# Help connecting hobby esc to little cnc



## pinkpanda3310 (Oct 15, 2022)

I bought this esc to fit to my little cnc but cannot seem to get the breakout board to communicate with it.

I'm running mach3 and this is the breakout board - https://www.steppermotorcanada.ca/bl5breakoutboard.pdf  It can output 0-10v analog or 5v pwm throttle control.

This is the esc - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/329...53b148746f8bdc6506d9ff0e69e&afSmartRedirect=y

I have it connected to the pwm output on the bob and have checked it's outputting 5v.  When all is powered up the indicator led on the esc slowly cycles through colours but i get nothing else.  I played around with the mach3 spindle settings (like adjusting the pwm rate) but to no avail.

Any help getting this running appreciated


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## ttabbal (Oct 18, 2022)

I suspect that your drive is set up for industrial PWM, where the ESC wants R/C servo type PWM. You can find the timing specs for R/C stuff easy enough, but I don't know if your controller will be able to output it. 

To test the ESC, get a servo tester. They are pretty cheap and should be available at most hobby shops. You can also set up arduino and most other microcontrollers can do it. But at least you know that it works before spending tons of time on it.


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## pinkpanda3310 (Oct 19, 2022)

Ooh, a different pwm frequency.  That never crossed my mind.   Thanks for the tip ttabbal


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## 7milesup (Oct 19, 2022)

I was wondering about that too.  RC model ESCs can also be sensitive to the number of poles on the motor.  Are you trying to run the servo motors or the spindle with this ESC?  I do believe that if you are trying to drive a servo, it will not work.  If you are driving a small spindle, it might, but it would need to be a very small spindle.


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