DIY: AM32 Brushless ESC for Orlandoo Hunter
Converting the micro sized Orlandoo Hunters to a brushless setup can be a costly affair. However, if you are willing to put in a bit of work, you can put together a brushless setup using the AM32 ESC at a fairly low cost.
It took me quite a bit of research in various RC groups and with the help from members of the Orlandoo Builders Guild, I was able to put it all together. To make it easier for everyone who is interested in doing this, just follow along on this tutorial.
Below is the entire setup.
AM32 ESC Enhanced Version (with BEC). You can find it in AliExpress from various sellers like this one. They all sell 2 versions, one with BEC built in, one without. You will want the “enhanced version” one with BEC, unless you have a setup with a separate BEC of your own.
Micro Brushless Motor. You can find this from a few sellers in AliExpress like this one. They sell the motor with several different reduction gears and D-axis length. This motor is almost a perfect drop in replacement for the brushed OH motors, but you may need to make slight modifications to your vehicle depending on model. Do read the seller’s item description for their recommendations for your model of OH. The 1:30 works very well in general, and you will want the motor with the short 3mm D-axis.
Servo that supports 5V. As the ESC’s BEC puts out 5V, the usual Orlandoo Hunter 2.2g servo would not work as it only supports up to 4.2v. You will either need to step down the voltage or use a servo that supports 5V. The DSPower 2g metal gear servo works great as a drop in replacement and supports up to 6V. You can find it in AliExpress from sellers like this one.
Low ESR electrolytic capacitor. I used a 330uF 16v Low ESR electrolytic capacitor to smooth out the power supply.
Below is a photo of this setup. Note that I had not put in the capacitor here yet.
Finally, this is how it performs in my first test using the OH32X01 Rock Crawler.
The AM32 ESC + Brushless motor + servo cost me about USD28 in total and I think you will agree, that’s hard to beat!
Hopefully, this tutorial has been helpful to you. Please note that I make no guarantees on the accuracy of the information presented here, I am just sharing what I learned and what I did.
