Hit a mini snafu yesterday, wanted to share it to head off a similar issue for others.

Arrowind ESC's allow us to select from one of three start-up modes: Fast, Slow and Super Slow.  The Arrowind 35A ESC used on the Super Clown has a default setting of "Super Soft Start".  Reason being is that it helps reduce start-up current spikes and (I hoped) should be a little more user friendly around wayward hands!

The KR timer has among its attributes, a control logic designed to protect against prop strike events; that is of the prop gets stopped or even slows down significantly (caught in tall grass): If the timer senses that the motor is lagging too far behind the RPM signal the timer shuts the system down to protect it.

Yesterday I found an incompatibility (correctible) between the Super Slow Start and the KR timer.  I installed a KR timer in my Smoothie which uses a Super Clown power system to which I had added the KR timer.  It programmed OK, but when I went to fly it, the motor slowly spooled up "super slowly" over a few seconds to almost to the programmed speed but it then shut down.  PERPLEXING!  Naturally I didn't have my ESC programming card (Brodak #BH-1875) with me   so I was done for the day.

Today out in the garage,  I repeated the problem, then reprogrammed the ESC from Super Slow Start to regular Slow Start - problem gone!    

Anyhow, if you are using an Arrowind ESC or other brand (like Castle) that has a selectable super slow start mode you might have some trouble like this if the slow start-up mode is too slow - select a faster start-up and you should be good to go.  The KR timers I have on the Turnigy ESC with slow start and the Matrix ESC with slow start do not have any start-up problems.

I shared this with Andy B, hope he will chime in here, I hope Keith is too busy to read this until AFTER the WC's!

Hi Denny
We discussed this issue today and I agreed with Dennis that he should mention it on this forum.  I have stated this before but it bears repeating, with the KR timer/governor there must not be any ESC instigated motor speed control.  The RPM of the motor is under the sole control of the timer/governor.  What the super slow start up was doing was preventing the governor/timer from bringing up the RPM to where it needed to be for operation this lead to an automatic motor shut down.  By the way it works the other way as well, if revs can't come down to where it should be operate it the timer/governor will shut the motor down as well.  Going to a faster "slow start up" (that's and oxymoron) may work but then on the next brand of ESC it may not.  It's a matter of timing and motor revs.  I personally use dumb ESCs, first they cost much less, and two they don't have features that fight the KR timer/governor for control of the motor revs.

Darkstar, you might want to lower the motor revs and also drop the gain to five.  And as stated above make certain that other than the brake function the ESC has nothing enabled that will affect the motor revs.  My guess is that "normal mode" is another way of saying basic default settings mode.  Which is exactly where you should be.   "At the moment I'm at seven and when I maneuver there seems to be no change."  One thing I would ask is how close to the max RPM are you running the motor when flying.  This can be determined by first measuring the RPM of the motor as is using a tach and write it down.  Then using the programming stick bring the revs up to where they stop going any higher as you keep depressing the ">" button on the programmer.  Again record the RPM and compare it to the original measurement.   For the timer/governor to be able to work , and this is true for any governor, there must be some head room between max RPM and flying RPM to give the governor room to work.  The closer you get the flying RPM to the max RPM allowed by the "Kv/cell count/prop load" the less the governor can change RPM.  For my operation I don't go below a 5% difference or above a 20% difference.  Although I do have one plane that I have the revs just to the point where the governor will work and basically it's like running a gas engine as lean as you can without killing it.  It is not the recommended way to operate, I should go to a 4 cell battery but it works so why spend a bunch of money.  If you still have question I have listed my email address, contact me and I will do what I can to help.
Hope this helps.
Andy