Enertion Raptor | First Batch Problems & Solutions

My instructions to reduce the aggressive low-speed power of the raptor.

NOTE: please test with lid off first! This is to make sure your problem is not related to poor signal, if nothing changes with the lid off & the signal seems responsive its fair to assume you can get some results with the below instructions.

1. Reduce motor current.

  • See “Motor Max” change this to 40
  • To reduce the brake force, change “Motor min (regen)” - this is also rider weight dependent. Maybe try -10 or -20 to get it perfect you will need to use trial & error.

2. Re-tune or customize the PPM settings.

  • Adjust the “Soft RPM Limit” settings
  • Increase the Deadband

Watch this video too:

3. Limit Top Speed using RPM limits You might also try setting the ERPM Limit Start at 20000 This will start limiting the Speed at around 10km… Could be a good idea until you get your bearings. Otherwise maybe try these settings below… Its really up to you. You can tune this to meet your expectations.




My instructions to reduce the chance of unexpected shut down due to low voltage & voltage sag.

1. Utilise the VESC’s built in LVC settings

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That video is great. I literally just got done changing my settings and was going to post my findings when I saw it. Although I was able to figure it out, that video explains it very well. I simply cannot express how much better the remote is for me after making those changes. I recommend everyone isn’t 100% satisfied with the remote WATCH THAT VIDEO AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES. What a difference it made for me. Seriously!

I only changed the deadband & min/max pulsewidth and now I can cruise at slower speeds at a steady pace. I’m SOOO happy!!

One thing I will say is that my min & max are far different from those in the video, but it looks like he has a different remote altogether (I could be wrong). Anyway, my remote min was 1.14 (I used 1.15 as the min pulsewidth), my max was 2.08 (I used 2.15 as the max pulsewidth), and I set the deadband to .17. The default settings were deadband .15, min, 1, max 2. So changing the numbers even slightly has a pronounced effect.

Thanks again to Jason and Enertion for making such a great board. Not only does it outperform the competition, but you can also customize it to your liking. Perfect!!

EDIT: A few things I thought of that might help others edit their settings:

  1. The firmware version on my VESC is 1.14, so the download link provided by Jason previously did not work. Another VERY helpful dude pointed me here which worked: http://vesc.net.au/BLDC-TOOL/Windows/OLD%20Versions/

  2. Make sure you install the STM drivers FIRST. And NOTE: There are 2 installs (read the readme!!). Once this is done, connect the battery to the board and turn it on, then connect the VESC to the computer using a mini-USB cable. You should hear the normal sound when connecting a USB device, and Device Manager should show the Virtual Com Port. If not, you have a problem with either the driver or the connectivity (my prob was a bad cable). After that it’s just a matter of running the BLDC_TOOL.exe.

  3. I had trouble reading the configuration until I went to the Realtime Data tab and checked the “Activate sampling” box. That seems to get the communication working and I was able to read the config (NOTE: You seem to need to read the config on each page!).

Again, I hope this helps.

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I wanted to keep this separate from my previous post. For those that were potentially interested in the other control modes, Here is what I found:

Duty Cycle Better than the “Current no reverse with brake” default settings, but after making the changes to the default settings I liked “Current no reverse with brake” better.

PID Speed Control VERY good if you really just want to go slow. Allows for very precise speed control at slower speeds, but top speed was down significantly. Here again, I didn’t try very hard to fix this by playing with the settings (or trying PID Speed Control No Reverse), so perhaps that’s possible. One thing about this mode I did not like at all about this mode is that when the control stick is neutral it means speed=0. In other words, the board applies the brakes to achieve 0mph, so no coasting.

Hopefully this helps others. I’m happy to answer any questions.

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@Xusia man oh man this is reassuring news… I’ve been feeling sick for the last few days thinking over everything thats been happening…

The ability to customize your ride is why the VESC is so awesome…THANK YOU BENJAMIN VEDDER! Also, None of us are the same, we all have different expectations & reactions to inputs from the world around us.

I remember my first eboard build, I had to detune everything in the Alien/Flier ESC otherwise i would shit my pants… I suppose that’s what’s partly what’s happening to many of you guys too… the standard settings are just way to aggressive…But i do feel confident that in a week or so you will feel very natural on the Beast Raptor!

ALSO, I never rode your boards on the street, So I could only program the VESC with settings I have on my board. So I suppose what we are learning is that the remotes have all got their own “personality” in terms of the “trimming” so they really all need to be programmed separately.

So now the question is, how do I build a rig that allows me to ride every customers raptor, to finely tune the PPM, without getting it super dirty?

Maybe I need to invest in a treadmill. This way I can check the Pulsewidth settings, ride the board to make sure it’s working properly, and not get it dirty

PID does go fast, you just have to change “PID max ERPM” to 100,000.00. PID is awesome, unfortunately we cant coast on PID…

Here’s a video I made to hopefully help others: https://youtu.be/g96Vegbz-SM

The first part is about the cable. If you are like me, you probably have a ton of those cables lying around. Rather than buy the right-angle adapter, I just dissected one of those. It’s really easy and only takes a couple minutes.

The second part shows where to make the changes and the results of the new settings. It’s only on the bench, but you still see remarkable results. I also tested it in my garage, and while that’s not really what I’d consider a good test, it was enough to validate the results. It really is SOO much better! I can’t wait to try it out when the rain stops and ground dries (so, in like 2 months… KIDDING! But it is Oregon…).

Again, I’m happy to answer any questions if people have them.

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great video man, I’m glad you have found a good setting.

I think we all know that this is a learning curve for some of us, and you could only really set it up as you ride. Dont think there is a way for you to test each new board. Plus the fact I dont think theres that many hrs in your day to do that, even with help.

The one thing I gathered with the boosted is it has the 4 settings on the remote which give the rider instant control. I could not just let a stranger use my Raptor in fear of injury.

I understand your baby has a few niggles, but it looks like there is hope. Ive got another board now to do all my beginner testing with the full Raptor 1.0 ready for blasting when were all comfortable with the speed.

We all want it to be a success, and I think thats why we are sharing on here our niggles. I dont think anyone with one of these boards is wanting to aim their frustration on you or the company. It does show with what Xusia is saying that maybe the contoller is not set up the way you think for other users which was what Nasty was also trying to say. IMO

Based on what I saw and what others have described, my theory is that each remote is just a bit different. The numbers that worked for me, might not work perfectly for someone else. But I didn’t have to ride the board to find those settings. I found them fairly easy on the “bench,” and I think Jason could easily do the same. I don’t think it would take that much time, and I think it would be time well spent.

While generic settings “work” they don’t present the product in it’s best light. Also of concern (I would think) is that this is a higher level of performance than virtually all other boards, and therefore the difference between “works” and “works well” can be significant.

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fantastic work on the video @Xusia!!

especially mentioning that you need a data USB cable as opposed to just a power one; I feel like a lot of people miss that when trying to set up their VESC’s.

Wanted to give some extra protection to the battery LCD, so have cut up some clear dvd blank which a is about 1.5-2mm and taped it to back of lid. Much better.

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so i’m off to the mall now to get one of those USB angles and see if something shows in the setup that’s out of the ordinary. i lost overview of the posts so could someone tell me if I only have to plug in the USB to one VESC or repeat the process for both? thanks!

i don’t want to start this topic again but my problem seems of a different nature. it’s impossible to keep my board at a steady speed other then full speed. after 1mm of stick movement it wants to accelerate to 100% speed. keeping the thumb steady in such a tiny margin on a moving platform is not doable. the riding tips video of onloop cruising at the beach at lower speeds, or in the promo where the guys cruising at the mall? simply not possible with my board due to this.

but i’m confident i can adjust this behavior with the guides posted so far. will post the results!

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@xusia 's video and comments make it clear we should have a lot of flexibility for getting the control behavior modified to our likeing.

You’ll only need program the master VESC on your Raptor dual.

I’ve linked all the “numbers” posts from this thread and Raptor Specific VESC information here :

It’s my hope that people will share their Raptor specific VESC programing information there. I hope to keep it about the numbers, and results, so that is the go to sorce for this type of information and troubleshooting.

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May I also suggest car door edge trim from Autozone for the LCD? I use them for my Space Cell enclosures and its surprisingly helpful in protecting it from the elements. I’ve ridden through very harsh Michigan weather recently and it holds up.

Please reconstruct this video in you living room.

That’s impossible with the raptor and the remote settings! The torque isn’t the problem. It’s the unpredictable communication between controller and VESC.

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I own an evolve skateboard and I’ve been very impressed with the durability and the way the skateboard behave , everything is under control and predictable !! but the only thing is missing is a little bit of speed !! 35km/h is nice but 45km/h it would be super !! . That’s why I was looking forward to buy the raptor . But after reading what happen with the first batch I thought it would be huge mistake !!! Now don’t get me wrong I know enertion is high-quality . what’s worrying me , is I know the raptor is not ready yet for a friendly user mode , like my evolve skate that you don’t need to worry about configuration and what not ! You just hop on the board and you’re good to go !

So here’s my dilemma . what enertion Will do for the second ,3th, 4th,5th … and the future batch Of raptors ??? Because trust me this product has huge potential !! But if enertion cannot spare me this whole programming thing and the few issues that we saw this passed day!! Ex battery not working , Remote control lossing signal , falling motors !! Lol ( sorry but that was a good one ) . All this potential will be lost and it will be sad, because now evolve is not doing anything that run 45 km an hour .

So what will you do for the future of the raptor !! Because I could be one of your future customers and many more !! :wink:

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The main thing I’d take into account is that this is Enertion’s first production electric skateboard-

Look at teslas first car, the roadster: It was plagued with some early production issues, but after revamping and creating the model S, they are now a super successful company.

Or look at marbel, another eboard that was funded insanely fast in kickstarter… they had parts falling off inside the deck, motors coming apart (because of a screw issue) and motors burning out. That said, after the first month of issues, they made sure everyone had solid customer support and eliminated the issues on all the boards since.

Long story short, just because there are problems with bringing something new and large scale to the market right now, doesn’t mean those problems with remain during batch 2 and so on.

We know the CF lid affects remote range, and that all new lids will be fiberglass, eliminating that issue.

I also know (from more testing done today) that the remote settings make a HUGE difference. We don’t yet know how Jason will handle this, but we do know that good settings can be found (I’ll post my results separately). I can’t say enough how big of a difference this has made for me, and I believe every Raptor owner can benefit from adjusting these settings. So this is yet another problem more-or-less solved. (you don’t want to have to do it yourself - I get that!)

I would also add that this is not Honda Civic, or even a Porsche. It’s more like a Dodge Viper. Tons of power and no electronic nanny’s to help you manage it. And the more power you have just in general, the more control issues you will have. I don’t know if you’ve driven cars with VERY high horsepower (like 700+) but daily drivers they are not - I don’t care what the manufacturer may claim. Such cars are beasts, as is the Raptor, and they are not for everyone. What I’m saying is you can’t have a super high performance board, and expect it to behave sedately. It’s just not going to happen.

Last thought: Have you considered the Raptor Mono? Based on my testing today, I’m very seriously considering a custom build based on the Enertion mono motor/setup. The only real difference I can see is the massive torque off the line. But if you don’t need that, meaning, you don’t need to blast off the line, the dual is kind of a waste in my opinion. The top speed of the Mono is the same (27mph), and it still goes up steep hills better than a Boosted Dual+, so not sure what more would really be needed. The positive of Mono, I believe (not having tested it personally), is that it should have more predictable acceleration and control than the dual. Would it meet your needs? I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s very likely.

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I agree with all of you !!! but think about something imagine your kid look at your board and he said I want to go for a ride !! what you going to say! hold on I got a hook up the raptor to my computer first so I can change the settings and five hours later you can say to your kid OK go ahead but be careful with the break they are very sensitive !! because is like driving a viper and you can get killed !!so be careful I’m not sure if is going to break Lol !!!

When you all saw the preview of the raptor like a week or so! I’m sure in the back of your head you thought the guy who made the raptor have a lot of experience he been working for like more than a year on this project,he tested the raptor in all possible ways ??? But what happen!!! You guy almost kill yourself and you did pay him good money !!! Right!! And don’t get me wrong if I’m a businessman i’ll test my product first to make sure if safe and if it is I’ll sell it !!

So my next question is did he really test the final product that he sold you or he was too busy making money and he said this fool will test it for me ???

This is nothing personal , is because I feel bad for you guys for what happened because that guy could it be me !!!

This is the first batch. Issues are to be expected (at least in my opinion), but so far I have not encountered anything that I think is gross negligence. Jason has been very open and honest and all the details are in this thread. There are some scenarios he didn’t account for, but for every issue he has offered solutions. Some involve me doing the work, which may not be for everyone, but what’s the alternative? Send it back so he can update it? That would take a while and cost money, so in this case I’d much rather do it myself (I also enjoy learning and playing around, even when it’s occasionally frustrating).

To answer your question about kids, my 8-year old son asked me if he could try it and I said “Hell no!” I did let him try a friend’s self-balancing scooter (aka hoverboard), and he did fine with it, so it’s not like I’m a worry wart or over protective. It’s just that like my motorcycle, this particular board is not a toy and it’s not suitable for all ages. If you want an electric skateboard a kid can ride, I’ve seen some kid-friendly models for ~$160 on Amazon. They go like 6mph.

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