OpenDrone electronics

The headline current rating is not a verified operating limit

The README lists 40 A continuous per channel. The detailed technical notes describe a different picture from tests on one board: a demonstrated die-temperature plateau at 26 A, a partly extrapolated 30–34 A fan-cooled range, and destructive solder reflow around 40 A sustained. These conditions do not substantiate an unconditional 40 A continuous rating. The underlying external test logs were not independently inspected here, and this publication performed no electrical or thermal tests. [S001] [S005]

The same notes describe a short burst on one channel and a separate board-level burst. Those must not be combined into a sustained four-motor rating. Cooling, motor load, firmware settings and the exact board revision remain prerequisites for interpreting any of these figures. [S005]

Match power and current sensing to the actual board

The documented input is 2–6S LiPo, 6.0–25.2 V; this is not the separate 8S product. There is no BEC and the technical notes state that input protection is not fitted. A supplied 470 µF bulk capacitor is described as an external part to solder across the battery terminals, rather than an already-installed PCB component. A complete build still needs a matched flight controller, motors, power system and wiring. No current delivered cost was verified. [S001] [S005]

Current sensing measures the shared board supply, not each motor independently. The notes describe a serious switching-related measurement error through revision 3.1 and a filter-network change in revision 3.2. They explicitly say that the proposed improvement had not yet been verified on hardware in that write-up. The later revision table alone does not prove that validation occurred. [S005]

Flash verification does not qualify the motor configuration

The technical notes report an audited firmware configuration with thermal foldback disabled and a motor-Kv default that needs product-specific adjustment. The preserved flashing script points to an AM32 F421 PB4 version-17 bootloader and an AM32_OPENESC_20_F421_2.20 binary, using external AM32 and unlocker checkouts. Its paths and feedback commands are macOS-specific, and the ST-LINK pogo fixture is in another repository. [S005] [S006]

The script erases, writes and verifies firmware, but contains no explicit motor-Kv or temperature-limit configuration step. The binary defaults were not inspected, so successful flashing cannot be presented here as proof that the documented configuration gaps are resolved. No flashing script or upstream executable was run. [S006]

Available design files and remaining qualification

The archive contains the KiCad project, schematics, PCB layout, local symbols, footprints and component geometry. The technical notes identify KiCad 10 and a six-layer board. File presence is established; schematic parity, board rules, fabrication outputs and assembled-board performance were not validated. The notes also identify PCB-only bulk components, which makes unqualified regeneration from the schematic an unsuitable assumption. [S005] [S007]

The repository declares CERN-OHL-S-2.0 for hardware and includes its license text. That does not substitute for reviewing the separately obtained AM32 firmware, unlocker tools or fixture sources. This profile records a useful available electronics design alongside unresolved rating, revision-validation and configuration evidence, rather than treating source availability as flight qualification. [S001] [S003] [S005] [S006]