HAKRC Mini 35A AM32 ESC - Brushless

Tiny and Light AM32 Brushless ESC!

For years bot builders have sworn by the HAKRC 35A ESC, but with support for BlHeli32 firmware ending its viability had been in question - until now! Running on cutting-edge AM32 firmware, this electronic speed controller is better than ever with incredible responsiveness and low-end torque, tailored for sensorless brushless motors. 

Perfect for many of our brushless motors like the Blitz, 2306.5, and RDY-5022 Hubmotor!

Note: the label says BlHeli in this first batch but these run AM32 out of the box! We are investigating a custom sticker label for the future. 

AM32 firmware allows you to take customization to the next level. With a simple USB programmer or an old Arduino, you can fine-tune the settings for different applications, making it perfect for brushless drive, some smaller brushless motor weapons, and other unique situations. Programming is not required, this product will work out of the box for brushless motors! 

The default setting is Brushless Drive, see the "Settings" tab for more info. To change settings or switch to Brushed mode you will need a USB Programmer. As of October 2024, brushed firmware has yet to be stable-released for this ESC. However, at your own risk, you can control brushed motors using the AM32 experimental branch firmware available on GitHub. The latest stable release at the time of writing is V2.16. 

XT30U and MR30 connectors and motors are sold separately.

Specs

Key Features:

- Continuous Current (Brushless Mode): 35A (Perfect for Blitz Pro, 2306.5, and RDY-5022 Hubmotor!)
- Voltage Range: 3-5S (9 - 22V) (Use our larger 35A ESC for 6S support)
- Compact Size: 26 x 13 x 5mm (66% the size of our larger 35A ESC)
- Weight: 6.8g with included wires, 9.1g with XT30U and MR30 added!
- LED lights up when powered, and will be configurable with the latest AM32 firmware. 

Default Configuration:
- Brushless Drive (bidirectional mode, braking enabled)

However, it's crucial to note that this ESC does not come with an onboard BEC and cannot power a receiver. Don't fret—pair it seamlessly with our Long All-In-One or All-In-One PD Board for your drive and weapon needs.

Elevate your robotics experience with the HAKRC 35A ESC - small in size, big in performance.

Settings

Changing Settings

To change firmware settings, or switch between brushed and brushless operation, you need a USB Programmer, or can make one using an Arduino. Any programmer that works for BlHeli_32 will work with AM32 as well. See this video for details on making an arduino programmer. You can also buy the Pearl Grey Programmer. Note that to program the ESCs or flash them you must connect the ESC to a battery for power (or power supply, anything in the accepted input voltage range will work). 
The screenshot below shows the settings page that you will see if you want to alter the settings. The firmware hex file for the latest V2.16 brushless firmware is AM32_HAKRC_K_F421_2.16.hex. NOTE: The K variant target works for this ESC as noted by the ...F421K... visible on the STM32 chip on the ESC. Some other versions of this ESC have been released with different processors, so be sure to check which you have! Using the wrong target will not harm the ESC though. 

An explanation of what these settings do can be found here. Note that the motor poles and KV values do not need to match your motor for this ESC to function, the defaults will work fine for most motors. Furthermore, I strongly recommend watching this video before messing with these settings. 

If you experience issues where your motor is not reaching full speed or spinning up correctly, especially for inrunners (which have a lot fewer poles) and higher KV motors, you will just need to change the pole and KV settings to more closely match your motor. 

About Current Ratings

Current ratings on ESCs and motors can be pretty misleading, as has been discussed in our past videos.  In general, an ESC should be chosen that has about 25% higher current rating than your motor or more. The reason the brushed current rating is so much lower is that in brushless operation there are three sets of MOSFETs in use where for brushed there are only two, and brushless motors also only use 2 of the 3 FETs at any given time, so the brushed current rating is 2/3 * 2/3 * brushless ratings.   

Default Firmware Config - Brushless