Don’t overdischarge your batteries.
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Make sure you have plenty of space when doing speed runs. Never slam on the brakes when going full speed with a car esc or else you’ll fry your motor and esc.
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always carry a second way to mount your stuff (i.e tape) enclosures can break and you dont want to have to use your shoelace.
second if you have any problems with electronics turn back jerryriging doesnt work, turn back and fix it right.
tape up your lipo leads when the pack isn’t in use. nobody wants to weld anything to thier motor mounts and nobody likes slag on thier motor controller when the leads contact and spark up. yeah yeah, XT60s… blah blah… i like my bullets.
stay out of the water. Weatherproofing is something we all strive for, but that’s for unintentional splashes and occasionally getting caught in a drizzle. Intentionally riding through puddles and on wet pavement is just dumb.
don’t use your face to stop while riding. And if you do, make sure you’re wearing a helmet that covers your face.
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don’t mount inflexible items, like space cell batteries, to decks that flex… the battery will fail.
Speed wobble is real so spend some time figuring out your bushing situation before you attempt to push your system’s top speed.
To have fun on an electric skateboard, you need to have basic skating skills already. Know how to kick-push, how to stop, and how to carve before you jump on an eskate and rip into the streets.
Limit top speed on your ESC when you are first testing your system out. It’s better to have an electronic or mechanical failure going 12MPH.
Tape your motor wire connections. Do not rely on the plug to “just stay plugged in.”
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The funny part is that with every comment added to this thread, there is a really funny/ tragic story to be told XD
Make sure all your components are secure. Don’t rely on the enclosure to hold them up. IF the enclosure fails then all your shit ends up 50 feet behind you on Lakeshore drive. I always mount with Scotch extreme double sided tape And my enclosure.
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Carry some spare belts and basic tools with you when you go for a ride.
Don’t go 25mph while pulling someone on a popsicle board with 50mm wheels no matter how smooth the road seems.
Get a watt meter and KNOW how many AMPS you are pulling.
Extra belts, extra belts, extra belts.
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This would be on top of my list before anything. It’s not like you have to be Tony Hawk, but investing in a non-electric is a good way to keep your skills sharp. It’s troubling how many people I know with a Boosted who can’t even balance on a regular longboard. Would you buy a motorcycle before learning how to ride a bike? For city riding, it’s especially important to know basic skills, which is why riding in FOC and hubs helps me to actively kick push between intersections, coasting and throttling only when necessary. Awareness and respecting that your electronics can fail at any given moment keeps me defensive and aware.
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I agree @thisrealhuman - but maybe there’s another piece to this comment… what is your advice to someone once they know how many many amps they are pulling? What do they do with this info?
If you’re going through so many belts, you’re doing something wrong. Either your pulleys aren’t aligned correctly, your belts are too tight or too loose, or you’re riding where there are tons of little rocks. Not to say you shouldn’t have spare belts though.
@treenutter I assumed a 120A ESC with a 60A motor meant I would never blow my motor because amps is a pulling calculation, but these motors don’t exactly work that way. I haven’t blown my motor, 245kv E-Flite Power 160, but I hit 70A gunning it up to speed yesterday. It’s not just about calculating limits and hoping to stay within them, I like to know what my limits actually feel like and recognize the changing squeal of the motor. I’ve only used my watt meter three times but it’s been very educational.
@claudiofiore88 Lining up the motor mount has been the biggest pain through this whole process. I’ve had the sidewalls of my motor pulley knocked off, belts that randomly go sideways ONLY when I’m braking, tiny rocks stuck in the wheel pulley teeth that puncture the belt from the inside and of course the small rocks that chew the belt up and put dents in the pulley. The $3 Ametric belts on amazon are good for 50 or so miles and the Contitech belts seem to be only sold by one company in the US and shipping takes way to long. I’m trying Gates next and upgrading to 15mm.
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@thisrealhuman What material are your belts. The only ones I’m seeing of the Ametric belts on Amazon are rubber. Definately wouldn’t be my first choice. I just bought a few belts from http://www.vbeltsupply.com/synchronous-timing-belt/5m-pitch. They’re pretty much the same as the ones I’ve gotten from Enertion and DIY. They also do custom widths. Not sure if there’s a minimum order size for custom widths.
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This is a helpful thread for newcomers. Let’s get it going again!
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I’ve heard many stories of ESC/VESC cutting off and the board stopping suddenly. how can we prevent/bypass this?
The right amp limits can help. Also a good T & R
t&r? and i was just wondering if there was a solution so if the vesc cuts off it just come to a gradual stop not just lock the brakes
I’ve been bookmarking nuggets to remember when i finally have all the pieces. Here’s one i think is important:
For the Winning Remote:
The failsafe when losing connection can be set to coast by rebinding the remote, and unplugging the bind key while the board and remote are still turned on. If your motor is not spinning when you uplug the bind key then your motor will not spin when it loses connection.
This was posted by @Brando after people were reporting run-away boards if the remote cut out. More detail instruction on how exactly to do that rebind was posted by @longhairedboy today
make sure the binding is good on those Winnings guys. Jason sent me these instrux because i kept streeting my face on a repair and could not figure out what the deal was. It turned out to be the remote binding and something they call “fail-safe functionality.” Beleive me, without it, it fails very unsafe.
Please test the fail-safe functionality (like moving the transmitter as far away from the board and checking if the motor shuts down if out of reach). If the motors doesn’t shut down or applies brakes, please perform the following steps for binding and calibrating:
Check and make sure all the wires are connected and that the REMOTE is OFF. Insert the bind plug into CH3(Bind) on the RECEIVER.
With the REMOTE OFF: switch on the ESC to power up the RECEIVER, the red LED light will flash.
PRESS and HOLD the bind button on the REMOTE and then turn the REMOTE ON.
You should notice the REMOTE and RECEIVER LED light go from flashing red to solid red.
Once you see a solid red light, the binding process is complete. Then without turning the REMOTE OFF or touching the THROTTLE pull the bind plug out (for the receiver to record the throttle mid point, neutral, to engage the fail safe)
Then you can test it again by turning OFF the REMOTE and the RECEIVER LED should flash. By turning the REMOTE ON the RECEIVER LED should go back to solid red.
Before riding, it’s better to test the fail safe functionality again. Leave the board powered on and switch the REMOTE off: if the motor isn’t moving, the fail safe function is working, if the motor is moving fast or abruptly braking while throttle is applied: you have to repeat step No.1- No.6
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