KAVAN Plus ESCs - Instruction manual

Introduction

Programmable Electronic Controllers for Brushless Motors

Congratulations on your purchase of a KAVAN Plus line electronic speed controller for brushless motors. The state-of-the-art KAVAN Plus line covers almost the entire range of electric-powered planes flown by a Sunday flyer. All the ESCs can be quickly programmed using your transmitter and even easier with the optional Program card KAVAN PRO.

Warnings

• Read through the manuals of all power devices and aircraft and ensure the power configuration is rational before using this unit.
• Ensure all wires and connections are well insulated before connecting the ESC to related devices, as short circuit will damage your ESC. Ensure all devices are well connected, in order to prevent poor connections that may cause your aircraft to lose control or other unpredictable issues like damage to the device. If necessary, please use a soldering iron with enough power to solder all input/ output wires and connectors.
• Never get the motor locked up during high-speed rotation, otherwise the ESC may get destroyed and may also get your motor damaged. (Note: move the throttle stick to the bottom position or disconnect the battery immediately if the motor really gets locked up.)
• Never use this unit in the extremely hot weather or continue to use it when it gets really hot. Because high temperature will activate the ESC thermal protection or even damage your ESC.
• Always disconnect and remove batteries after use, as the ESC will continue to consume current as long as it’s still connected to batteries. Long-time contact will cause batteries to completely discharge and result in damage to batteries and/or ESC. This will not be covered under warranty.

Features

• The ESC features a high-performance 32-bit microprocessor (with a running frequency of up to 96MHz). It is compatible with various brushless motors.
• DEO (Driving Efficiency Optimization) Technology greatly improves throttle response & driving efficiency and reduces ESC temperature.
• Separate programming cable for connecting ESC to an LED program card and allows users to program the ESC anytime, anywhere. (For detailed info, please refer to the user manual of the KAVAN PRO LED programming card.)
• Normal/Reverse/Linear Reverse brake modes (esp. reverse brake mode) can effectively shorten the landing distance for the aircraft.
• Search mode can help users find the aircraft by the alarm beeps after the aircraft lands in unclear terrain.
• Multiple protection features like start-up, ESC thermal, capacitor thermal, over-current, over-load, abnormal input voltage and throttle signal loss effectively prolong the service life of the ESC.

Specification

	Cont. Current	Peak Current	Input Voltage	BEC Output	Weight	Dimension
KAVAN Plus R–15B	15 A	30 A	2–3S LiPo	5 V/2 A linear	10 g	38×17×5 mm
KAVAN Plus R–20B	20 A	40 A	2–3S LiPo	5 V/3 A linear	19 g	45×23×8 mm
KAVAN Plus R–30SB	30 A	50 A	3–4S LiPo	5 V/5 A switched	33 g	60×25×8 mm
KAVAN Plus R–40SB	40 A	60 A	3–4S LiPo	5 V/5 A switched	36 g	60×25×8 mm
KAVAN Plus R–50SB	50 A	70 A	3–4S LiPo	5 V/5 A switched	36 g	60×25×8 mm
KAVAN Plus R–60SB	60 A	80 A	3–6S LiPo	5 V/7 A switched	68 g	73×30×12 mm
KAVAN Plus R–80SB	80 A	100 A	3–6S LiPo	5 V/7 A switched	79 g	85×36×98 mm
KAVAN Plus R–100SB	100 A	120 A	3–6S LiPo	5 V/7 A switched	92 g	85×36×98 mm

Connecting the ESC for the first time

ESC wiring diagram

Attention: The default throttle range of this ESC is from 1100μs to 1940μs (Futaba® standard); users need to calibrate the throttle range when they start to use a new KAVAN Plus brushless ESC or another transmitter.

1. Throttle signal cable (white/red/black tri-colour cable): Plug it into the throttle channel on the receiver. The white wire is for transmitting throttle signals, the red & black wires are BEC output wires.
2. Reverse brake signal wire/Programming cable (yellow wire):
   • It must be plugged into any vacant channel on the receiver (when using the Reverse brake mode) to control the ON/OFF of the Reverse brake function.
   • Connect it to the KAVAN PRO LED programming card if you want to program the ESC.

Caution: Please bear in mind improper polarity or short circuit will damage the ESC therefore it is your responsibility to double check all plugs for proper polarity, and proper connection BEFORE connecting the battery pack for the first time.

ESC/radio calibration

1. Turn on the transmitter and move the throttle stick to the top position.
2. Connect a battery to the ESC; the motor will sound "123" to indicate the ESC is powered on.
3. Then the motor will beep two short beeps to indicate the maximum throttle endpoint is accepted.
4. Move the throttle stick to the bottom position within 5 seconds after the two short beeps, the minimum throttle position will be accepted 1 second later.
5. The motor will beep "Number" beeps to indicate the number of LiPo cells you have plugged in.
6. The motor will beep a long beep to indicate the calibration is complete.

Normal ESC start-up procedure

1. Turn on the transmitter, and then move the throttle stick to the bottom position.
2. After connecting the ESC to a battery, the motor will emit "123" to indicate the ESC is normally powered on.
3. The motor will emit several beeps to indicate the number of LiPo cells.
4. The motor emits a long beep to indicate the ESC is ready to go.

Programming

Programming via the KAVAN PRO Programming card (optional)

Attention: You need to power your ESC off and then on after adjusting the parameters. Otherwise, new parameters won’t take effect.

Plug the programming cable (yellow) into the programming port on the KAVAN PRO LED Programming card and connect the throttle cable to the (+)/(-) socket on the programming card.

Note: The flight pack is to be plugged in only after the LED programming card has been connected to the ESC. If your battery is already connected to your ESC, after connecting the FLED Programming card to the ESC, you need to disconnect the battery first and then reconnect it to the ESC to enter the programming mode to check and set parameters. The portable KAVAN PRO LED Programming card is an optional accessory applicable for field use. Its friendly interface makes ESC programming easy and quick. Connect a battery to your ESC after connecting the KAVAN PRO LED Programming card to the ESC, all programmable items will show up a few seconds later. You can select the item you want to program and the setting you want to choose via “ITEM” & “VALUE” buttons on the programming card, and then press the “OK” button to save all new settings to your ESC.

Programming via your transmitter

It consists of 4 steps: Enter the programming → Select parameter items → Select parameter values → Exit the programming

5. Programmable functions

*) Factory default setting.

No.	Value	1	2	3	4	5
1	Brake type	*Disabled	Normal	Reverse	Linear Reverse
2	Brake force	*Disabled	Low	Medium	High
3	Voltage cut-off type	*Soft	Hard
4	LiPo cells	*Auto Calc.	2S / 3S	3S / 4S	5S	6S
5	Cut-off voltage	Disabled	Low	*Medium	High
6	Start-up mode	*Normal	Soft	Very Soft
7	Timing	Low	*Medium	High
8	Active freewheeling	*Enabled	Disabled
9	Search mode	*Off	5 min	10 min	15 min

1. Brake type
   Normal brake: Move the throttle stick to the bottom position. The function is now activated. In this mode, the brake amount equals to the brake force you've pre-set.
   Reverse brake: After selecting this option, the Reverse Brake signal wire (its signal range must be the same as the throttle range) must be plugged into any vacant channel on the receiver. You can control the motor direction via that channel. The channel range of 0–50 % is the default motor direction, the channel range of 50 % to 100 % will cause the motor to spin counterclockwise. The channel stick should be within the channel range of 0–50 % (0 would be better) when the first time you power on the ESC. After the Reverse function is activated, the motor will stop first and then spin in the reversed direction and then increase to the speed corresponding to the throttle input. Either signal loss, no matter whether reverse brake signal loss or throttle signal loss during the flight can cause the throttle signal loss protection to be activated.
   Linear reverse brake: After selecting this option, the Reverse Brake signal wire must be plugged into any vacant channel on the receiver, and you can control the motor direction via that channel. This channel should be set to a proportional control (usually a knob or slider on the transmitter). Turn the proportional control to activate the reverse function. The speed of the motor is controlled by the proportional control. When reversed, the initial throttle value is started at 10 %, and the throttle stroke of the linear switch is cured to 1.34 ms – 1.79 ms. The channel stick should be at 0 % throttle position when the first time you power on the ESC. Either signal loss, no matter whether reverse brake signal loss or throttle signal loss during the flight can cause the throttle signal loss protection to be activated.
2. Brake force
   This item is only effective in the "Normal brake" mode. The higher the level, the stronger the braking effect, where the low/medium/high corresponds to the braking force: 60 %, 90 %, 100 %.
3. Voltage cut-off
   Soft cut-off: After selecting this option, the ESC will gradually reduce the output to 60 % of the full power in 3 seconds after the low voltage cut-off protection is activated.
   Hard cut-off: After selecting this option, the ESC will immediately cut-off the output when the low voltage cut-off protection is activated.
4. LiPo cells
   The ESC will automatically calculate the number of LiPo cells you have plugged in as per the "3.7 V/Cell" rule if "Auto Calc." is selected, or you can set this item manually.
5. Cut-off voltage
   If set off, the low voltage protection function is disabled. In addition, the protection voltage value of the low voltage protection function corresponding to the low/medium/three modes is about 2.8 V/section, 3.0 V/section and 3.4 V/section. This value is the voltage of a single battery, multiplied by the number of lithium batteries automatically identified by the electronic governor or the number of lithium batteries manually set, which is the protection voltage value of the battery. (For example, if the low voltage protection threshold of 3 lithium batteries is medium, the protection voltage of the batteries is 3×3.0 = 9.0 V)
6. Start-up mode
   This is used to adjust the throttle response time of ESC acceleration from 0 % to 100 %. Normal/soft/very soft correspond to approximately 200 ms/500 ms/800 ms respectively.
7. Timing
   Can adjust the drive motor timing value. The low/medium and high are respectively: 5°/15°/25°.
8. Active freewheeling (DEO)
   This item is adjustable between "Enabled" and "Disabled", and it is enabled by default. With it enabled, you can have better throttle linearity or smoother throttle response.
9. Search mode
   After selecting this option, ESC will force the motor to beep for the set time when the throttle is kept at 0 %.

Troubleshooting and protection functions

Troubles	Warning tones	Causes	Solutions
The ESC didn’t work after it was powered on while the motor kept beeping.	"BB, BB, BB,....."	The input voltage was beyond the operation g voltage range of the ESC.	Adjust the power-on voltage and ensure it’s in the operating voltage range of the ESC.
The ESC didn’t work after it was powered on while the motor kept beeping.	"B–, B–, B–, B–....."	The ESC didn’t receive any throttle signal from the receiver.	Check if the transmitter and receiver are well paired, or if any poor connection exists between the ESC and receiver.
The ESC didn’t work after it was powered on while the motor kept beeping.	"B, B, B, B....."	The throttle stick has not been moved to the bottom position.	Move the throttle stick to the bottom position and calibrate the throttle range.
The ESC didn’t work after the throttle calibration while the motor kept beeping.	"B, B, B, B....."	The throttle range you set was too narrow.	Re-calibrate the throttle range.
The ESC output suddenly reduced to 60 % during the flight, the motor kept beeping after the flight completed but the battery was still connected to the ESC.	"BB, BB, BB....."	The ESC thermal protection has been activated.	Improve the heat-dissipating condition (i.e. add a cooling fan) or reduce the ESC load.
The ESC output suddenly reduced to 60 % during the flight, the motor kept beeping after the flight completed but the battery was still connected to the ESC.	"BBB, BBB, BBB....."	The low-voltage cut-off protection has been activated.	Change another pack. Lower down the cuto-ff voltage or disable the LVC protection (we do not recommend this).