEC) and come without motor and power wires installed, allowing you to customize it to your needs. The ESC features new BLHeli_32 firmware pre-installed on them.
This RTF ESC is equiped with the QFN5x6 Power Mosfets instead tiny QFN 3x3 Mosfets (Most other ESC use). These larger 5x6 Mosfets deliver more current, and better cooling with less heat.
BLHeli32 runs on an ARM 32bit MCU, initially it will be on a Cortex-M0 running at 48MHz, but there are MCUs out there that can run a lot faster.BLHeli_32 is the third generation BLHeli code, following base BLHeli and BLHeli_S.
BLHeli32 runs on an ARM 32bit MCU, initially it will be on a Cortex-M0 running at 48MHz, but there are MCUs out there that can run a lot faster.
So what can the increased MCU speed do?
First of all, it can run input signals with lower latency at faster rates.
Dshot up to at least Dshot1200, and at rates up to at least 32kHz is now supported.
Secondly it allows packing of more functionality.
- Like programmable pwm frequency, up to 48kHz, that can run motors even smoother, and also allows for moving of small but potentially disturbing humps in the throttle response. All ESCs have these bumps, with BLHeli_32 they can now be moved in the rpm range, to a place where the system has low sensitivity to them.
- Like auto timing. Which is not the option to choose if you’re after max power. But if you want the most efficient running with very good robustness against desync, it is the perfect choice.
- Like voltage and current limiting. Which is implemented in the code, and will be supported on some ESCs. Voltage limiting is desirable for fixed wing crafts. And current limiting adds protection against ESC failure.
- Like programmable brake on stop force. Which allows control of the braking of fixed wing props.
- Like improved direction change in bidirectional mode.
- Like more to come in the future. Such as setup from the FC by using Dshot commands. Such as telemetry functionality. There is room to grow performance and functionality.
Benefits of BLHeli_32 Firmware on 32-bit ESC
32bit processors run faster than 8bit, at which we can expect better performance from the new 32bit ESC’s. Faster input signals with lower latency and higher update rate would be possible, such as Dshot1200 or even faster protocols! (Read about DSHOT) (Read about DSHOT1200)
The 32-bit platform also allows more functionality and features that simply wasn’t possible on 8bit ESC’s, such as
- Programmable PWM frequency of up to 48KHz
- Auto-timing for higher efficiency and realiability
- Voltage/Current limiting
- Adjustable “Brake on Stop” force
- Improve direction change in Bidirectional mode
- ESC Telemetry
- Configuring from FC using DShot commands
- Note: Not all of these features have been implemented yet. They are ideas from the developer (aka sskaug).
Features
- New 32bit Cortex-M0 running at 48MHz
- Latest Gen. firmware using BLHeli_32
- Supports DSHOT 1200, Oneshot125 (125-250us), Oneshot42(41.7-83.3us) and Multishot (5-25us). Auto-detection.
- Lightweight, and compact size
- Adaptive timing, compatible with a wide range of motors and Kv
- Sychronous rectification technology adds efficiency, damped light
- Powerful regenerative braking / active braking.
- 3-6s LiPo battery compatible
- Onboard RGB LED for customizable color
- DSHOT 1200 compatible!
Specs
- Input: 3-6s LiPoly
- Constant: 35 Amps
- Burst: 45 Amps
- BEC: No BEC, OPTO only
- Dimensions: 30x16x6mm
- Signal wire: 15cm
- Weight: 4.8g (without motor wires)
Downloads
Includes
1x BLHeli_32 35A 3-6S DSHOT 1200 ESC w/ LED
BLHeli_32 is the third generation BLHeli code, following base BLHeli and BLHeli_S. When we are talking about the BLHeli_32, its one main feature of Dshot compability over Dshot1200 is always mentioned. But what is Dshot1200 and what have made it a better ESC protocol?
WHAT IS DSHOT ESC PROTOCOL?
DShot is a new communication protocol between flight controller (FC) and ESC, substitute to Oneshot and Multishot. DShot stands for Digital Shot.
The project is developed by Flyduino in collaboration with Betaflight. Many would be surprised by how fast things are moving forward: Multishot has only just been implemented and adopted by the mini quad FPV community, and now there is already a newer, better technology a few months later.
What are the Advantages of DShot?
Compared to Oneshot and Multishot, we are informed that DShot is better because:
No More ESC Calibration Required (no oscillator drift)
More Accurate ESC Signal, and more robust against electrical noise
Higher Resolution of 2048 Steps, compared to others of 1000 steps
Faster Than Oneshot
Safer, every signal – ESC can detect and reject corrupted data
What is DSHOT1200?
DShot1200 is an ESC protocol similar to DShot 600, but twice as fast with lower delay. There are some benefits in using DShot1200, and special hardware is required to run it.
Just like DShot150, DShot300 and DShot600, the number “1200” in DShot1200 signifies the bit-rate in kilobits per second. So in theory DShot1200 is 2 times faster than DShot600.
DShot1200 would be faster than Multishot too. Multishot has a varying signal length between 5us to 25us depends on throttle level, while DShot1200 has a constant, fixed signal length of about 13uS. Unless you fly really slow with Multishot with low throttle, it’s more likely that the delay would be between 15us to 25us (50% to 100% throttle).
What are the Advantages of DShot1200?
Comparing to Analog ESC protocols like Oneshot and Multishot, the same benefits of DShot applies to DShot1200:
Higher resolution and more accurate and reliable data
Data error rejection
Now with the advantage of even higher speed with DShot1200, there are more reasons to change over to digital ESC protocol now from analog
Comparing to other DShot protocol, DShot1200 is simply faster. And faster is always better if the system is capable of running it.
It was only about a year ago when we were all getting excited about a new BLheli-S ESC firmware (the S is for special). But now the developers have been working on something extra special, called BLheli-32. This 32bit firmware introduction covers the important things you need to know about. BLheli32 will be supported from BetaFlight V3.2
Key Features
- Runs on ARM 32bit MCU (much faster than 8bit MCU on BLheli-s, runs Dshot1200 now, but faster in future)
- Direct configuration of ESC from flight controller using Dshot commands.
- Programmable PWM frequency (up to 48Khz) – allows for much smoother motor operation
- Automatic Motor Timing – helps run your motor at maximum efficiency with robustness against desync. You can also manually fine tune the motor timing to get maximum power from your motor.
- Current and Voltage Limiting – helps prevents your ESC failure
- Bidirectional mode improvements
- Ability to set the motor brake force
- ESC Telemetry Support
- Maximum Motor Acceleration – can be set to prevent desync on some motors under high acceleration.
Some of these features are not fully implemented yet but are part of the initial release plan.
BLheli_32 is closed source 🙁
I will not go into the debate, but ultimately this means that all BLheli-32 ESC’s are going to be a little more expensive since manufacturers need to pay the developers a licensing fee. I was disappointed to see that the 32bit version is now closed source.
Steffen Skaug, the original developer of BLheli said that as the project grew, so did the workload. Blheli-32 was created from scratch and they decided to enable them to get some returns on all the effort they have put into the project, while also stopping clones. This will allow the BLheli developers to push ESC performance and the hobby to the next level.
You still need to use BLHeli suite
BLHeli suite v31+ will support the 32bit ESC, which means if you run MAC or Linux you might have some problems. To make it worse the BLheli configurator chrome app will not support BLheli32 right now.
The main reason for this is that when you flash new firmware, BLHeli suite connects to the internet to verify the ESC serial number to make sure it is an official ESC. The one upside of this is that the market will not be flooded with knockoff ESC’s.
Why is 32bit better?
Apart from the extra computing power available to developers, the most significant advantage is the fact that the code can be written in C. This makes it significantly easier to work on new code and features. The initial BLheli and BLheli-S firmware are Assembly based. So I expect the 32-bit firmware to get significantly better as the project continues. Also since the developers are now getting a monetary reward for their efforts through licensing fees, there is more motivation to make it worth it.
Dshot vs Multishot – Speed is not everything
Just a quick mention to say that I don’t think the main advantage of BLheli32 is the speed. The guys working on the RaceFlight project introduced the multishot protocol a while ago. Multishot is a much more simplified protocol, so it means that on today’s 8bit MCU they can run at 32Khz, reducing overall latency. However, with Dshot you need to run BLheli32 to get the same update speeds. The main advantage of Dshot is the fact that it is a digital protocol so you can send commands to your ESC. This is where the versatility of Dshot will become apparent. For example, you can send a command to tell your motors to beep, and when to tell it to stop beeping, or tell your ESC to enter bi-directional mode while in flight (so you have full throttle resolution when you don’t need bi-directional mode). I can’t think of any other use cases but I am sure we will see some cool features in the future.
Where can I get my BLHeli-32 ESC?
I will be writing a separate article to list off of the official BLHeli32 ESC’s soon. For now we are selling the Wraith32 Series ESC, which are the first production units to be sold.
I should mention that there are other 32bit ESC’s on the market that supports Dshot such as the racer33. These run custom firmware that is not BLHeli32.
Current Protection
Apart from the performance improvements, I like the fact that they have added current protection support. This will only be supported with ESC’s that have a current sensing resistor (like the wraith32). By using this feature, if the current draw gets above the value you set, the ESC will reduce the power to the ESC to prevent it overheating (like when the motor gets jammed on a crash). This in combination with the temperature monitoring on your ESC MCU will mean that its unlikely you will fry an ESC from overloading it! One thing I am not sure about is the calibration procedure of the current sensor.
Blheli_32 Dshot
Automatic Motor Timing
Automatic timing is great when you are not sure about what you are doing. With automatic timing, the ESC will ensure that your motors run as efficiently as possible. However, this will mean your motors are not running at max power, which is not ideal for FPV racing.
However, you can also manually set the timing between 1 and 31 to fine tune your ESC for your motor setup for maximum power. Usually, the medium setting will work fine for most motors. In the old BLheli-S firmware you can only choose between 5 values that correspond to 0/7.5/15/22.5/30 timing advance.
Maximum Acceleration
This setting lets you tell your ESC to limit the power sent to the motor within a given millisecond. This feature is useful if you are having desync issues with your motor under heavy acceleration (when your motor chirps and looses power when you increase throttle rapidly). You can set this between 0.1% to 25.5% per millisecond.
Blheli_32 Configurator Mac
So if you set it to 15, this means that the power sent to the motor cannot increase by more than 15% per millisecond. If you have desync issues you should try to get this to be as low as possible to get the most power out of your motor.
ESC Telemetry
As mentioned before ESC telemetry is on the plans for BLheli32. Aerosurfer noticed that on the wraith32 ESC, they have a UART port on them (still to be documented). But one advantage is that you can use the current sensor from the ESC for your flight controller, and if the ESC can send other info back to the FC, the flight control algorithm can get extra info about motor state such as RPM to improve performance and tuning.
Blheli_32
So that the main things I think will be great about BLheli32, and the main downside is no more open source (but it is fair that they get paid for all the work). If you have any questions or comments let me know in the comments section!