Hi,
I am trying to build a 4 wheeled robot based on:
Redcat Ground Pounder
http://www.redcatracing.com/RC-Cars/.../GroundPounder

I am using the B7003 ESC that comes with this monster truck. And trying to control it with Atxmega64a1 microcontroller.

I currently have PWM controlling the servo, and the same function going to the ESC, but it is not doing anything.
What I found out so far is that I have to send out a the corresponding number close to 1ms otherwise the ESC will not make a sound that says "Connected to receive signal" and then it blinks a tiny red led saying "receiving signal".
And then it has a spur of motor spin for 1 sec, and stops, and goes again, and stops.
Any idea what the problem is?
Any advice or suggestions on what I should do?
I am tight on schedule to get this done.... is it better to just buy another motor and ESC combination?
I can't find any datasheet or anything on this part either.

I am really stuck on this project.
Really appreciate the help!
Thank you so much!

P.S
I've read all the other posts on here about ESC with microcontroller, but it didn't help much.

Hm, wow... where to begin...

Do you know for 100% sure this is a standard ESC that takes a standard servo signal?

How have you set up your PWM signal? It should be a period of 20ms (50Hz freq) with a duty cycle set such that the pulse with varies from 1ms to 2ms with 1.5ms as the center (off) signal.


(image from Pyroelectro.com displayed here for educational purposes)

Do you have an oscilloscope? If so, it'll help if you verify that the microcontroller is sending the correct signal. You might also be able to reverse engineer the signals generated by the transmitter and compare.

Can you control the position of the servo correctly? Can you make it sweep smoothly back and forth? What if you plug that output signal into the ESC?

Can you post up C source code? (If you're using assembly I won't be able to help much at all)

(Coincidentally, I just did some rudimentary servo / esc control a few days ago using an ATtiny13... although I wasn't using straight pwm)

thank you for the post.
but since I was having no luck. I decided to go buy a brand new esc with a brushless motor.
now it seems to be working fine with my microcontroller.
but since it is a PWM... the motor goes on and off.
how do i hold the value for the motor to keep running?

thank you so much for the help!

You need to send a constant 50hz signal with 1.5ms on time at all times to keep it running. If you want your MCU to do anything else at the same time, your best bet is to use the onboard timer/counter either

1) configured in PWM mode, adjusting the duty cycle <-- least MCU cycles required, limited to PWM output pin
2) configured to fire interrupt and use interrupt handler to turn signal on/off <-- more MCU cycles required, can use any pin.

but isn't 1.5ms a neutral?
the way i have it set up right now is.....

int main (void)
{
TCC0_CCA = 739; //this is for my 1.5ms for my esc, this is the only way the esc will arm and start receiving signal

while(1)
{
if (bumper pressed){
TCC0_CCA=800; //for forward throttle
}
}

}

doesnt the code stay in the while loop and not go outside to re-initialize the timer compare and capture to 739??

sorry i am very new to this...

That's right. Initialize the timer/counter registers once (you didn't show that code, though?).

Then change the compare register (I guess that is TCC0_CCA -- maybe on ATXmega the register names are different versus ATmega) within the main loop as you're showing.

That's how I've done it on my robots.

So, in your demo code above, if the bumper is hit, then it goes forward forever.

As to your earlier question

but since it is a PWM... the motor goes on and off.
how do i hold the value for the motor to keep running?

In fact, the PWM signal is supposed to run continuously. If the ESC is getting a continuous signal, then it'll run the motor according to the pulse width.

How are you initializing the timer? Can you show the code?