Advanced Power Drives (APD) UHV 20S 400A
Series: Advanced Power Drives (APD) ESCs for drone motors
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The APD UHV 20S 400A is an ultra-high-voltage single-motor ESC from Advanced Power Drives (Australia) for large multicopter and UAV drives. It is not tied to particular motors, works on 20S and weighs 740 g.
The 400 A continuous rating comes with a test condition: 180 s at 10 m/s airflow, that is three minutes and 36 km/h of airstream. A hover of 15 to 30 minutes lies far beyond that, so for long missions the continuous current should be set lower. The 450 A peak current, the 45 kW peak power and the 740 g weight are values for the whole range. 20S means 84 V fully charged. PWM and UART are listed as inputs; UART is a serial interface for exchanging data. Telemetry is available and the firmware is an APD development.
Frame and law: on 20S each ampere-hour of battery is about 74 Wh; from about 1.4 Ah a pack is above 100 Wh, from about 2.2 Ah above 160 Wh. Every practical flight battery is therefore dangerous goods in air transport. Aircraft with such drives are normally above 25 kg take-off mass and belong in the specific category with an operational authorisation.
Selection and wear: at 400 A even a slightly loosened connection heats up noticeably; screw terminals and solder joints belong in regular inspection. At 84 V the battery connector must tolerate sparking on connection. Capacitors age through ripple and heat, and discoloured boards point to overload.
Technical data
Other data
| Cell count (S) | 20Scorrect |
|---|---|
| Charging channels | 1correct |
| Continuous current (A) | 400 Acorrect |
| Integrated propulsion unit | nocorrect |
| Peak current (A) | 450 Acorrect |
| Protocol | PWM, UARTcorrect |
| Supported firmware | proprietaer (APD)correct |
| Telemetry | yescorrect |
| Weight (g) | 740correct |
What to check before buying
- Check the hour meter against the service records — a replaced instrument is the most common gap.
- Compare the data plate and chassis number with the papers.
- Ask about parts availability for this build year — the running costs hang on it.
A general list for this type of machine — no substitute for an inspection or an appraiser.
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