BlHeli_32 ESC Test Firmware Is Bad For FPV - Don't Support It!

[@Voyajer.]

I thought it was weird that we were OK with blheli32 in the first place given the hobby is founded on open source.

[@JessixaEBM]

what are you talking about lol. The hobby has very little to do with open source, especially in the very early days. If you weren't doing drones in 2010 then you completely missed the founding of the hobby entirely.

[@JoshHenriques]

Because it was the best! The best will always win

[@baggszilla]

Terrible!! Never EVER use test FW from a company that leaves you high and dry! It's DANGEROUS idiotic! Thanks Ian! Cheers!

[@bitterrootfpv2207]

Thanks Ian. It's nice to see someone in your position taking a moral high ground.

[@canigetachannel]

SEQURE, is pronounced. "Seh-Kur", pretty sure...just trying to help. Thanks a lot, Ian. I'm on board! Cheers. 👍✌️

[@milfordkd]

One massive problem at the moment is that AM32 does not work on larger drones. It will simply desync, so im not surprised manufacturers aren't using it. What they are doing though is completely unacceptable and makes me so angry. They should be supporting AM32 devs to help fix the current problem

[@tombo7719]

Gotta demand a future by supporting the right companies that have the right philosophy and the community’s future in mind.

[@octagonPerfectionist]

in my opinion, community-led open source projects are the way to go!

[@baggszilla]

Couldn't have been said better! If you buy a stack or an ESC connect it to your FC and check what FW is on it before flying!

[@Smagsfpv]

I agree. It's bad for a company to do it

[@SlinkyFPV-b4c]

I completely stand behind Ian on this.

[@TheMadmacs]

big thanks to blheli team, welcome aboard am32

[@BentProp_fpv]

Skystars ESCs and their hardware in general are really really good quality pieces of electronics and performing really really well. I'm confused not many more people are using them. It's pretty hard to get a hand on that here in Germany but if you're okay buying directly from the manufacturer you get super high quality parts! That said, you did just the right move with your decision, hats off!

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

This is the right reaction to have. "Test" versions of software are never intended for public release, and usually have not been vetted at all for software bugs in the way of final releases. There is absolutely no way a customer can be sure that a fault in the ESC firmware simply won't shutdown or runaway to full throttle if it is test firmware. It would be better if they'd broken the agreements and just kept installing the final full version of the firmware to match their hardware. They're likely using the test versions as there's no licensing agreements they need to abide by.

[@JD-FPV]

Thanks for pushing the awareness over this. I think a large % of the userbase are probably ignorant (not in a negative way) more than lazy. Your content helps to battle this. The hype train also captures the direction of the market pretty strongly in fpv, and people get tribal over they 'Jesus hardware' an won't entertain other options unless forced to. I was a big fan of staying 8bit on esc's with bluejay available. Unfortunately not a lot of great options in the 50-60A 20x20 stuff in 8bit. I've been running a fleet of converted bl32-am32 racers for 4 months and loving the firmware. Keep up the good work

[@bobsonmkd]

My latest and actually first BNF quad that i bought is geprc cinelog35 v2, i got it 2 months or so ago and it came with bluejay esc firmware.

[@Anadrol88]

I hesitate between getting the Voltara 70A and the Holybro Tekko32 F4 65A any input ? Apparently the Holybro has amazing noise filtering.

[@ScottTaylor-hz3le]

Yep. Happened to me. Tmotor am116a. Came with Proto 31.84 on it. I wouldn't normally have a problem, but this esc for a non FC rc plane and the BEC is set to 7.4v and I am unable to change it using the current version. Been waiting for about 2 weeks for an answer from Tmotor. Total BS! Cant use AM32 or escape32 with this one.

[@WATCHMAKUH]

I can’t wait to see what comes out as the next standard…meanwhile, I’ll stick with my remaining BL32 hardware until something new comes out.

[@EricD7]

Sucks it seems like it affects new users more who don’t know better

[@djSpinege]

i've been flying since 2013 and even I still have a hard time keeping up. I have to watch these videos just to stay in the hobby lol

[@MatCron]

wonder if there is a specific number of on-off times you can do.

[@MCsCreations]

Thanks for all the info, Ian! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@nicklessticksfpv]

Actually still on blheli32 on my kissultra build, think i'm going on voltara next, but that flycolor G5 esc seem not wanting to die.

[@JessixaEBM]

I'm not convinced that we have actually seen the end of BL Heli. I know *you* can't talk about what happened with them, but I most certainly can, and I will tell you there is NOTHING stopping BL Heli from coming back when and if they choose to do so. Likely we will see them return AFTER the conflict between ukraine and russia resolves and they stop hurling 10k FPV kamakazi drones at each other every month. BL Heli only left the market because they do not condone what is effectively arming both sides of the conflict with lethal drones. If they feel the situation has returned to peace, we will 100% see a return of BL Heli. So I'm not sure putting all of our eggs in the open source basket is necessary, or a very smart move. BL Heli, even in pre-release form is considered still far more safe and reliable than the current stable releases of AM32. Thats the big reason people aren't ready to move on from it yet.

[@BMSWEB]

I have to disagree with you on how BLHeli_32 stopped support. There is no valid reason why end users were not given the heads up with some degree of notice so we could update our new ESCs before their servers shut down. We ended up with 12 ESCs that are pretty much paper weight. I accept they may not have any paths available to them, but like I said, there was nothing stopping them in giving end users a weeks or a days notice update.

[@MadRC]

Actilaly their was.

[@BMSWEB]

​@@MadRC I honestly don't recall ever seeing any notice anywhere that was addressed to end users. I also don't recall any KZbinrs announcing that we had X number of weeks, days or hours to update our ESCs before the servers would go down etc. And if you knew this was on the cards, it's even more disappointing that you never did a video on it. For the life of me I also don't understand why I keep hearing it wasn't their fault.

[@MadRC]

@@BMSWEB my point is there was nothing they could do not that we knew. You have to understand when a govmment comes knocking on your door you don't get a choice in what you do.

[@BMSWEB]

@@MadRC That's not the full picture. They were trying to resolve it through their legal team and left it to the very last minute. They could have announced that they may need to shut up shop and given us some degree of notice so we wouldn't get stuck with paper weights. I honestly don't get why you're prepared to defend them so much, love your channel and the service you provide to the community but just don't understand why they're off the hook completely as far as you're concerned.

[@milfordkd]

​@@BMSWEB You just don't know. In many legal situations you could get in serious trouble for talking about a live case or event publicly. If a government tells you to shut something down immediately or you'll go to jail I think most rational people don't immediately tell everyone about it

[@Bogie717]

Hopefully we will be getting more options other than Chinese drones and drone parts

[@burntnougat5341]

Laughs in 8 bit blujay

[@Tommy_FPV]

I will risk 32.10.1 because I have some ESC with older version, and they have no pad to program them to AM32. Tell as how to do it.

[@jopotato1950]

is your esc. non functional ?. .. no? then why try messing with it .. its not like its gonna get like 10x battery life and 50x acceleration by upgrading the esc firmware .. if it aint broke dont try fixing it .

[@testpilotian3188]

I don’t care (because I never used BL32). Also if the company was worth a million quid a year, then why tf didn’t they challenge the rumoured threats they received, or employed a lawyer to fight their corner, for a million quid, you move at the very least. It was also a bit of a stupid attitude to take (if the rumours were correct) because the Ruskirs wouldn’t be buying BL32 hardware anyway.

[@erykfromm]

Idk why this secrecy. BlHeli had to stop export it's stuff due to Norway's strict export control regulations. Norway - the country that bombed Libya into current state. 🖖

[@testpilotian3188]

Dunno why they didn’t move then if the company was worth a million quid a year.

[@JD-FPV]

youtube demonetises discussions around conflict so that it isn't promoting clickbait channels exploding around it

[@mihavuk]

I'm wondering... Is AM32 worse than BLHELI32? If not, would using AM32 mean more work and bigger costs for manufacturers?

[@jopotato1950]

no and no .. its esc firmware ,, not a magic tonic that makes it 50x better ,, and am32 is cheaper to manufacturers.. its the exact same hardware,, only need to click a flash button with different firmware file loaded to flash ..

[@Vitroid]

Some manufacturers might claim that AM32 performs worse than BLHeli_32, the only confirmed downside of AM32 is issues with very large and/or slow motors, which should improve in the future. The only current costs for manufacturers making AM32 ESCs are optional board samples if the devs make the target for the manufacturer. Otherwise the manufacturer can create the target themselves and when it's confirmed working it can be merged just like a developer-made target.

[@mihavuk]

@@Vitroid thank you for explanation. 🙂👍

[@LenZFPV]

All the more reason to build your own and build it w KISS

[@notice_fpv]

@Mads Tech, Do you see a path ever developing for average users to (much) more easily move from BLH_32 to AM_32?

[@MadRC]

Not with the locked bootloaders. It's not going to be easy.

[@Vitroid]

It has gotten a little easier with the AM32 Unlocker. But likely no matter what, it will always require a USB debugger, and finding the SWD pads on the ESC (if it even has them). Then you have to figure out which MCU and signal pin variant you need, and only then it can be flashed. Unfortunately the only way to work with BLHeli_32 over the regular signal wires is if BLHeli themselves release tooling to do so

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

​@@MadRC Some days ago i discovered a post that it is now easier to unlock bootloaders. You can find the videos with "AM32 ESC unlocker". But yeah is still not that easy...

[@a-a-ron5911]

I just don't understand why if the "IP" isn't traded (whatever that means) that it's still proprietary property. Either someone owns it and wants to profit off of it or they don't? Like why does anyone even care? I don't see how it harms the community long term if that same community doesn't want AM32? Especially because the re flashing process for manufacturers sounds expensive and time consuming if they're already BL32 boards that were made ages ago. That being said I think AM32 is superior to blheli and have been using it since before the thing happened. It recovers from de-syncs in milliseconds and offers smoother power delivery IMO.

[@MadRC]

Just because it's not for sale does not mean it's free for anyone to use. The IP is the property of who ever created it. That person may have had a business but even if that business shuts down it does not mean it's then free for everyone to use or open source. Microsoft could stop selling windows tomorore and shut down but the shareholders would still remain the IP licence holders. Who ever owned BlHeli AS remains the licence holder of the intellectual property. As for the flashing process this is child's play to solve. Honestly this is an afternoon of work and not remotly an issue. It's only the software that changes.

[@DronePsyche]

But don’t be angry at the company who was forced out of business and didn’t release source code

[@cinemoriahFPV]

Better yet, don't support bl32 at all.

[@neuromancer692]

I mean, they don't even exist anymore.

[@duelz9366]

Why?

[@CarbonGlassMan]

My concern with ESCs is electrical storms. The only explanation I have for some of my drones flying perfectly fine to going to not arming, no correct settings in BF, is that an electrical storm must have gone over the house and erased the FCs on my drones. If that happens to BlHeli32 ESCs, which I have several of, including AIO boards, I can't reflash the firmware. I had to reflash receivers and Flight Controllers to get them flying again. Maybe because the ESC doesn't have an antenna it's safe or at least safer than the receivers & Flight Controllers.

[@shadow7037932]

No way would a storm do that. That sounds like voltage issue or static electricity killed it.

[@CarbonGlassMan]

@shadow7037932 Maybe? Every single drone that were stored in different places had the same problem. I had to reflash all of the elrs 915mhz receivers and each FC had different problems, from some settings changed to Betaflight needing to be reflashed.

[@Sugalime3D_FPV]

This test version probably cannot change the firmware version if BLHeli_32 activates the server again next year. There is still hope war ends 2025 Q1, you cann see it imo Putin is preparing thinks until Trump comes to power. That shows Putin sees an end for war soon. And maybe BLheli has not sold their business like some rumors say. So it's a risk to buy that ESC with test version. I wouldn't accept it either. I think running their server needs a bank account. And in their letter they wrote that they cannot use their bank account for their business anymore. That's probably why they deactivated the server. I wonder why everyone is saying BLHeli_32 it's dead ? It can still come back. Some manufacturers prefer to use licensed firmware rather than open source... Because the support might be better...

[@angelnunez6476]

The war is only gonna ramp up in 2025. Ukraine missile ballistic missile production and local armored fighting vehicle factories like the lynx factories are opening up right now. F-16s, awacs, mirage 2000s, and possibly gripes and euro fighters are also coming. Meanwhile Russia is recruiting North Koreans and losing ammunition due to drone strikes on the ammunition depots but has made a mrbm that cannot be stopped by Ukrainian air defense. Russia is also using post ww2 tanks like the T-54 now. So if anything 2025 is gonna be the most difficult year of the war to both countries and only 2026-2027 will one country quit because they both don’t have the necessary support needed to last that long. Russia doesn’t have the tanks, logistics, or ammunition anymore by then. Ukraine won’t have the manpower to fully take everything back but will use Kursk as a bargaining chip for their land. No winners but also no losers as both sides have gained technology and combat experience through this war. Both sides have also gained allies.

[@aerialoperations]

@@lemonsquareFPV africa? whats the connection?

[@gdrone9746]

👍👍👍

[@Flying_Wild_Boar]

I’m joust a random guy that build and fly Longrange 7inch - 10inch fpv. Witch BL heli32 never never head problems with tune. I bought stack with am32 and it’s hell to tune it. I will continue baying blheli32 joust because it’s easier for me.

[@Vitroid]

AM32 doesn't add any filtering in firmware, it will show issues in the FC tune unlike BLHeli_32. That's something the end user has to fix in the FC configuration, not the ESC firmware code itself

[@Flying_Wild_Boar]

Appreciate the clarification! That makes a lot of sense now-AM32 exposes issues that need to be addressed in the FC tuning, while BLHeli_32 covers some of them up with its filtering. I guess that’s why I’ve had such a hard time with AM32. Honestly, I value ease of use, so I’ll probably stick to BLHeli_32 for now, but it’s good to know what’s actually going on. Thanks for pointing that out!

[@vovagild146]

Comment for nothing tested blheli 32

[@sullytrny]

They would make a million chips at a time. They licence as used. The manufacturers got screwed and doing their best to survive! You are not the FTC.... PLEASE

[@MadRC]

Bullshit. They have AM32 they can use. Zero excuse for selling iligitmimate software.

[@jopotato1950]

its the exact same hardware,, only need to click a flash button with different firmware file loaded to flash .. and the licences they bought are valid versions of blheli32, and they are still being used,, the manufacturers are only doing the greedy bs stuff, by skipping investing a couple of 100 dollars to change the software side for flashing am32 in stead of blheli32 just corpo being corpo .. milking the users for whatever they can

[@MadRC]

@@jopotato1950 Sorry but this is so wrong a point of view its crazy. its simply not correct. No one had licenses. they had credits. No one lost license's as they were only issued on flashing Do you know how many credits they had ?

[@dronejunkiefpv9556]

like 47