if you’re building a regular eboard, just go with an improved version of the VESC 4
Ollinboards has (from my experience) a very reliable vesc 4, I’ve not had an issue with it and not seen any (except 1) have a problem with it
Enertion also has a similar product (VESC-X) that I’ve seen positive feedback about too,
Try those as I can’t see that a first build would greatly benefit from the VESC6 as it is now
Well, some guys always want the latest stuff. In some cases its wise to invest a bit more and have the new model. In some cases you could say the old model does the job. So its a matter of attitude and your budget. I’m always astonished by the cues in front of the modern cathedrals called a…pl store. Folks sleep in front of the stores to be the first to have the latest stuff. I bet in 2018 no one will make VESC4s any more. VESC6 is the future. The latest VESC 6 firmware is just so much better. Its a software issue, not a hardware issue. You can’t run VESC 6 Firmware on VESC 4. But I do also agree that VESC 4 designs do work quite well in most cases, just like my two year old smartphone still does the job. Well, the camera could be better…
Frank
I have 14 reasons to be interested in a better VESC.
All of those units are basically dead. Fried DRVs, melted mosfets, or weird intermittent shutdowns and generally buggy behavior which have plagued 4.10, 4.11, and 4.12. 4.12 has been much much better than the other versions though, and when tuned properly 99% of its issues seem to be mitigated 99% of the time. But you can still trigger braking failures on occasion. And believe it or not, pulley ratios are just as important where braking is concerned when trying to overcome those issues as BLDC settings tuning is.
For now Enertion’s VESC-X is holding up to the street abuse we give it very well. No braking issues so far, smooth hard acceleration, and they seem to shut down properly to protect themselves when you do stupid things like put too much load on the PPM power output by running LEDS and shit from them. The form factor is perfect and lends itself to doing things like thermally coupling the existing heatsink to an exterior one exposed through the box, mounting to plates, etc.
So far the only issue i have is when the brakes change modes during hard braking. It can be kind of startling, but if expected its a non issue. In general they are a breath of fresh air and so far we love them.
So I’m very excited to see you doing this work and i’m hoping to get my hands on some of your VESCs the minute they are available. If you can make them stand up to the abuse of off-roading and extreme usage than they will definitely take the abuse we give them in our street rods and the community will have something that’s well suited for both.
In the end its a lot cheaper to invest a bit more in the first place. That’s what we are preaching all day long!
Frank
Nah… They are all still good… but I need the 20 dollar MCU and 10 dollar DRV for quick prototype assembly… 
EXCEPT: for those dual VESC… those where just shitty.
Two of those are very early Ollins, one is a Maytech, some are Enertion from a batch of 12 i ordered late last year, and some are direct from Macrofab that i ordered after uploading the stuff to them from the repository to test on my own.
I’ve got three coming from AXLE right now to use in some warranty repairs. We’ll see how well those hold up.
I’ve pretty much decided to move completely to VESC-X for my customer builds from now until VESC6 is available. We haven’t been seeing any real problems at all from them so far for street builds, even when doing really dumb shit like running 15/33 pulleys on 100mm wheels. Even if they are just modified 4.12s with direct fets and the V6 board layout, and i kind of think there’s more going on than just that, they’re a vast improvement over typical 4.12s.
I think Ollin has a direct fet (VESC-X competitor) too, but don’t know how well it works, and at the price ($220 vs $150) it probably doesn’t make sense if the VESC-X is holding up.
Does the VESC-X have 12s FOC problems?
@barajabali and @longhairedboy are beating them up at 12S. All my builds are 10S with foc, no problems at all.
Btw, @longhairedboy, if you did not try it yet, foc sensored is crazy awsome smooth.
Edit: should prob move this convo in the vescx thread, keep the thread on topic
Living in the past gentlemen…Vesc 6.0 will be Amazeballs.
Very possible, i just have a hard time justifying to myself the price difference for extra features that won’t be used, that a cheaper and very reliable solution is already available.
220 GreatBrittainKilograms is over 400 canadian pesos… thats to steap for my wallet
I still don’t get it why the VESC 6.0 should be so much more expensive. The price of the components is not really different, is it ? You get an aluminium enclosure but does that explain the price increase ?
The new VESC has components that essentially cost more. There’s a few new bells and whistles on the board too, which I also agree is not 100% necessary.
Which component would cost more ? I thought the DirectFETs were even cheaper than the other SMD package ? Maybe the microcontroller is different.
Please don’t estimate the value of a product simply considering the price of materials. These are the main reasons why trampa’s vesc 6 will always be more expensive than the maytech one: [quote=“trampa, post:226, topic:3813”] Everyone wants a cheap and versatile product, we fully understand that. But please don’t forget the designer in future. A price includes more than the pure production costs.You have no clue how many hours of coding BV spent in the last year! It has been endless!Please also note that UK prices include 20% VAT. We do not advertise our products without VAT and Import Tax towards overseas customers to make them look attractive. No fooling around. [/quote]
Even gasoline its FREE if you manage to extract it from your backyard…
It’s got a CNC aluminum housing that adds some cost. I think after this beta and Trampa production run, the source files will be released which will let other companies start to manufacture it, and we will start to see lower cost options. Trampa has a lot of R&D and prototype costs to recoup so I believe the price is higher than just the manufacturing costs. If I had to guess, VESC 6 in two years might sell for around $150 (+/- for aluminum housing).
The other thing is that Vedder worked hard to make this firmware/software expandable and configurable to other hardware. The goal is to run VESC firmware regular ESC devices. This means anyone making an ESC with compatible hardware should be able to modify the firmware easily to run on their device. This means companies might make a 6s ESC with VESC firmware, or a 16s 300A monster ESC with VESC firmware. It really changes the game. The firmware/software is where the real value is, and we are lucky he’s keeping that open source!
I’m interested to hear what the warranty will be on the VESC 6.0.
If they are going to be $300 and promised to be near bullet proof, I would like a warranty on it that backs up that claim.
Sorry, too busy riding the brakes down hills and slamming on them at full speed. lol
Seriously i may try that out. I’ve been running sensored hybrid with my own motors for the past month or so and… well… holy shit that’s nice.
Well, you dont pay the british VAT in that case. So a twin is 195 x 2 = 390GBP incl 20% VAT. Without VAT its 325/2=162 GBP per VESC. Import Tax depends on your countries legislation.
BTW, just talked to Benjamin - he reckons the housed VESC 6 can handle triple the power of any VESC 4 while design being totally robust. He is banging on stuff night and day to get you the best beta experience of your life. 200 Ponds sounds expensive but you guys get a real decent product without the need to spend 1000 hours on development. Do the VAT balance before estimating the price you pay when sitting outside Europe!
Frank
