Before buying Holybro Tekko32 F3 ESC, make sure to get the latest “revision C” which I will be reviewing today. Not only it fixed bugs from the previous versions, it’s also better in build design and noise performance.
New to FPV? Learn all about FPV Drone ESC in this tutorial.
Where to Buy
Tekko32 F3 Metal 65A 4in1 ESC
- BG: https://oscarliang.com/product-6d04
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-lc42
- RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-0wnh
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/2FOYCPz
Tekko32 F3 45A 4-in-1 ESC
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-w72l
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-d4hu
- RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-ikls
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aMVChV
Both ESC’s come with the exact same accessories:
- 2x 8-pin cables of different length, 25mm and 65mm
- 4x rubber grommets
- 1x 1000uF 35V capacitor
- Stickers
Problems with Revision A and B
Bi-directional DShot
The first problem is running bi-directional DShot. I should make it clear that this is a firmware related issue that affects all existing F3 ESC, not just the Holybro ESC’s.
This issue is already fixed by flashing the latest BLHeli_32 firmware version 32.7.2 (or newer). How to flash BLHeli_32 firmware. You can learn more about this issue on Github.
96KHz PWM Frequency
Update (25th August 2020), Holybro added the following statement after seeing my post:
- All Revision A doesn’t have desync issues
- Only Rev B boards have desync issues, but only Tekko32f3 45a 4in1 series, Tekko32f3 metal 4in1 rev B didn’t have desync issues as it was originally using the “daughter logic board” design already
- All Rev A or B Tekko32f3 mini 4in1 didn’t have desync, mini 4in1 is unrelated to this issue
The second problem is running 96KHz PWM frequency which can potentially cause a number of issues including hot motors, ESC desyncs, deathrolls and oscillations. It gets worse when running on 6S. People running on 4S with 48KHz or 24KHz PWM frequency seem to be largely unaffected.
Further Reading: What is ESC PWM Frequency?
The issue turned out to be hardware related and Holybro recently released Revision C (v1.2) of the Tekko32 F3 4in1 ESC to address it.
They separated the control electronics from the main ESC board by putting them onto a separate daughter board. The daughter board has a ground plane which acts as shielding for the electronics, protects them from all the high frequency electrical interference from the main board.
If you are only on 4S, using 48KHz or 24KHz PWM Frequency, you probably won’t even notice a difference. Personally I prefer to use 48KHz or lower anyway because higher PWM reduces motor power.
Tekko32 F3 Metal 65A 4in1 ESC
Product Page
Specs
- F3 Processor running BLHELI_32 firmware
- Supports 4S – 6S LiPo
- 65A Continuous, 80A Burst
- Onboard Current Sensor
- Supports ESC Telemetry (TLM pin)
- Metal MOSFET – better heat dissipation
- No BEC
- Dimensions: 43 x 44mm
- Mounting holes: 30.5×30.5mm
- Weight: 15.7g
The logic electronics is built on a separate board, attached/soldered to the main PCB.
Apart from noise shielding, another advantage of this design is to allow thicker copper traces in the main board, so they can handle even higher current and improve power delivery, efficiency and cooling.
However this makes soldering much harder as well, it almost feels like soldering on a heatsink and it just sucks all the heat from your soldering iron :D
Make sure you have a powerful soldering iron for this :) See here for my soldering tools recommendations.
The amount of capacitors in the centre of this ESC is just ridiculous (in a good way)! The total built-in capacitance is around 2000uF! However, for 6S, it’s still recommended to use an extra 1000uF 35V low ESR capacitor, which is included in the box.
Surrounding the caps, are the metal FET’s, which are essentially MOSFET’s with metal cases / heatsinks. These offers an astonishing 65A continuous current rating and 80A peak current.
The Rev C of the Tekko32 F3 ESC can now run 96KHz PWM frequency for both the 45A version and 65A Metal version. PWM Frequency in BLHeli is the the communication rate between the processor and FET, the default setting in BLHeli_32 is 24KHz by the way. Setting it higher should make your motors run smoother and minimize vibrations. The downside however, is that it takes away some power in your motors and making your drone less snappy.
Anyway it’s good to know the option is finally there, and you should spend time “tuning” your ESC settings just like you do with PID and filters: https://oscarliang.com/best-blheli-32-settings/
Solder pads on this ESC are well sized.
It comes with rubber grommets (8mm height), which help abort impact and protects the hardware in a crash.
Connection to the flight controller is made via a common 8-pin cable. They provided two cables of different lengths – 2.5cm and 6.5cm, making it very flexible. However there is no pin breakout solder pads, so you can only use the header connector.
And it’s fully conformal coated for water resistance. (What’s conformal coating)
Make sure you learn the pin out of the ESC and double check you are connecting the right pin to the flight controller.
Tekko32 F3 45A 4in1 ESC
Product Page:
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-w72l
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aMVChV
Specs
- F3 Processor running BLHELI_32 firmware
- Supports 3S – 6S LiPo
- 45A Continous, 55A Burst
- Onboard Current Sensor
- Supports ESC Telemetry (TLM pin)
- No BEC
- Dimensions:43 x 44mm
- Mounting holes: 30.5×30.5mm
- Weight: 14.3g
The 45A version is significantly smaller and slightly lighter than the 65A Metal.
Despite the more compact form factor, it can still handle up to 55A of peak current. If you are looking for the best possible performance, definitely go for the 60A version, but the 45A version should be adequate for most freestyle quads.
Same as the 65A version, the whole board is conformal coated, and there is only header connector but no solder pads for soldering the motor signals, voltage, current sensor and ground. (TLM pin is for ESC telemetry)
There are two little solder pads in the centre of the board labelled as “+” and “-“. These are connected to the LiPo power. I suppose you can power other devices from these pads like VTX, as they could make soldering/wiring easier. Or you can solder capacitor to these pads if you wish.
The 45A version doesn’t have as many built-in capacitors as the 65A, but there is a lot of space in the centre of the board for you to put additional capacitors.
These are going to my next builds, stay tuned :)
7 comments
I have bought 2 Holybro Tekko32 F3’s and both have smoked out as soon as I applied power. Even with a smoke stopper attached to the battery. The first one only killed itself but last night after finally completing what I would call the best build I had ever done the HolyBro ESC blew (no load, just power) and took the HolyBro Kakute F7 FC with it. Not sure if it’s just bad luck but I don’t think I would want to try for a third time. The first one I contacted their support team and basically was told if you soldered a wire to it then the fault was you. I highly recommend people test these boards with alligator clips before trying to use them in a build. I do have to say they do look really good, it’s just the smell that bothers me.
The issues only involves the B revision. You can find out easily by connecting to BLheli suite. After filling in the RMA I got send a replacement. For EU it goes over a partner apparently so no custom fees. THANK YOU Holybro!!!
Hello Oscar. I have two broken 40A Rev B ESC:s from Holybro! If this RMA goes south can i contact you?
As i have claimed that Holybro will pay for the shipping and customs also, I don’t know if they will send two new replacements completely free of charge or if i need to pay for the shipping and customs, Then I will abandon Holybro for sure as shipping and customs will cost me $50 ,Then I wont take it.
Apologies, I was looking through this thread and there was the question
“how to tell if an esc is revision A or B”
I’m not sure if there was an answer, but I’d like to know as well as I recently purchased (Sept 4, 2020) the Holybro Tekko32 F3 45A from DefianceRC. I have not used it in a build yet (thankfully) but it would be great to know what revision I have so I can take the appropriate action.
Thank you
Hey, do you know how to tell if an esc is revision A or B?
I have a 6s 5″ with one of these esc’s on it that I bought early this year. The motors get hot no matter what I do. I updated the esc to rev 32.7.2, but it hasn’t made any difference so I’m wondering if somehow I used the wrong version (it does fly currently).
Thanks for the information on the issues with Revision A ESCs – I have one on my 7″ quad and flashed to 3.7.2 as I just recently updated to use rpm filtering.
Would you recommend to use 48KHz PWM on a 4s 7″? Any noticable benefits?
BR and keep up your good work
Andreas
I think that should be fine. Most problems happened with 96KHz, as well as some 6S builds.