Choosing a Remote and Other Parts

2.4gHz controllers are the most used on electric skateboards. Among the ones that I have tested, I can recommend the VX1 remote from flipsky or the Trigger RC remote, but there are plenty of options out there. The remote also has to be compatible with your ESC (electronic speed controller) which can use PPM (Pulse Position Modulation) or UART (Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) connection modes. 

Most VESCs support both but, most often come with built-in PPM connectors, so using PPM will give you more compatibility when it comes to remotes. 

The 2.4Ghz trigger RC remote give the user basic control over the ESC (signal only), giving it very strong signal strength and a long range. It is frequently used by DIYers because it's widely available at a low cost when compared to much fancier and advanced UART remotes. So your choice here depends on your needs and the ESC you are using.

Pros: 

* Strong and reliable connection

* Extra control wheel that can be assigned different function such as a servo

* Steering adjustment nobs used to reduce or increase acceleration and brake strength or engage brake and acceleration without throttling. 

* Comfortable to hold unless you have big hands

* Good throttle and control accuracy

* Cheap and available

* Comes with  a multichannel receiver, so it's possible to set up SPLIT-PPM using the cable below

It allow the user to control two ESC using the same remote and the control wheel can control a different channel on the receiver. If you look closely in the picture above, the red wire of ESC2 has been cut off, so the receiver only gets power from ESC1. ESC 2 will only need the yellow (Often white, or signal wire), and the black (ground) wires.

Cons:

* Runs off of two AA batteries (I always modify it using 750mah rechargeable tiny lipo battery)

* Looks like a regular toy remote

* Exposed throttle trigger, can cause involuntary engagement.

 

The VX1 remote from Flipsky uses UART connection which allows the remote to read data from the ESC. Thus the VX1 is able to display the electric skateboard battery status (often comes with  a display capable of reading the speed, the range and the power depending on which UART remote you get).

Pros: 

* More functionalities, battery status, UART...

* Low profile, not as big as other remotes

* Smooth and accurate control

* Runs on internal battery (Rechargeable using USB cable)

Cons:

* compatibility issues with some ESCs (flypsky's own ESC are suggested for full compatibility)

* UART interface is just more difficult to work with when compared to PPM which is widely available especially in the RC industry.

Both  of these remotes support forward and reverse, it just depends on your ESC and it's compatibility with the remote you chose. 

Other Things You might need

Connectors: XT connectors are the most popular in Esk8 building. They come in many sizes but the XT90 and XT60 are the most frequent. For higher current application, XT90 are recommended as they can handle up to 90 Amps.

ANTI-SPARK SWITCH

Instead of using a switch, some DIYers use anti-spark switches. anti-spark switches are basically XT90 connectors with a built-in resistor that eliminates the spark during the connection. RC cars enthusiasts know how important anti spark switches can be especially in high powered RC cars. When you first connect  the battery to the ESC, there is a huge current spike causing a spark. This often kill some ESCs. So using an anti spark switch connects your ESC to the battery but the first contact from the tip of the plug is a resistor, so for a split second low voltage will flow into the ESC and recharge the capacitor before the full power is transferred when the connector is all the way in.

 

 

Series and Parallel connectors

Series connectors are uses to connect two or more batteries or other devices in series. Connecting two batteries in series will add their voltages. So if a 5s (18.5v) and a 6s (22.2v) batteries are connected in series, they will become an 11s battery (40.7v). The capacity however stays the same if the two batteries have the same capacity. If they have different capacities, the resulting 11s battery will have the lower capacity of the two packs.  Below is a series connector:

BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (BMS)

A BMS is defined as an electronic system that manages a rechargeable battery. It makes sure each cell inside the battery pack charges to a safe voltage to avoid overheating and fire. Cheaper BMS will just stop the charging process when one of the cells reaches a certain voltage (4.2v for most Li-ion batteries). Those BMSs are still better than nothing but more advances BMSs will balance charge each cell or set of cells (Parallel group) to the same voltage resulting in a longer lasting and sag free battery pack. 

Motor sensor adaptors

Sometimes the motor sensor  adaptor and the ESC sensor ports do not match. So you may need this connector to solve that issue. There are many kinds, so get one that matches you motor and ESC number of pins and spacing.  

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