In this post we will connect the ESCs and thrusters. The T200 thrusters and basic ESCs from Blue Robotics work really well. The ESCs allow you to run the thrusters in forward and reverse and they can be connected directly to your 4S LiPo (we use a terminal strip). First a few words of caution:
Caution
The T200 thrusters are water-cooled so do not run them in air for more than a second or two. These are powerful thrusters so don’t stick your fingers anywhere near them when they’re connected to a power source.
Bullet Connectors
In this post we will connect the ESCs to the thrusters using bullet connectors, though other connections also work. We prefer bullet connectors as they make it easy to switch wires if one or both thrusters are turning in the wrong direction. If a thruster or ESC fails, the bullet connectors make it easier to swap out the bad component. This step of the build requires basic soldering skills. If you’re going to solder many bullet connectors, we recommend purchasing or building a jig. That said, we soldered the bullet connectors for the Maker Boat Basic using the helping hands that came with our basic soldering station.
The thruster cable and the basic ESC each have 3 wires that are white, blue, and green.
- Solder 3.5 mm male bullet connectors to the ends of the thruster cables and the corresponding female connectors to the ends of the ESC cables.
- Cover the ends of the bullet connectors with insulated heat shrink
Thruster Rotation
Here we will set up the T200s so that they rotate in opposite directions. The right T200 should rotate clockwise and the left T200 should rotate counterclockwise.
- Follow these instructions from Blue Robotics to change the propeller
- Mount each T200 thruster to its mounting bracket
Proceed to Power Distribution!