SkyRC Hornet 60A ESC for Air User Manual

BRUSHLESS CONTROLLERS
FOR HELICOPTER & AIRCRAFT

www.skyrc.com

YEA R

INTRODUCTION

Thanks for purchasing our HORNET series Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)
for helicopter & aircraft. This product is incorporates the latest SMT hardware
technological developments.
HORNET controllers also have the most intelligent, comprehensive software,
which means that this speed controller (or governor) is capable of operating
virtually any brushless motor currently on the market with optimum efficiency.
Please read through instructions entirely before attempting to operate with
these electronic devices.(including those who hate to read instructions!)

Wiring Diagram

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5
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1. Receiver Cable, 3-pin:

- = negative . . . . . . . . black or brown

+ = positive . . . . . . . . red

s = signal . . . . . . . . . . white or orange

2. Battery Connection- Black Negative (-)

3. Battery Connection- Red Positive (+)

4. Motor connection a . . . . . Black

5. Motor connection b . . . . . Yellow,

6. Motor connection c . . . . . Red,

7. Heat Sink

1

7

3

s
+

1

-

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WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND GETTING PARTICULARLY CLOSE
ATTENCTION TO OUR SAFETY NOTES.

SAFETY NOTES

Technical defects of an electrical or mechanical nature may result in
unintended motor runs; loose parts may cause serious personal injuriy
and/or property damage.

Always treat them with necessary respect. Keep the rotor blade or
propeller away from your body and others at all times.

We suggest that you remove the rotor blade or propeller when you are
working on the helicopter/plane with the battery connected.

Speed controllers are not protected against reverse polarity.
Connecting the battery pack to the motor leads of the controller will
cause irreparable damage.

Please observe all local laws regarding the flying of remote control
aircraft.

Never fly over others or near crowds.

Speed controllers are exclusively for use in RC models. Their use in
man-carrying aircraft is prohibited.

High power system for RC model can be very dangerous, so we strongly
suggest you read this manual carefully. In that we have no control over the
correct use, installation, application, or maintenance of our products, no
liability shall be assumed nor accepted for any damages, losses or costs
resulting from the use of the product. Any claims arising from the operating,
failure or malfunctioning etc. will be denied. We assume no liability for
personal injury, property damage or consequential damages resulting from
our product or our workmanship. As far as is legally permitted, the obligation
to compensation is limited to the invoice amount of the affected product.

Switching BEC

The HORNET ESC use a switching battery eliminator circuit that provide
up to 3 amps (5 amps peak) current output with 2-6S LiPo pack.

While 3 amps should be more than enough power for most airplane
applications, some helicopters are known to draw extremely amount of
current during 3D aerobic performance. We strongly suggest that you

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determine the maximum current draw of the servos and other devices
(receiver, gyro, etc) you plan to use in your application. If that value exceeds
3 amps, you must use another source to power up your system.

* Note 1: If you choose to use an RX battery pack or any form of external
BEC device, you MUST disconnect the RED WIRE in the throttle cable from
the Hornet ESC.

CONNECT YOUR HORNET ESC

You will need to solder connectors on your HORNET controller.

Solder or use
connectors

Motor

HORNET ESC

Battery
pack

Remove the red
wire if you need to
disable BEC

Receiver

Double-check your battery polarity and connections before plugging a
battery into your controller. There is no polarity for the three motor wires. If
the motor spins the wrong way when power is applied, swap any two of the
motor side connections and it will then spin properly. You may also use
programming function, described below, to reverse the rotation via the
controller's software. We recommend using Velcro to attach the ESC to the
airframe for easy removal. Double sided tape is also acceptable. Do not pack
HORNET ESC in foam as this may lead to a heat buildt-up in the controller.

NOTE TO FUTABA TRANSMITTER USERS: You may have to reverse the
throttle direction of your radio. Please see your radio's instructions on how
to make this change.

FLY YOUR HORNET ESC

Your HORNET ESC comes ready to fly with Lithium Polymer type batteries.
No settings changes are needed. To fly, turn your transmitter on before
connecting your HORNET ESC to the motor battery.
When you connect the motor battery to the HORNET ESC, you will hear an
initialization tone from the motor and a series of beeps telling you how many
Lithium Polymer cells in series are in your battery pack, and the servos will
be active. Make sure that the number of beeps matches the number of cells

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in your pack. If it doesn't, make sure your pack is fully charged.
The HORNET ESC will not arm unless you move your throttle stick to the
lowest position. When the HORNET ESC receives the low throttle command,
it will arm and play a double tone through the motor, indicating it is armed
and now ready to run. If this is the first time you are running the controller,
advance the throttle slowly to ensure that the rotor or propeller rotation is
correct. If it isn't, swap any two of the motor side connections and it will then
spin properly.

PROGRAMMING HORNET ESC

HORNET series ESC offer users the option of changing programmable
settings. You do not need to program anything to make the ESC work.
Programming is only necessary if you want to change the default setting or
if you want to use advanced features. There are three methods to change
the settings on your HORNET ESC.

1. Manual Programming

Manual Programming HORNET ESC is as simple as answering a few
questions. The HORNET ESC asks questing by beeping a setting
number, followed by the possible setting values. There are eight settings
that can be programmed in the HORNET ESC using your transmitter’s
stick. You must answer "yes" or "no" to the setting values as they are
presented by HORNET ESC. When you enter programming mode the
ESC will emit a sequence of beeps that tell you which programming step
you are in. There are two parts to the beep sequence. The first set of
beeps indicates the 'Setting Number (Question), e.g. Cutoff Voltage, and
the second set of beeps indicates a Setting Value, e.g. Auto LiPo. A
nswering "No" to a Setting value will cause the ESC to ask for the next
value in that section. After a "Yes" answer is accepted, the ESC knows
you aren't interested in any other option in that section, so it skips to the
first option in the next section.

Note: If you answer "no" to all Setting Values for a particular Setting
Number, the ESC will keep whatever value had been previously
programmed. Only by answering "Yes" to a Setting Value will the ESC
store/change that value.

How to Enter Programming Mode

Move throttle stick on full throttle (up) position first.

Turn on transmitter.

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Connect the HORNET ESC to a battery pack and Motor.

You should hear the first multi-tone ring upon plug in,
and the battery count in beeps if set for Auto-Lipo.

After 2 seconds, you should hear a second multi-tone
ring, indicating the ESC sees full throttle.

Move throttle stick down to the middle position, and you
will hear another ring.

Move throttle stick back to the top position, and you will
hear another ring.

Move throttle stick to the middle position again.

And you will hear 4 rings all in a row.

At this point HORNET ESC will be beeping the following sequence:
Beep-Pause-Beep... and then repeats
This indicates that you are at Question 1 and it is asking to accept/reject
value 1.

When answering a question, you will need to move the stick to yes (full
throttle) position or the no (low/off) position and keep it there for about 3
seconds. When the ESC has accepted your answer it will confirm your reply
by emitting a beeping tone. Move the stick to Neutral to confirm that you are
ready for ESC to ask you next question. You are not required to continue
through all eight programming options. For example, if you wish only to
change the Cutoff Voltage (Option 1) then after programming that setting you
can disconnect power from the ESC and you're ready to fly.
Disconnecting the controller in the middle of programming simply retains the
values for the remaining programming options that were previously set up.

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Programmable Features

Question(Setting) Value Description & Recommended Use

HORNET ESC will beep the number of

1.Cutoff Voltage

1)Auto­ LiPo(D)*

cells it's detected immediately after
initialization tones. Automatically
detects LiPo Cell count. Cutoff voltage
is sets to 3V/cell.

2)4.0V Cutoff 5 cell NiCd/NiMH pack.

3)5.0V Cutoff 5-8 cell NiCd/NiMH pack.

5-10 cell NiCd/NiMH pack or 2 cell LiPo
pack.

5-16 cell NiCd/NiMH pack or 3 cell LiPo
Pack.

Up to 16 cell NiMH/NiCd pack or 4 cell
LiPo Pack.

Shut down ESC immediately when over
current is detected.

Shut down ESC quickly when over
current is detected.

Recommended for all application
except helicopters.

For helicopters applications.

Disable current limiting, use at your
own risk.

General aircraft use with fixed
properller.

Application where more braking power
is required.

Compectition use where a very short
soft brake delay is required

Compectition use where a very short
hard brake delay is required

Helicopters, 3D airplanes or aerobatic
airplanes

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2. Current
Limiting

3. Brake Type

4)6.0V Cutoff

5)9.0V Cutoff

6)12.0V Cutoff

1)Very
Sensitive

2)Sensitive

3)Normal(D)*

4)Insensitive

5)Disable

1)Soft Slow
Brake

2)Hard Slow
Brake

3)Soft Brake
(D)*

4)Hard Brake

5)Brake
Disabled

4. Throttle Type

1)Auto
Calibrating
Throttle(D)*

2)Fixed
Throttle

3)Governor
Mode Low

4)Governor
Mode High

5. Motor Timing 1)High Timing

2)Standard
Timing(D)*

3)Low Timing

6. Low Voltage

1)Hard Cutoff

Cuttoff Type

2)Soft
Cutoff(D)*

For fixed wing aircraft only. Please
throttle up to full throttle for four
seconds and back to the off position
each time you power up. Endpoint
within the ESC will be setted
automatically

Any fixed wing aircraft, fixed pitch
helicopter, and collective pitch
helicopters using a manually created
and tuned pitch and throttle curve on
your transmitter.

For collective pitch helicopters only.
Governor mode acts as an RPM control.
Throttle stick position determines the
RPM that the motor will run and the
ESC will attempt th hold that RPM
regardlee of how the load changes.

Allows for higher head speeds if the
desired head speed cannot be reached
in Low Governor.

May give an increase in RPM and
current draw at the expense of runtime
and hotter motor and battery.

The best balance of power and
efficiency.

May slightly decrease RPM and current
draw. Longer runtime and coller motor
and battery.

Will shut the motor off when the cutoff
voltage is reached.

Instead of shut the motor off, the ESC
ramps down the throttle to safely
maintain the battery voltage at the
programmed cutoff level. Useful for
helicoters and most sport flying.

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7. Start Level

8. PWM
Switching Rate

1)Very Soft
Start

2)Soft
Start(D)*

3)Fast Start

1)12KHz(D)*

Governor mode: Softest start.

Governor mode: Soft start, medium
spool up.

Governor mode: Faster start, fast spool
up

For most brushless motors.

2)16KHz For low inductance motors.

3)24KHz For very low inductance motors.

4)Outrunner

Recommended for all outrunner motors.

Mode

Note: Factory Defaults are indicated by asterisk (D)*

2. Program Card(Optional Part)

Program Card allows you to modify the most commonly used settings in
your HORNET ESC all at the touch of a single button. No computer needed.
Simply connect the Program Card to the throttle lead of the controller and
power the program card as described below. Click the button to scroll
through and change the indicated settings. All the settings will show on the
program card at once. Can't get any easier!

Program Card
Connection Diagram

Turn off the ESC and disconnect the throttle lead from the receiver. Connect
the throttle lead from ESC to the 3 pin connector on the Program Card. Turn
on the ESC to apply power to both ESC and Program Card. All the current
settings will be displayed on the correspond LEDs.
Press and release button to move between settings. Press and hold button
to change the value for that setting.
Turn off the ESC and disconnect the throttle lead from Program Card.

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3. Sky Link Programming Kit (Program Card + Software + USB Cable)

If you want to change advanced settings, we highly recommend using the
Sky Link (sold separately). It is easier and allows you to modify many more
setting than Program Card and “stick” manual programming procedure.

There are many features that may only be accessed via Sky Link
Programming Kit.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Problem: Nothing is working – receiver, servos and motor are all dead.

Solution: Check the connection to ensure that the polarity of connection is
correct. Make sure the polarity of receiver plug is correct also.

Problem: The BEC (receiver and servos) works, but the motor does not
respond to throttle.

Solution: The ESC may not be seeing a low enough throttle signal to arm.
Increase the low side throttle endpoint in your transmitter until you hear the
ESC arm. If you do not have a computer transmitter, bring the throttle stick
and throttle trim all the way down to arm the ESC. If using a Futaba
transmitter, verify the throttle channel is reversed.

Problem: When I throttle all the way up, the controller “cutoff”, even with
fully charged batteries.

Solution: If the cutoff occurs with freshly charged batteries, it means that
the voltage has dropped very quickly. This is usually an indication of a
power system that is drawing too much current for the batteries to handle.
Try to use a pack with a higher “C” rate and high mAh capacity.

SPECIFICATION

Model
No.

Hornet 60A

Hornet 80A

Hornet 100A

Hornet 120A

Max
Amps

60A 2-6S LiPo 5.7V/3A 70 x 26.8 x 16.5mm 45g

80A

100A

120A

Max
Volts

2-6S LiPo

2-6S LiPo

2-6S LiPo

BEC
Output

5.7V/3A

5.7V/3A

5.7V/3A

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Size

70 x 26.8 x 16.5mm 47g

70 x 26.8 x 23mm 59g

70 x 26.8 x 23mm 62g

Net
Weight

* without wires

*

CE APPROVAL

All HORNET ESCs satisfy all relevant and mandatory EC directives:
These are the EN61000-6-1:2007 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
Generic standards. Immunity for residential, commercial and light-industrial
environments.
EN61006-6-3:2007 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Generic standards.
Emission standard. For residential, commercial and light-industrial
environments.
The approval procedure includes a test of interference radiation, i.e. of
interference generated by the speed controller. This speed controller has
been tested under practical conditions at maximum load current and with a
large number of cells, and remains within the interference limits.
The procedure also includes also a test of interference susceptibility, i.e. the
extent to which the device is vulnerable to interference from other devices.
The test involves subjecting the speed controller to RF signals similar to
those produced by an RC transmitter.

PRODUCT WARRANTY

The HORNET Brushless ESC is guaranteed to be free from defects in materials
or workmanship for a period of ONE YEAR from the original date of purchase
(verified by dated, itemized sales receipt). Warranty does not cover incorrect
installation, components worn by use, damage to case or exposed circuit
boards, damage due to timing, damage from using more than 6 Li-Po cells
input voltage, cross-connection of battery/motor power wires, overheating
solder tabs, reverse voltage application, improper use or installation of
external BEC, damage resulting from thermal overload or short-circuiting
motor, damage from incorrect installation of FET servo or receiver battery
pack, tampering with internal electronics, allowing water, moisture, or any
other foreign material to enter ESC or get onto the PC board, incorrect
installation/wiring of input plug plastic, allowing exposed wiring or solder
tabs to short-circuit, or any damage caused by a crash, flooding or natural
disaster. Because SKYRC has no control over the connection & use of the
speed control or other related electronics, no liability may be assumed nor
will be accepted for any damage resulting from the use of this product. Every
SKYRC speed control & motor is thoroughly tested & cycled before leaving
our facility and is, therefore, considered operational. By the act of connecting/
operating speed control, user accepts all resulting liability. In no case shall
our liability exceedthe product's original cost. We reserve the right to modify
warranty provisions without notice.

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