Great Planes SS80 Brushless ESC 80A - GPMM1860 - Manual (Page 2)

DISABLING THE BEC:
ORANGE
RED (+)
BROWN (–)
LIFT PLASTIC TAB
1. Make sure that no battery is connected to the ESC’s power input.
2. Looking at the top side of the ESC’s receiver plug, using a tiny flat
bladed screwdriver, carefully raise the plastic tab in the middle
which holds the pin for the RED (+) wire. Gently pull the red wire
out of the receiver plug. Be sure to cover the bare pin with heat-
shrink tubing or electrical tape so that it cannot short-circuit
against other items.
3. Plug the ESC’s receiver plug into the throttle channel on the receiver.
4. Connect a fully charged receiver battery to a receiver switch
harness, and plug this into the battery slot on the receiver. In most
small electric planes a 300-600mAh NiCd or NiMH battery will be
adequate. A larger battery is recommended for larger airplanes, or
for planes using more than 4 servos.
5. Turn on the transmitter, and then the receiver’s switch harness.
Then connect the motor battery to the ESC. Reverse this order to
shut the receiver off.
STEP 1: CONNECTING THE RECEIVER
Firmly press the “receiver connector” into the receiver’s throttle slot
(refer to your radio’s instruction manual). The orange “signal wire”
should be in the same position as would the white wire on Futaba
servos, the blue wire on Airtronics’ “Z” connector, the yellow wire on
Hitec
® servos, or the orange wire on JR ® or Spektrum ® servos.
Caution: An Airtronics ® Servo Adapter must be used when connecting
to an old style Airtronics radio.
STEP 2: MOTOR CONNECTIONS
Silver Series ESCs have gold plated female bullet connectors installed
on each motor output lead. These connections are not polarized, so
there is no need to match the color of the ESC and motor wires. If the
motor rotates backwards, simply switch any two of the ESCs motor
connectors. Once connected, make sure all connections are insulated
electrically. Failure to do so could result in permanent damage to the
motor/ESC, and void all warranties.
STEP 3: MOUNTING THE ESC
Determine the best location for the ESC, inside or outside the fuselage.
IMPORTANT! It’s highly recommended to install the ESC so
that air can freely flow across it during operation! This is especially
important when using the maximum number of cells on the input,
when ambient temperatures are very high, when using a lot of
servos in the aircraft, or performing very active 3D maneuvers! If
the airplane’s structure doesn’t naturally allow for air to flow into
the fuselage, create vent holes fore and aft in the fuselage to allow
air to pass through and across the ESC for cooling. Do NOT pack the
ESC with foam padding as it will not allow the ESC to properly
radiate heat and likely cause a thermal shutdown.
The best method to mount the ESC in the aircraft is with Velcro ® . If
the ESC will be mounted on wood, first saturate the wood with thin CA
and allow it to dry. To mount the ESC on shrink covering, first clean
the surface with rubbing alcohol. Then, cut a small piece 1/2” x 1/2”
[12.7mm x 12.7mm] of Velcro (both hook and loop), and attach the
hard hook material to the fuselage. Clean the side of the ESC with
rubbing alcohol and attach the loop material.
If the wires are not long enough to make all necessary connections to
the ESC yet achieve good balance in the aircraft, it’s best to extend the
length of the wires to the motor (not to the battery).
STEP 4: NECESSARY TRANSMITTER SETTINGS
For proper ESC operation, it’s very important to set the transmitter’s
throttle channel adjustments, as follows:
1. Set the throttle channel’s travel adjustment (ATV, EPA or ATL)
to 100%.
2. Set the throttle trim and sub-trim to neutral or zero.
3. Set the throttle channel’s reversing switch to reverse on Futaba
transmitters. Other transmitters might require you to set the
throttle reversing switch to normal.
STEP 5: CONNECTING THE BATTERY
IMPORTANT! REMOVE THE PROPELLER FROM THE MOTOR
BEFORE CONNECTING THE BATTERY!
ESC
TO BATTERY
SS-8 AND SS-12
(+)
(−)
The SS-8 and SS-12 ESCs have a polarized micro connector installed,
to connect the ESC to the battery (note the exposed terminal is
negative polarity).
ESC
BLACK
RED
DEANS ULTRA
MALE CONNECTOR
ESC BATTERY LEAD
SS-25, SS-35 AND SS-45
(+)
(−)
All other Silver Series ESCs have a Deans ® Ultra Plug ® male battery
connector like shown above.
Make sure the polarity of the battery’s connector matches the polarity
of the ESC’s connector! Connect the red (+) leads together, and the
black (-) leads. NEVER allow a battery’s red (+) and black (-) wires to
touch as permanent damage will result and void all warranties.
LOW VOLTAGE CUTOFF: All Silver Series ESCs include a low-voltage
cutoff feature that stops motor rotation if the battery’s voltage drops
too low. This protects the battery from damage. If this activates,
power will still be supplied to the receiver and all control surfaces
except throttle, so you can maintain control of the aircraft.
It’s IMPORTANT that the battery is fully charged before being
connected to the ESC. The ESC will automatically set the low voltage
cutoff point based on the voltage of the battery as soon as it is
connected, multiplied by 0.67. For example, if the battery has only 50%
full charge when connected, the ESC will set a low voltage cutoff that is
too low. So make sure the battery is fully charged prior to every use.