BLHeli32 is dead. What now? // HOW TO FLASH AM32

[@tkanal1]

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter at all if BLHeli ended or not...there are so many other ESC options that war drones can be built on that this is very irelevant move...kinda silly...

[@mesa6287]

It’s more of a personal decision I think. As a developer myself I can imagine they wouldn’t want the things they built to be out on the battlefield killing people and potentially committing war crimes.

[@FabioPansera]

@@mesa6287 There are so many verified proves that we can take out "potentially" from your comment, sadly.

[@tobyadog]

​@@mesa6287I doubt it's a personal decision😂 I wouldn't throw away my livelihood because a tool is being used in a way I didn't expect. They probably sold it off to a big player who gave them a lot of money.

[@k4x4map46]

yup...next we'll stop making cheese and crackers just because...

[@JefeDog]

@@mesa6287 Why not at least open source it before you back out? At least then the community can be responsible for it, not you. Your conscience would be just as clear as knowing that boards already produced with your firmware can still be used to kill people.

[@slappomatthew]

They closed the doors, why not release the source code

[@redbeard4444]

I am not a lawyer, but I wonder how many international, national, and state consumer laws this move violates? What about all the people and companies who just purchased ECS's which include paid licenses? Don't they have a legal obligation to support those ESC's for a period of time? Are they issuing refunds? This company is not declaring bankruptcy. Seems like they are shutting down their business and refusing to honor their current obligations.

[@mynamejev2489]

These are the questions that need to be answered

[@JefeDog]

Excellent point! Another reason it seems they should open source their code, then close shop, as that may satisfy their agreements.

[@dylanwinn3]

this is a lesson on why you shouldn't use proprietary software

[@MorningView]

For sure

[@JustAnotherAlchemist]

So true. Unfortunately, no matter how much us Pro FOSS people tell everyone, this is one of those lessons people just seem to need to feel the pain on personally before they actually get it. Ultimately, this news is a good thing. Another win for FOSS. BLHeli32 will get 100% replaced/eclipsed by something else, the lesson will never go away for some of us though. TL;DR: If a single entity owns a right to a thing, they can and will take it away from you at their whim.

[@ViisionzFPV]

So heads up. My am32 escs came with the temperature limit way too low and my drones were freaking out! So if your drone is am32 and they are flipping on inputs and it’s not motor orientation or the props. Check that setting lol took me a month to figure it out

[@2000S10V6]

I had been buying and building quads and fixed wings for many years...then life happened and I took a break for about 1-2 years. Things have changed so much. I feel like a total noob learning all over again now.

[@user-otzlixr]

As a noob, I can relate. I’ve learned to be very suspicious of any video over 2 years old. I bought a fixed wing(sonic model binary) cheap(not cheap enough), after watching the glowing reviews on KZbin. All the videos were 3 + years. Eventually during the build, I ran across videos that detailed the plane’s tendency to tip stall. I’m not sure if I will finish it or use it for spare foam or for a Frankenstein fixed wing :)

[@NoFlyDrone]

@@user-otzlixr Definitely build it. Just keep the speed up especially when turning down wind. It's a great plane still.

[@user-otzlixr]

@@NoFlyDrone Good to know, thank you. I might wait until next season after I get more flight time. I am hoping. A airspeed sensor will be helpful. Checking out your videos now! Glad to find another fixed wing channel. Thanks again!

[@NoFlyDrone]

@@user-otzlixr yes airspeed sensor helps. Arduplane synthetic airspeed is very good but a good digital airspeed sensor is best.

[@Charles-Darwin]

same but I am just trying to keep in the loop from time to time.

[@norbertosumares6066]

Got to 13 minutes and couldn't take any more of your pain... Love your work JB!

[@mr0big]

17:49 there are so called "spider boards" that help you connect to those tiny pads. Usually they are for sd card repair, but you can find cheap ones if you only need a few connector arms.

[@f-pv-lying]

there is a very cheap and more versatile version called “bdm frame”, it is funny that a pro like Bardwell doesn’t own one

[@johnleon3614]

I managed to set on fire a T-motor F35A ESC (Long story). So, yesterday, I went ahead and ordered 5 of the new T-motor C80A-12S ESCs with better this, and better that...all of them running...BLHeli32. Frustrating :( Deja Vu... Like the time Pebble watches went out of business. It is really not a big deal if all you are doing is FPV hobby stuff. But, not when you are building commercial graded drones like me. We need an ArduPilot like community for ESCs. Open source is the only way to go.

[@danamyrocket]

There are several open source ESC libraries out there.

[@Fly_High_FPV]

I take those heatsinks off all the time, when conformal coating my quads. I HIGHLY recommend using a prop to pry it off, so you dknt risk damaging the fets👌

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks for the tip!

[@Perceivedshift]

So is it possible BLHeli will make BLheli 32 open source? Seems like a terrible move not to do so.

[@WKfpv]

We just went back to flashing esc's in 2015 but with even smaller electronics 😊

[@MrJarrod]

Thanks JB for showing us this is a really bad idea.😁 Checked my bheli32 firmware, Lucky I am on 32.8, not the buggy one.

[@WestFPV]

Don't forget about the bug that spools your motors up to 100% upon plug in. I own one of these but luckily I had no props on when it started to happen. Plenty of forums online talking about it and now I can't update : (

[@maddercat]

I ended up finding a deal on this exact esc on ebay with it having some weird esc firmware on it from an ai drone company, crazy happenstance if I can actually bring this thing back from the dead that they were apparently using early on to test stuff and is basically a paper weight. Will be pretty crazy if this walkthrough works. I had forgotten it was this exact esc you did.

[@jdnic1]

I first tried blheli on an experimental brushless tail motor on an rc helicopter. Way before multirotors. When multirotors became popular, i thought this means job security, but it sadly ended up being the reason of their downfall.

[@FREEDOMFPV84]

Jb you always have a solution to these problems thank you for these videos 👍👍👍👍

[@Vic9244]

All my firmware is BLheli - s So blue Jay.... thus no issues.

[@BarsMonster]

Sadly, this will cause exactly 0 effect on the war. Military FPV drones are consumables, and will naturally transition to AM32/BlHeli-S... Military drones have very short lifetime, so noone ever updates firmware. Only civilian users are affected....

[@SIM31r]

The military always updates the firmware. Civilian firmware is not resistant to electronic warfare and gives out the operator's coordinates, after which he immediately dies.

[@BarsMonster]

@@SIM31r On the ESC - no update... It goes as it comes from factory. Non-FPV drones are indeed reflashed.

[@Belrmar]

I would bet on them using blheli_s cheaper and more available with almost the same performance

[@daemn42]

If one thought they were going to be doing this a lot, maybe invest in a PCbite helping hands probe kit. It has a metal base, some magnetically attached board holders and at least two "floppy" probe arms to which you attach their really sharp probe tips which can then be attaches to wires to your programmer (or oscilloscope for diagnostic work). Basically you'd just throw the ESC in there, and drop the probe tips onto the pads and they will stay there. I was worried that you'd be fighting regular helping hand style springy arms, but the probe arms lessy springy, more floppy and are weighted at the working end so they use gravity to exert downward force on the probe tips. But they also will just stay in any angled orientation you place them in.. (There's a YT video demonstrating them)..

[@CrucesNomad1]

Very good info for Drone users. There is a bill about to outlaw a lot of drones. I dont understand how you knew what programs did what, but is a good primer for a old hack.

[@tdude212]

What about bluejay?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Bluejay cannot be flashed to 32-bit ESC's. Only 8-bit.

[@daliasprints9798]

​@@JoshuaBardwellIt could be ported if someone is willing to read the

[@dibrin1979]

Awww yeah! Now all get to feel the pain of flashing new firmware to our ESC's like we did with Simon K back in the day. "lets play a game how steady can you keep your hand?!

[@not_heretoday]

“This decision has been driven by the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and the associated risks of BLHeli_32 being utilised in drones for warfare, including potential use by Russia”. So USA use is ok. 🙄

[@assafweiss8078]

From what I've read in the GitHub, 32.9 has a spool up bug that is potentially a major safety risk where motors might spool up to 100% on startup. Is there any clarification to this issue from the Dev team or any other source?

[@squnxfisher9831]

I've bought some AM32 70A single ESCs from NeutronRC for my 10" a few months ago. but that was mainly a price reason

[@maddercat]

What do you do with the power for the stlink? 5v or 3.3? Is that out? so dont hook it up? But it looks like you do? Yeah so the st link is powered by usb and the esc by battery so you only need ground and the two data cables I guess.

[@MikeRub5001]

Why is Getfpv and racedayquads still selling BeHeli32? Can you still program BeHeli32 escs

[@MRdeLaat]

pff i stil have 2 nice drones with blh32 im not going to update the esc's as they both fly good and this seems to be such a dangerous procedure. why are they still selling esc's with blh32 then? they dont even mention you have to do all this bs after you purchased it and want to update the FW. price is even the same soo what does the future of esc FW look like in the stores? do they just empty their stock? im not buying any new esc's then for as long as they have blh32 on it, seems kind of pointless to buy them now and whats going to be on it when they run out of esc's with blh32 on it?

[@snviper]

Lets hope this isn't just the beginning.

[@brocktechnology]

I'm shocked and appalled to find out BLHeli is not open source, this is a good thing, I expect AM32 will be the standard by the end of the summer and then things will be as they always should have been.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

As a 3D pilot, it really hits me hard. Because according to ZoeFPV, BL32 is supposedly significantly better than all other firmware she has tested. In addition, according to her, 32.9 is unusable for 3D and unfortunately I have 2-3 new packaged ESCs with 32.9 still not installed into a quad. That was unfortunate because I wanted to fly with 32 bit for the first time this summer. Thank you for the video is better than only text and pics. However, I have a different opinion about BL32 being dead. There is no clear statement that the business is over forever. If the war does not last forever or if the sanctions and legal aspects are perhaps resolved more quickly, e.g. through official approval from those responsible. There will be comeback imo. The manufacturers know how it works and could offer both again later if BL32 has it's comeback... Therefore, I will take the risk of not flashing AM32 onto the 32.9 ESCs until it is clear whether AM32 or ESCape32 is equivalent or better for 3D mode. All I need is an ESCape32 ESC (or AM32 to flash on it, and with a bit of luck the BL32 ESC that is supposedly sold with 32.10 and I recently ordered has 32.10. Otherwise, with enough money you can of course still play the lottery to finally get a BL32 ESC with 32.10... Because it seems (in ny experience) the seller does not give any answer when you ask for 32.10. In any case, ESCape32 could be very good for 3D, there is a motor revving video. So this bad situation could end up being an eye-opener and a blessing in disguise for discovering ESCape32. As I said, I still need to get a few parts and then I will try to compare BL32, AM32 and ESCape32 under as similar conditions as possible in 3D mode. In any case, I'm also getting some knife gloves. Because the complexity has increased considerably now, and with it the probability of errors...

[@bspringer]

she also said she never tried AM32

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

@@bspringer Ah ok then her statement was probably only related to BLS, BJ, BL32 and maybe Kiss and Fettec. And of course probably also with her preferred settings, and as she said some ESCs not all... In addition, ZoeFPV is not omniscient. That means whether BL32 is really superior to all others still needs to be tested... Well, I will definitely try to compare the following in 3D mode over the next 12-24 months: BJ, BL32, AM32 and ESCape32 to find out if the differences are noticeable.

[@rocketman221projects]

Since BLHeli32 is dead, there will likely be a lot more work put into AM32. Since it's open source, anyone can help with it. Even if you can't program, you can still submit detailed bug reports and help with testing.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

@@rocketman221projects I'll join in. But my number 1 priority right now is ESCape32. For this simple reason: Chris Rosser's ESC firmware comparison video showed that BL32 is twice as fast as AM32. And ESCape32 showed in a video that it is noticable faster and more linear in spin up down the motor than BL32. That's why I'm going to flash my only AM32 ESC (Skystars AM32 KM55A) to ESCape32. Priority 2 is to build an AM32 later and then compare it parallel with an Ape and a BL32 quad. And it is clear that I will only support what is currently best for 3D mode.

[@bspringer]

@@Sugalime3D_FPV Just going by the spinup speed, I would not go with Bluejay. BL32 is way faster. AM32 is even a lot better than that and judging by "a video I saw on youtube" ESCape32 is slightly better than AM32

[@SanneBerkhuizen]

Awesome t shirt dude

[@shotbyarian]

any way to fix a speedybee ESC that is not compatible with AM32? ESC# 1: SpeedyBee_4in1_V2 - Rev. 31.23.5 - Multi (SLAVE] Setup NOT In SYNC with Master Firmware revision different from Master

[@Athispointwhocares]

I was just looking into AM32! didn't know BLHeli was closing its doors

[@eliotdixon6549]

Hey Joshua, a total noob here.. I just wanted to see what impact this may (or may not) have on your 2023 HD ready freestyle drone kit. I was planning on building it over the next couple months as my first drone build. Is it still fair to proceed with the kit as is?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yes. The firmware that comes on the ESC is fine.

[@GlipGlopicus]

im about to buy a stack with an esc and fc that has bl32 will it still recognize and configure with my motors and such I don't wanna spend 100$ on a dud i dont have to flash or anything for a new quad build do I?

[@MasterApeFPV]

Oh… no. This will create a whole new kind of issues, pains in the backside, problems and questions, both for new and old pilots.

[@personal_preference]

Whats with the blheli app? I didnt try it yet but maybe there is some sort of "door". Maybe you can bypass something with the APK? ykwim

[@ckfpv]

But will they have a phone app for AM32 ?like beheli32 did 😢

[@BerTeL_FPV]

@JoshuaBardwell could you share the found MCU clock/data pad layout of the tmotor esc? TYIA!

[@ottomoto1396]

Use pogo pins for programing MCU.

[@robert_g_fbg]

You’d still need to hold them in position. Pogos slip easily compared to angle cut firm wires. Now if I were reprogramming a bunch of the same boards, a fixture with pogos makes sense.

[@uyegidgg]

Now that they're not making money from it, they need to release the source

[@jerryboics9550]

Don't forget when you finally get all this done, you won't notice any difference when flying. Keep at it!

[@allansnelder3292]

Nice shirt

[@Scout339th]

What I'm confused about for this whole thing is, if they're choosing to go out of business for moral reasons, wouldn't it also be morally correct to release BLHeli32 as open source?

[@Cyenergy3]

What about Blue Jay ?

[@christinababcock305]

we call those minigrabbers. pomona makes them.

[@Mupshot]

Yh. Not gonna do it. I think I only have one or 2 32 bit esc. My fleet is all bluejay otherwise

[@blackhawksp4453]

Seriously? Now that I finally am in a position where I can at last build my first combat robot, the company who makes the esc's I've seen the most in videos is forced to shut down, fan-frigging-tastic. Back to the drawing board i guess...

[@VinydFPV]

Holy cow!!! I'm good well of course I have a speedybee esc and it's not on the target list anyway... 😢😢 talk about complicated!!!🤯🤯

[@mrjupi4813]

ALL TOO COMPLICOMPLICATED THANKS JOSHUA🔭 THOUGH GREAT LOOKING📡

[@ap3xspike]

bot grinder shirt!!!

[@brybry57]

Supafly frame?

[@clydenlp5527]

glad im using fettec :P haha

[@TechnoHobbyist]

whats the blueJay's role here can we flash that? I have belheliS 🤔🤔

[@ProjectAlien724]

Great video ! But no thank you. I Will never do this and destroy my $100 ESC

[@devildogfpv37]

Un yeah no not trying this flash😂😂

[@bgamble477]

Government got their hands in the mix, FAA. Making hard for us to enjoy our hobby so we will eventually stop flying drones so they can have air space for their purposes. Back to cars and trucks

[@maddercat]

Wow what a pain in the ass wtf.... you can't just flash bluejay on the esc configurator?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

You cannot flash BlueJay to 32-bit ESC's. Only 8-bit.

[@nickrich710]

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😳😳😳😳😳😳

[@projetcaribou7249]

fpv is slowly dying :(

[@v1Broadcaster]

European whatever is overreaching these days !

[@SummerCrowfpv]

I hate to say I told you so but ever since the Ukraine war started using hobby level drones as weapons I have been saying this would happen. Not specifically about blheli32 but with drones in general. You can expect more drone bans as governments decide they are too big of a risk to their power and control

[@8alakai8]

but a wing or rc heli can do the same so wtf

[@relo999]

You'd have to ignore that drones have been used for near 2 decades now for war, and specifically quadcopters made with consumer parts for at least a decade. You'd also need to ignore how they're used, namely data gathering (read spying) or strapping a bomb to it and either dropping that or using the drone also as propulsion.

[@FabioPansera]

@@8alakai8 Shame I can only put one like to your comment.

[@mustafalang]

So my unused boards are trash now?

[@vhfgamer]

You have a pile of new ESC boards laying around? Just use them!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

No jesus did you even watch the first five minutes of the video?

[@maeluis6214]

@@JoshuaBardwell 😂😂😂

[@lilgbz28]

Lmfao

[@Kermit198007]

First 😊

[@abirdas3911]

Love from India ❤ iam waching you lust 2 year. Can you give me a fpv frame please 🥺

[@FlyZoneFpv]

Jb your the best brother thanks so much for this 🫶🙏 I learned something today. 😂

[@arturkushukov1815]

If your company can't withstand simple bank scrutiny towards transactions with Russia, maybe you were doing something shady in the first place and deserve to be shut down. As far as I know there are zero EU sanctions on selling drones to Ukraine.

[@jacquesmaries2324]

It really isn't that simple and EU rules around transactions that might involve Russia are messy and require a lot of admin work to avoid potentially huge penalties. For some business, it's jut not worth it....

[@AFREENX]

Why should there be any sanctions on selling anything to Ukraine? russia started aggressive war against Ukraine. EU supports Ukraine. Any questions? Frankly speaking every country in the world should block any shipments of anything to russia.

[@DirtyDog995]

@@AFREENX Maybe you need to go back to 2014 and review why Ukraine is where it is today.

[@AFREENX]

@@DirtyDog995 what happened in 2014? russia annexed Crimea? You better learn history lessons not the propaganda.

[@warzIbanez]

​@@AFREENXyeah, I would add that Russia illegally invaded Crimea. They have never had a right to that land, never will. Anyone saying otherwise are neo-bolsheviks repeating the old lies from their old government.

[@DamienKoda]

what about bluejay ?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Bluejay does not run on 32 bit esc.

[@stillededge]

Ridiculous. Auto manufacturers should stop making cars because they can be used in war too. OH WAIT...food & water...yeah...they are used for war too. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@DamienKoda]

right this is like durov arrested because he provide a place to talk, so they should arrest any person in charge of a place where someone can talk with another

[@user-otzlixr]

@@DamienKodaNo it’s nothing like it. Blheli32 is private company, not s slave. They dont have to continue to issue licenses, no matter how angry that makes you …..France is a country, a country that told Durov he would be detained, he flew to France regardless. This is not inside information….its widely known.

[@Svedge]

Weird how Toyota Hilux isn't banned yet. Most popular weapons platform ever..🤦‍♂️

[@maeluis6214]

Also the Land Cruiser 70 series, the only cars you can purchase on your local dealer and ride it straight to the battle field.

[@freakmusicaddict]

They should go after uBlocks instead, or all the people producing ELRS chips. This is Soo fuckin stupid. I hope somebody just leaks the source code.what a F farce

[@KristjanB]

The reasoning for quitting from BLHeli32 doesn't sound very convincing to me, it looks just like some PR nonsense. The most likely reason is that BLHeli32 just wasn't as proffitable as before with all the great open source ESC available.

[@FPV-oh4do]

The Islamic State terrorist organization uses a Toyota pickup truck with a machine gun in the back and a full load of people. However, Toyota is banned and the BL32 is banned? Ridiculous

[@arifqurbanov2159]

dude i have hilux and war drones. do you wanna end my carierr?? :D

[@VilleF1N]

Well this is just dumb. Are they going to ban carbon fiber frames next? Maybe Betaflight? Do we need to go back to Cleanflight soon? At least they can't brick our toys with an OTA update. Thanks for the tutorial JB!

[@artpam]

A blast from the past (SimonK), every thing old is becoming new again.

[@ozzybloke4830]

SimonK was only 8bit though. Was great at the time had some motors that would only run with SimonK on hobbyking F20 escs

[@barthchris1]

I still remember when comp PWM(active braking) was added. Huge difference in stability , especially when descending through your own prop wash. I was building and flying warthox style 10" "acro" LOS quads. LOS is HARD to learn!!!! So many flyaways that were never found. No joke I probably went through 30-40 ZTW spider 30A ESCs because of flyaways. None failed, even when overvolted to 7s! Affordable /capable ESCs back then were only available if you hacked airplane ESCs with appropriate fw. It often took what I thought was extremely tedious soldering to flash a bootloader onto the atmel 8bit mcu. Lol. Oh how have my soldering skills improved since! Heres another name... Timecop

[@kastnerr]

This community is smart enough to determine what "server" the blheli client is looking for, adjust their dns settings (or host file) and redirect the request to a host that will respond as the software expects.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Ok but how will they get the SSL key that the app uses to validate the server?

[@mojotmn]

@@JoshuaBardwell by changing and adding your own CA list ?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I don't know the details of how they do it, but their entire business model is based on you not being able to flash their firmware without them verifying that your serial number is officially licensed. No Chinese clone manufacturers have cracked that model yet. So I'm skeptical that it's suddenly going to happen now.

[@kastnerr]

My ignorance is showing here. I haven't built a quad since kk2 boards were a thing. I just assumed the software was just looking for a trusted repository, I didn't realize blheli had built their entire licensing model on it. As always, thanks JB for sharing his knowledge.

[@snowleopardfpv]

It appears that the way the license validation check works is that BLHeliSuite32 gets the license key / serial number from an ESC and passes it to the server which checks if it is valid. If it is then another secret key is returned from the server which is needed to unlock the bootloader in order to flash a different firmware to the ESC. So without the bootloader secret unlock key (which will only be returned from the server if the license is deemed to be valid), there is no way to flash any BLHeli_32 firmware to the ESC even if you have offline copies of the HEX files. So without an online BLHeli AS server to validate the ESC licenses and get the bootloader secret unlock key for, it is game over. The secret unlock key is likely to be based on the license / serial number, so it will be different for each licensed ESC. All of the BLHeliSuite32 processing is done in memory so there is nothing cached in files on your computer to try and mine any information from. No amount of reverse engineering of BLHeliSuite32 is going to help. It would need access to the server side processing to figure out how the bootloader secret unlock key is being generated, and there is zero chance of ever getting to see that.

[@A.D.K.FPV3]

Is anyone considering to use ESCape32?

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

Yep me. ESCape32 might be better for 3D mode than BL32 and AM32. I have received an AM32 4in1 ESC yesterday (it is in the ESCape32 compatible github list). If that AM32 ESC works fine i gonna order a second one and flash ESCape32 on it. And then I gonna try to compare on four 5 inch quads, BL32 vs AM32 vs ESCape32 vs BlueJay, under the same conditions as possible, to find out, which is best for quadcopter 3D mode FPV / LOS and how big the difference is.

[@robert_g_fbg]

@@Sugalime3D_FPVplease keep us updated on your successes. I’m also interested in ESCape. Sub’d to your channel! Good luck & cheers!

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

I will definitely make videos about it and report whether AM32 or ESCape32 can beat BL32. I want to push 3D community so that our minority remains important. But don't expect too much or too quickly. It will probably take at least 6-12 months before I make a video about it.

[@senyx0]

@@Sugalime3D_FPV Please note that you can easily migrate an existing ESC from AM32 to ESCape32 (and back should you desire) without the need to attach a programmer.

[@William_NS]

To remove a heat sink from an ESC, use an old prop. The blade makes a great knife/pry tool that won't (probably) mess up any components.

[@Vousie]

Remember that with BLHeli32, because it has no connection to the outside world (no internet, no auto updates) you don't have to worry about your ESCs acting any differently now that the company's stopped. But if this happened to, say DJI, then with some of their products, which, IIUC force you to update, it's quite possible you could find that it suddenly refuses to fly anymore...

[@Invid72]

Even DJI stuff will continue working unless they push an update that says not to. It's not like your DJI hardware checks in to update on its own.

[@Vousie]

@@Invid72 I seem to remember some of DJI's drones requiring you to update (if it's found a new version) before it'll let you fly. So what happens if DJI for some reason decided to push an update that makes it refuse to arm? Not saying it's likely they'll do it, but I am saying it's possible...

[@awerks12]

how do you even bring dji into this

[@Invid72]

@@Vousie Well yeah, anything's possible, but why would they do that? Even in the USA if they're banned they have no obligation to shut down their hardware....they're banned and the US gov't can't do anything else to them. Why would they spend the money to placate a gov't that banned them? Writing and validating updates isn't free.

[@memememine1]

​@@awerks12DJI lives rent free in his head. He's the kind of guy to constantly criticize when his friends buy something new instead of supporting them. If only he did 5 seconds of research and found how easy it is to air gap and how easy all the nfz and restrictions can be removed.

[@gregorydahl]

If you ban esc's peaceful people will go to jail but if you ban war then troublemakers will go to jail .

[@DigitalCruzer]

I understand why they may have discontinued their product, but it Sure would have been nice if blheli had given their final firmware versions to the open source devs, so you could at least flash the old and current versions instead of going through all that... Honestly if they ever decide to do something again they should be boycotted due to how they handled this!

[@The0nionKnight]

Im also flashing a Tmotor F55. Thanks for doing the guessing for me =)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Good luck. Assuming you're using the F55 Pro and not the original F55, make sure to use the STM32_G071_BOOTLOADER_PA6_V8.hex and the T-Motor G071 firmware. The original F55 I think had the F051 chip, not the G071, and I got a little distracted from that.

[@DroneShotFPV]

This is the video that I have been waiting on you to make. I was literally like 3 days late to "return" to the game as I took a couple year break from building, updating, etc, and flew maybe a couple times a year.... I started back building, finally got free time and finished 2 builds, only to find 3 days prior BLHeli32 was dead and I couldn't update... I have ESC's running 32.6, and 32.7 and I THINK another running 32.8.... I have some OG Wraith32 v1.1's still in the package also, and who knows what they are running. The biggest unfortunate thing is nothing I have in my arsenal appears to be supported by AM32 (Tmotor F35a individuals, HGLRC 60a Dinoshot 4in1, Tmotor VELOX, XILO STAX, etc etc) aside of my Wraith32's, which is so odd to me being how old they are.... anyway, the point is I have a mix of hardware, and if any of those are on 32.9, I thought there was also a bug that causes a random self arming of the quad too on certain builds (can't remember criteria, and it's not every one of course) where they will spin up the motors at will.... that seems pretty dangerous, and they should at a MINIMUM allow us to update to 32.10 which is their last "build" to fix those potentially dangerous systems. I know sskaug was talking about trying to bring servers online for that purpose, but I don't know how far it will go if at all....

[@1337flite]

There's a much bigger question about the FPV market place than what will happen now BLH32 is gone. What is gonna happen now Europe has (apparently) painful laws about FPV components (bye bye KISS??), ORCA? And what nrestrictions will we see about owining drones now everyone thinks they are weapons? I mean US pilots have the second ammendment - but the rest of the world???

[@vhfgamer]

I suppose the rest of the world should get their act together and fix their countries to have their own second amendments.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

There are a lot of assumptions in this comment that I don't agree with. How will the 2A protect US pilots? Drones are not firearms. And even if they are somehow protected by the 2A, the ability to have them does not equal the ability to manufacture, sell, and export them. So a company like BLHeli could still get into trouble.

[@maeluis6214]

@@vhfgamer Gracias, pero no gracias. Not for my country. 😒

[@iaadsi]

FPV is legally dead in EU, can't fly without a VLOS observer, not even in or near buildings (bando or underground garage races).

[@NathanHickeyP]

​@@JoshuaBardwellThe right to bear arms applies to all armaments. What he is saying is if the US government decides drones are weapons and tries to ban them because of it, we have a constitutional argument as to why they shouldn't be able to do so.

[@CamdenWallraff]

Just wanted to shout out that there is an alternative to AM32 - Escape32. I found some escs work better on Escape32 than AM32, though the process to flash to it is the same, the process to modify settings is rather a bit different.

[@jaagup]

I bought BLHeli 32 ESC just before it happened and it came with 32.8, it is missing "by RPM" PWM high frequenccy feature.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

I also have an ESC, probably with 32.8. I saw the latest Chris Rosser BL32 config video yesterday. He generally uses 24kHz and 24kHz. According to his video, you only need the By RPM setting if there is some kind of interference with the PID loop frequency. Apparently that's usually not the case. So maybe it's not so bad that it's missing.

[@djSpinege]

i'm going back to simonK firmware 😅

[@Vousie]

4:40 WOAH. Why is the 8bit one so much cheaper? I expected it to be a bit cheaper, but less than half the cost??

[@Mediamarked]

Licensing, and probably a few parts with more cost. But the huge difference is BS.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The licensing is only a dollar or so per ESC. It doesn't make up that difference.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

Yes, license fee is probably negligible. You always pay the development when you want the high end flagship top of the line hardware. Even if the production costs are only slightly increased... Also the B2B effort for the firmware is probably higher than obtaining the firmware directly and for free... It all goes into the bill...

[@MPKFPV]

Then ask Casio to ban their casio f91w series based watch. Perfect tool for timing bombs .

[@WernerBeroux]

I'm so confused. Isn't everyone flashing ESC usually using Blue-J? Isn't that the alternative to BLHeli32?!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

BlueJay only works on 8-bit ESC's.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

We have 8 Bit ESCs and 32 Bit ESCs. 8 Bit ESCs run with BLHeli_S or the fork of it BlueJay. BlueJay csn be considered of a further development of the stopped project BLHeli_S. BLHeli_32 is s firmware for 32 Bit ESCs. And this video is about 32 Bit ESCs.

[@WernerBeroux]

@@Sugalime3D_FPV Thank you. Much clearer

[@Zhylia_FPV]

The 32.9 bug is also present in 32.10...

[@timhooglandyt]

If anyone recently purchased it they should open a chargeback. The devs are a joke. At least they should open source the firmware. My buddy has tons of escs with bugged firmware he can't update now.

[@Benzin0]

Why TF don't they release the source code of BLheli32 then? Oh wait...

[@vberz4778]

And that's kiddos are why we use Arch Linux instead of Windows. Future-proofing.

[@J_Madison]

Very weak excuse and I’m curious what the real reason is..

[@salvenezia1817]

I would say they were forced or convinced by government powers to shut down. All for control purposes

[@p.1206]

Hi JB, the reason you have to use a special programmer is because ARM chips use a special debug/programming protocol called SWD, which is similar to the JTAG protocol. These protocols are specialized for programming, setting up and debugging the entire MCU, including its bootloader. FTDI adapters are just UART, which special bootloaders (like Arduino) use to program the user application (they generally cannot changw the bootloader). You do not need an STLink to do SWD (there are many alternatives), and FTDI is just a company that makes the chip which allows you to connect a UART to your PC as a serial port easily and there are many chinese clones that do the same thing.

[@dentron9885]

If you wanna access those program in place pads a bit more reliably and easier you can buy some spring loaded pogo pins and make some leads to make much more reliable and easy contact with them. Thats what manufacturers use to contact those reliably although usually they have automated setups to do so.

[@jamesbaker223]

Exactly why you should stick with purely open source software in the hobby. Relying on proprietary ripoffs of open source is for suckers.

[@baggszilla]

Thank you so much for this JB. Glad to see you're back. Happy fpving!

[@Someonefromplanetearth]

Do you guys know if the SpeedyBee F7 stack (BLH32 ESC) can be flashed with AM32 or is it down the drain?

[@juanfelipecaro]

It seems you and I have the same problem-

[@DominicClifton]

How about another video showing how to flash ESCape32?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I'm under the impression it's not that actively developed. Is that incorrect?

[@senyx0]

@@JoshuaBardwell No, that's not correct. It's another viable option for drone pilots as it has been successfully used by many. The process of flashing is basically the same though. Moreover, you can easily migrate from AM32 to ESCape32 (and back should you desire) without a programmer provided your ESC is supported, of course.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

I guess I'm a little hesitant to rely on a single-contributor project, but if you can easily go back and forth between it and AM32, there's no harm in trying it out.

[@senyx0]

@@JoshuaBardwell The number of contributors is a questionable metric because there's only one core contributor to AM32 as well. If you look at the other two contributors' commits, it's code formatting, build system and readme fixes only.