Review: Holybro Tekko32 4in1 ESC Combo

by Oscar

After testing the Holybro Tekko32 4in1 ESC for about 3 months now, I can finally recommend it with confidence! Top notch build quality, easy to work with, and performance is just impeccable!

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The Tekko32 4in1 ESC runs BLHeli_32 and it’s rated at 35A per channel (140A total). You can purchase it individually, or you can buy it with the Kakute F4 V2 flight controller as a combo.

Specifications

  • 3S – 6S LiPo Input
  • 35A Continuous Current Rating, 50A Bursts (10 seconds)
  • Dimension: 55x40x6.4mm
  • Weight: 15.8g

It supports all the BLHeli32 features:

  • Separate current sensors for each motor
  • ESC telemetry
  • DShot1200/Multishot
  • PWM Frequency of up to 48MHz (why?)

A Close Look at the Tekko32 4in1 ESC

First of all, I can’t tell you how much I like the shape of this 4in1 ESC. It doesn’t have that “extruded” solder tabs for the motors that takes up extra space. It’s just a square board with the tabs for the main power. It definitely fits a wider range of frames especially tight racers.

Older version:

New version:

As you can see there are a large amount of capacitors on the board which has proven to be very effective for reducing noise in the power.

Old version:

New version:

You can get the current sensor data by selecting “ESC sensor” in the power tab of Betaflight Configurator, but you would have to setup ESC telemetry first. The default current sensor scale in BLHeli_32 is pretty accurate and I didn’t need additional calibration.

There is a current sensor data pin in the header, so you can probably select “Onboard ADC” in the power tab without the need for ESC telemetry. But I haven’t tried it, and I am not sure how it’s going to work because there are 4 individual current sensors… Just setup ESC telemetry and save yourself from headache.

Pinout of the connector between ESC to FC, starting from the red wire: LiPo voltage (for VBAT), ESC Telemetry, GND, Current Sensor, M1, M2, M3, M4. It’s a direct connection with the Kakute F4 V2 FC.

How does it perform?

Well, when it comes to soldering, it was effortless. The pads are very nice to work with.

I also like the silicon spacers they have provided to compensate for the height of the FET’s, so your standoffs can sit snugly on the ESC.

I have only tested this ESC on 4S so I can’t comment on its 6S reliability and performance yet. But so far I’ve only heard good things about it.

One complaint I have about the Tekko32 4in1 ESC is the lack of 5V BEC. In fact it doesn’t have any BEC (voltage regulators) built-in, so you will have to make sure your FC can provide power to whatever you need, like the FPV setup and RX etc.

But it’s not a problem if you are using the Kakute F4 FC which is a perfect match for these ESC’s.

These videos are shot with the quad using the Tekko32 4in1.

Comment from a visitor, Johan Eriksson:

They have one more thing you should know about and that is that they generate a lot of EMC. This is normally not a problem but if you use a FC with the gyro on the side facing the ESC, the gyro can be effected. This is a problem if you use Helio Spring IMU-F. The solution is to tape the ESC with electric tape for isolation and then copper tape on top of that for EMC shielding. The alternative is to flip the FC over so that the gyro is located on the opposite side from the ESC

Therefore in the new version, they’ve supplied a shielding (copper tape) on top of the FET’s. Apart from shielding EMI it also acts as a heatsink.

Edit History

  • Jun 2018 – Review created
  • July 2018 – Updated with new version with copper tape to reduce EMI

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30 comments

Yuri 20th March 2020 - 11:17 am

Hi,

How do we attach the copper shield? This will be attached with esc and is gonna be problem if i stack my esc below the fc? Is it need to be have a minimum space or can we put something above the shield to prevent contacting the f ?

Thanks

Reply
Mike 10th February 2019 - 10:48 pm

Anyone else had this problem where you have ESC telemetry only for 1 motor? (mine is #3)

Reply
Oscar 25th February 2019 - 3:37 pm

It’s actually the average of all 4 motors. See limitation section in this post

Reply
SlinkyFPV 18th January 2019 - 6:02 am

What’s the point of shielding if it’s not grounded?

Reply
Oscar 22nd January 2019 - 4:13 pm

conductive material reflects/block RF signals, just like carbon fibre to your radio signal.

Reply
HUgues 24th December 2018 - 4:41 pm

Hi,

I am trying to configure this 4-in-1 eSC with BlHelisuite32. I’m selecting BlHelibootloader betaflight/cleanflight as the interface and then click on connect (selecting the correct com port). But then I get an error message that the connection to the flight controller failed.
How can I configure these ESCs ? First time I have trouble configuring ESCs…Weird.

Reply
Nelson 7th December 2018 - 11:14 am

What motors would you recommend using with this ESC for freestyle type flying?

Reply
Oscar 8th December 2018 - 3:48 pm

I am currently using BrotherHobby R6 2450KV, great motors

Reply
John 15th November 2018 - 7:10 pm

Sorry I’m super new so this may be a dumb question, but does this ESC with the Holybro Kakute F7 (not AIO) do away with a power distribution board (PDB)? Thanks in advance!

Reply
Oscar 23rd November 2018 - 4:37 am

Yes, no need for PDB if you use Kakute F7 with Tekko32 4in1.

Reply
Renato 6th October 2018 - 12:23 pm

Thank you. I have tekko32 and Kakute F7(Holibro Kopis 2). It’s normal that on my Taranis, on Telemetry page, it found 5 vFas and 5 Current sensors? Or could be a bug? Thank you

Reply
Noah 1st October 2018 - 12:48 am

And what about the silver strips?

Reply
StuntMonkeh 12th August 2018 - 10:07 pm

I had the same problem with EMF. Every time I had a hard crash or landing my rx would stop comms.
I’ve stuck insulation tape to both sides of some kitchen foil, poked some small holes in the four corners and mounted it in the stack between the ESC’s and the FC. Testing so far appears to have solved it.

Reply
Nhyk 5th August 2018 - 9:38 am

Hi, I’m struggling to make the ESC Sensor Work, only managed to have it “working” using Onboard ADC, but it’s completely off scale.
I’m using the Kakute F4 V2 connected with the SH connector.
Can you help me? Thanks

Reply
Oscar 6th August 2018 - 6:34 pm

Have you tried calibrating it?

Reply
Dennis Lobos 21st July 2018 - 6:00 am

hi, I have problems with the current sensor scale. 400 is default but it shows 100 amp draw I must to put in 16000 scale and can´t lower than 1 amp, even with the motors not armed.

Reply
Oscar 24th July 2018 - 6:36 pm

You can just use the current sensor on your BLHeli_32 4in1 ESC by following this guide.

Reply
Noah 1st October 2018 - 12:44 am

What’s the extra solderpad near the battery leads for? Between motors 3 and 4.

Reply
Oscar 1st October 2018 - 5:03 pm

just ground, i guess they use it as a heatsink

Reply
Fraser Steen 8th June 2018 - 4:58 pm

Interesting that last comment about the FC gyro.

I’ve just bought this 4in1 to go with the helios and the ESC has a big copper plate on top of the fets, I assumed it was for cooling but maybe it’s actually noise shielding

Reply
Daniel Lange 8th June 2018 - 7:38 am

Can i also Connect thus top the kakute aio? Or so i have time Jeep using individual escs with that one? Would i have to Bridge the Main battery leads?

Reply
Oscar 12th June 2018 - 2:19 pm

You will have to connect the ESC wires individually, the AIO doesn’t have 4in1 ESC header.

Reply
FantaZy 8th June 2018 - 5:42 am

Funny it’s exactly (more or less) the same layout as a bolt32 from raceflight.
Maybe the same manufacture :)
If it’s quite as good, no worry to use it, the bolt32 is rock solid.

Reply
jackiekan 8th June 2018 - 4:04 pm

Have you had any interference problems with the Bolt32 (stuff randomly shutting off)? I just got mine in the mail but haven’t built it yet.

Reply
FantaZy 9th June 2018 - 3:00 pm

I actually had 2 receiver brownouts but at the time I had the FC sitting under the ESC.

Now that I have the ESC under the FC (with the provided shielding installés) it’s never happened again :)

Reply
James 10th June 2018 - 4:39 pm

Airbot manufacture this board. Same with the bolt32 one.

Reply
Marc 21st July 2018 - 7:53 pm

The original is the Airbot Typhoon32 v2

Reply
Apple 2nd August 2018 - 6:13 pm

The original manufacturer is airbot and the typhoon 32. From there one others have gotten the same board with some different configurations, but they’re all more or less the same

Reply
Johan Eriksson 6th June 2018 - 9:27 pm

TEKKO32 4IN1 is great! I have two so far. Sadly I have one that broke after just 10 packs.
They have one more thing you should know about and that is that they generate a lot of EMC. This is normally not a problem but if you use a FC with the gyro on the side facing the ESC, the gyro can be effected. This is a problem if you use Helio Spring IMU-F. The solution is to tape the ESC with electric tape for isolation and then copper tape on top of that for EMC shielding. The alternative is to flip the FC over so that the gyro is located on the opposite side from the ESC

Reply
Ruben 20th July 2018 - 11:17 am

What effect do you see if the EMC is effecting the flightcontroller? Or is it effecting something else?

Reply