How could I wire an ESC to work with the Henglong receiver?

[Tech-Com]

My 1/6th Stuart runs off of a very nice and large 12v battery.
I'll need to bring this voltage down for the Henglong receiver.
However, I still would like my main motors to run off of 12v

All the ESC I have looked at have 3 wires for the throttle, but the henglong receiver only has 2 wires for each motor.

Not sure how to wire up one of these traditional 3 wire throttles into each 2wire motor output.

[MichaelC]

These are not compatible. The three wires from the ESC is expected to be input from the receiver to control the throttle, as the ESC will drive the motors itself. The wires from the Heng Long receiver is output to the motors to actually drive them which carries much higher current. i.e. ESC is expecting three wire signal, and the Heng Long two wire is actually driving the motor.

[Tech-Com]

Any idea how the 3 wire throttle communicates? I know enough I could drop the voltage from the Henglong motor output if burning out the ESC input is the issue.

It seems the function I am looking for would be very similar to a car stereo amplifier.

[Pak36]

The 3 wires are basically...+ and - power plus a signal wire. The ESC draws it's motor power from the battery direct from the fat wires. The wiring can be adapted to use a BEC ( battery eliminator circuit ) to provide power to the ESC direct from the battery. It basically controls the voltage to supply the required power. Then...you just need the signal.

Trouble is...the Heng Long board is basically just outputting power to the motors, so I doubt very much that voltage would work to supply the ESC with the correct information to run.

If you have the gear to test it, you would really need to measure what voltage/current the receiver sends out to see if your HengLong power output could ever be made to match it. I wouldn;t really trust the HL electronics to cope with the load you are going to want anyway.

[wibblywobbly]

As said above, the HL esc's are mounted on the pcb. The signal input to the board stops at the esc's. The power output from the board is only two wires as that is all that is needed to power the motors.

What you are effectively trying to do is bypass the HL esc's.

This is where you would hit the next problem. HL does not use standard RC protocols, it has a unique split signal system, which means that even you managed to bypass the HL esc's and connect the positive/signal/negative to external esc's, they are unlikely to work as the signal going to the esc's would not be recognised.

Pretty much the only solution is to junk the HL board, install a standard tx/rx, and plug two esc's into that. You can mix the two motor channels to simulate HL motor control. The turret functions would also have to be controlled either by servo's on separate channels, or additional motors and esc's. Anything more such as muzzle and machine gun flash, recoil etc would require further solutions.

If you like tinkering, and purchase an Arduino 2560, take a look at the links from the TCB section in electronics. Everything would be possible using that system and it would be relatively inexpensive.

[MADRICK42R]

Wibbly tried your link and could not find the link as you suggested ?

[wibblywobbly]

https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/viewforum.php?f=208

http://openpanzer.org/forum/index.php?topic=16.0

[Tech-Com]

Any idea how many amps the henglong board will handle at 7.2v?

There are some cheap 7.2v 550rpm 60in lb of torque cordless drills I could hack.

[wibblywobbly]

There are no fuses on an HL board, it is very basic and designed to run a light 1/16 scale tank. It is amps that melt components, rather than volts. so the 7.2v figure isn't the important one. A pair of 380/400 motors will probably only pull 5-10 amps during flat surface running. If the tracks get jammed, or a steep incline is encountered that can easily rise to 20 amps or more. HL boards will start frying at that point. Taigen added cooling fans as standard to theirs, even with standard motors.

Running big motors will pull even more, 540 motors are pushing it. The HL board isn't designed to handle large electrical loads.

The HL board is a £10 cheapie, there is a reason why aftermarket tank boards cost £100-£200.

[Tech-Com]

I have an idea using minimal components mosfet,diode, etc to allow the HL board to control turning, low and medium speed, and reverse. If the controller stick is pushed full forward the HL board will be bypassed for flat out speed.

Right now I just want to determine at what the cutoff point will be as to not burn up the board.

[43rdRecceReg]

I have an idea using minimal components mosfet,diode, etc to allow the HL board to control turning, low and medium speed, and reverse. If the controller stick is pushed full forward the HL board will be bypassed for flat out speed.

Right now I just want to determine at what the cutoff point will be as to not burn up the board.

Installing inline fuses might afford a degree of protection, but, as Wibbly has said, junking the board might be the best option.
It could save time, and head-scratching in the long run.
You can always try components and basic schematics (fuses etc..) out with a basic breadboard kit, before installing them in the tank..