VESC in a Metroboard, yay or nay?

ESK8 Electronics
1

The background is this: I have a 2014 Metroboard still with the older remote and I really prefer the mini remote more.

I spoke to Ilan, and due to the year of the board, I’ll have to buy the new ESC ($125) and new remote ($99).

Since I have to get a new ESC anyway, I figured why not get a VESC (or whatever they’re being called nowadays) and the same remote, which I can get for $20.

I’m posting here because this is my first time doing anything with a VESC so want to ask if there is any reason why I shouldn’t do it. Thanks!

2 Likes
2

You will need 2 vescs so about $300. Plus cost of remote. Is vesc worth that much to you?

3

He probably has a single motor, as the dual drive weren’t out in 2014.

4

Is that case definitely a good choice to go with a focbox.

5

Thanks for the responses guys. Yes, I have a single motor Metrobaord, the hardwood one, in fact.

I was actually looking for any advice on why I shouldn’t do this electronically but I think there isn’t any. Will buy the parts and slowly thinker around with this and report back. Thanks!

6

Metroboards are a good, solid foundation, there is no reason this won’t work. It may cost more than using Ilan’s ESC.

Not sure why a remote would be $99 – Mini remotes can be had for $25

7

$99 for the remote is what it would cost me if I get it from Ilan. That’s the price that I was quoted by him, and it’s the price of the remote upgrade kit on the website.

8

Probably comes with a PCB that interfaces the remote receiver to the ESC. You will need that. That’s slightly different than just a remote and a receiver

9

But if I get a VESC, then I won’t need the PCB right?

10

That’s correct. You can use any remote with the VESC

11

Thanks for the confirmation, definitely going the VESC route then.

12

Hey, did you ever make the switch? I too have a metroboard and I was wondering if the board would perform better with the focbox. I saw a video they made comparing one Chinese board with the original vesc vs focbox and the performance gains were pretty impressive.

13

Hello, a friend of mine helped me switch to a Torqueboard VESC which I already had lying around, didn’t use a focbox . Not sure what you mean if it performs better, but I mainly made the switch because updating to the latest Metroboard ESC was too expensive.

14

The FOCBOX apparently increases the board performance (top speed, hill climbing, acceleration). Check out the video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqVXMM8iahM