WEKA 20A Dual Brushed Motor Controller - Next Gen Dual ESC

The Next Generation Drive ESC has Arrived with WEKA!

Perfect for DartBox Drive gearmotors and any other brushed ant or beetle drive solution! The WEKA has been developed from the ground up to solve many problems experienced by beginners in robot combat. Still, its minuscule size and weight make it the best choice for even pro bot builders and all kinds of projects. At a fraction the size and weight of competing options, just 3 grams without wires, but a full 20 amps per channel of robot driving power, this is the premier ESC for RC, robotics, or any other size and weight-constrained hobby project. 

This lightweight ESC can power two independent DartBox gearmotors for a powerful, nimble robot drivetrain (or even four or more motors in some applications). The WEKA has overcurrent protection and undervoltage protection built in unlike many cheaper ESC designs, meaning you won’t burn up your pricey ESC in the heat of battle, or kill a battery needlessly, and are less likely to damage your motors. If you have heard buzzing sounds or seen jitter with cheaper motor controllers, built-in filter capacitors should make that a thing of the past. 

NOTE; First batch sold in a couple hours so I am allowing backorders for this product. It should be possible to restock in 2-3 weeks so mid to late August. There will be a smaller batch sooner due to some shipment delays with this first order. 

What is Included with your Purchase?

• 1X WEKA Dual 20A ESC
• 2X 3-pin Servo PWM leads
• 2X Red JST Female connectors with 20AWG silicone wires
• 1X XT30U connector with 18AWG high temp silicone wires
• 1X Piece of clear heat shrink

*Soldered ESCs will have all this preassembled for you!

Latest user guide here

CAD Mockup available here 

Specs

Specifications

• Input voltage: 7.5V - 30V (2S to 6S LiHV battery)
• Weight: 3g with no wires, about 12g with included wires/connectors
• Channels: 2
• Motor type: brushed
• Maximum continuous current per channel: 20 amps
• First ESC with "Simon Says" calibration for motor direction, mixing and braking
• Reversible: yes
• Braking: yes (optional)
• Mixing: yes (optional)
• Current Limiting (will prevent damaging the ESC by limiting motor current, but will not protect motors from overheating)
• Overtemp and Overcurrent protection
• Low Voltage Cutoff
• PCB size: 30 x 20 x 3.5mm [CAD file here]
• BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit/regulator): +5V 150mA regulator

Usage

Usage Information

Wire the included XT30U for power, or your own power source, with red to the BATT+ and black to BATT-. 

Wire up the motors with red and black wires, or included red JST connectors, so one motor goes to M1A and M1B, the other to M2A and M2B. Which is red or black doesn't matter! 

Servo leads connect as follows:

From one connector:

• Black - GND
• Red -5V (BEC / regulator output)
• White - S1 (Channel 1 signal)

From the second, you can remove the red and black wires, and connect

• White - S2 (Channel 2 signal)

Note about BEC / 5v regulator

The 5v regulator is not strong enough to run big or strong servos - it is intended for powering electronics only.

If using more than one ESC that has a built-in BEC, it is recommended to connect only one +5v pin to the receiver, so the regulators aren’t “fighting” each other.

Mixing is enabled by default. This makes it so radio CH1 is forward/reverse on BOTH motors, and CH2 is for steering. This is perfect for pistol grip radios or one-stick arcade-style driving. To disable it for tank-style, see the calibration procedure instructions in the user guide! 

Note: Some firm tugs can pull wires out of the servo connectors that plug into your receiver. I recommend adding a dab of hot glue to the wires where they join into the connector to act as a bit of strain relief and prevent this. This goes for any servo-style connectors, not just those on the WEKA.

Q&A

Who Designed the WEKA?

The WEKA is the result of a collaboration between Just 'Cuz Robotics and CB Technologies, a New Zealand electrical engineering consulting company run by long-time combat robotics competitor Connor Benton. Just 'Cuz Robotics set the requirements for the product, performed testing, gave feedback, and found beta testers to evaluate the product, and is responsible for American distribution. We collaborated on setting realistic goals for the features included.

Can the WEKA control brushless motors? How about stepper motors?

No and no. Brushless motors require a much more sophisticated sensing circuit, or sensor wires from the motor.

Can I use the WEKA with an Arduino / Raspberry Pi / ESP32 / Insert name of controller here?

Yes, provided it can output servo pulses for the two channels. Be aware that most microcontrollers will use more current than the BEC can supply. In that case you would need a separate BEC / regulator.

Can I short-circuit the two channels and use it as one big ESC?

Not yet and not without significant firmware updates.

What does WEKA mean?

Weka is a flightless bird found in New Zealand, sometimes known as a Woodhen.