Something new in the running concerning HW

[leopold1]

Just came across this over at DIY drones

[aBUGSworstnightmare]

... I'm pretty shure our beloved chinese clone kings will come with hardware pretty soon! And all buyers will then ask here for Support!

@Kinderkram: Norbert, I think it's already time to make a clear Statement regarding Support (as with ESC32 clones!).

[Altix]

At least the link in the first post goes back to that thread in FPVC: http://fpv-community.de/showthread.php?p=765616 . So it is not a chinese clone. But the more AQ are being sold, the higher is the risc, that clones will pop up, as this is already the case with the ESC32. If the market is attractive enough (=big enough) the chinese will clone the AQ boards sooner or later.

[kinderkram]

Sure, it's not a clone but alternative hardware. Now that the source code for that board is in the open it'll will not take long until Chinese versions will pop up. Same as with the ESC32s - we will need to find a way to not get burried by support requests.

At least there are threads at FPVC and DIYD where we can send them to...

[wangyeee]

[kinderkram]

Thx for your explanation.

Interesting to even see a 6s version of the ESC32. The newer versions also seem to be prepared for CAN bus.
Once the "ESC32-compatible" appeared on the net we had to make clear that we can´t support them. Not because we don´t like Chinese but because we´re a rather small group.

And no: I don´t consider development of alternative hardware as cloning - I just don´t like the fact that they´re being sold as ESC32 when they are not.

If your "cloning" leads to any contributions for the project, e.g. use of better sensors, you´re welcome.

[wangyeee]

I was very curious about the 6s version as well, so once I asked one seller about this. I asked what MOS driver is used on the ESC. The seller told me it was built with the same BOM as the original one, and he insisted his product runs on 6s. My guess was that they should have done some tests on 6s and didn't end up with magic smoke. Which made them believe it's safe to let the components working under conditions which exceeds the max ratings. Or it wasn't. Maybe someone would buy one, hook up with 6s battery, with the smoke he complained to the seller. The seller told him that it was 6s LFP battery, not li-po.
The CAN bus thing is interesting too. There is one seller selling PCBs and BOM on his shop, he has listed him BOM, and I could find he's using a TJA1050T which requires 5v power supply as CAN transceiver. It's signal level it also 5v which I think it's not safe using with STM32 with (obviously)no level shifters even STM32 is 5v tolerant.
And thanks for explaining your concerns, I think I can call my "cloning" "porting" now