Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Oliver on June 18, 2011 at 1:20am

If they are high quality (gold plated, etc) and designed to take the current I don't think there is an issue using them. The power connectors to the Lipo are connectors as well in the end and are not soldered. They take 4 times the current.

In fact, they saved me tons of money already by my motor holds coming off clean on small crashes instead of the motors wrecking collateral damage to the ESCs and the rest of the frame. (I use a semi rigid frame which allows the motor mounts to snap out if there is too much force on them).

 

 

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Permalink Reply by DaveyWaveyBunsenBurner on June 18, 2011 at 1:21am

The bullets that come with the stock Arducopter motors arentgreat. They have a tendency to fail. My advice would be to not use them but to purchase some better quality ones if you wish to use them.

Hope that helps

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Permalink Reply by Philip Fretwell on June 18, 2011 at 2:24am

Have  a look at the ones from Castle Creations.  They are top quality and are really hard to pull apart.  I know that technically they are not required as you could just solder the connections but when it comes to replacing an arm or just general maintenance I prefer not to have to re-solder the connections.  Remember the only technical issue is one of guaranteeing a connection which is able to pass lots of current without any arcing etc.  The cheap ones drop out on their own, an unnecessary risk.   If you can't find CC connectors or similar you should solder them.

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DeveloperPermalink Reply by Olivier ADLER on June 18, 2011 at 3:22am

 

I would stay away from banana type bullet connectors, and use instead collet style spliced contact bullets like XT150 6mm, Polymax 5.5, Polymax 4mm  or similar ones with large contact surfaces.

 

I prefer to solder all power connections (except LiPo batteries ones) so that there is always a perfect contact regardless vibrations, oxydation or mechanical miss adjustment of connectors.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Limebear (Rob) on June 18, 2011 at 9:41am

OK, Thanks for these comments. It seems to be generally agreed that bullet connectors are OK as long as they are high current/good quality ones, but some people still prefer to solder everything except the battery connectors to be sure. The bullets that come with the stock motors are not up to the job and shouild be cut off and replaced by better ones or the wires soldered directly (once you have established which order to connect the wires to the ESCs.)

What about the ESC connection to the PDB - solder or Deans? I have no experience of Deans and have soldered all my wires.

Do we not think the manual should be updated to reflect the above? Currently a new user would follow the manual and use the stock bullets on the motors.

 

Rob

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on June 18, 2011 at 9:50am

The stock Arducopter kit has been upgraded with higher-quality bullet connectors. The manual reflects our advice that you use them.

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Permalink Reply by Limebear (Rob) on June 18, 2011 at 9:52am

Excellent, Thanks Chris, good work.

Rob

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Permalink Reply by Foxzilla on October 18, 2011 at 11:42am

Stumbled to this thread while researching the mystery that is bullet connectors. Sorry to bump an old thread, but these days the manual recommends to get rid of them. Few questions come to mind:

- Why is the kit shipped with connectors that aren't (?) sufficient for the job?
- Could I just use e.g. Deans connectors instead?
- It feels more or less pointless soldering the bullet connectors (which are already more work to solder than others), shrink wrapping them and then just a bit later snip-snip off they go

Ok, the last bit wasn't a question, but you get the point :)

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Permalink Reply by Marcel VDW on October 18, 2011 at 12:54pm

When I started with electric flight I read a recommendation, I think it was from the renowned German ESC manufacturer Schulze, one should avoid overheating the 'fins' of the male connector part when soldering as they loose their elasticity  causing bad contacts. I do this by inserting the male contact to be soldered into a spare female part that is clamped in a bench vice. I use bullet connectors for years and have never experience any problems with the ones I soldered myself following this method. But when one buys motors with the connectors ready soldered one never knows how these were treated.

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