I know the Ice Lite is a great ESC but since I bought a Scorpion motor I'm sure eyeballing their ESC's, anyone here tried one? If so what are your thoughts? I'm not really too interested in data logging so that feature on the Ice isn't attractive to me at all. The price on the Scorpion seems attractive especially since it comes with the wireless programmer, here's the one I was looking at; http://www.innov8tivedesigns.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_24_71&products_id=376

Thank you!

John

have to agree with Norm

stick with what works - there is a reason most of us (no flaming here) use the Castle ESCs......

for the sake of $10 - it is not worth the hassle to go with an unproven concept/equipment

Good John
Do you mean the Castle Ice 50 Lite and the Castle Field Programer?  If so that is a very good deal.
Norm

Keith
Have you thought about putting together a list of recommended ESC’s that are inexpensive and are ideal candidates to be a good match for your Timer/Governor?  The $75 dollar ESC that is the subject of this thread probably isn’t a good cost effective candidate for your equipment.  I know C/L flyers are always looking for a low cost solution; especially the ones that want to try electric but are scared off by the investment commitment for the very top of the line electric equipment.  I considered the ICE Lite 50 and AXI motor a lower cost solution vs. the Plettenberg and Schulze ESC - that is why I wrote the “Cookbook”.   I think there is even a lower cost “crowd” that are eager to enter the Electric Airplane Group
Norm

Keith
Have you thought about putting together a list of recommended ESC’s that are inexpensive and are ideal candidates to be a good match for your Timer/Governor?  The $75 dollar ESC that is the subject of this thread probably isn’t a good cost effective candidate for your equipment.  I know C/L flyers are always looking for a low cost solution; especially the ones that want to try electric but are scared off by the investment commitment for the very top of the line electric equipment.  I considered the ICE Lite 50 and AXI motor a lower cost solution vs. the Plettenberg and Schulze ESC - that is why I wrote the “Cookbook”.   I think there is even a lower cost “crowd” that are eager to enter the Electric Airplane Group
Norm

Thanks for the suggestion Norm, I have been building up a list of what works well, and a year ago my software would not work with some of the cheaper esc's that had a coarse throttle response. Now it is much better. The Scorpion was very smooth but somehow there was a delay, and also caused some hunting. Maybe their compensation is too smooth? My software is much better now, and works with most esc's that I've tested. The real problem in using the Scorpion for C/L with some of the available timers is that 6 volts BEC output to power the timer. Other than that it is a great esc.....for R/C.

To be cost effective I worked with the Hobbywing esc's that gave very good performance for the price. I believe that most of the Turnigy's, like the Plush series are also Hobbywings. Now it looks like the ZTW is also a good deal, and I'm going to do some serious flight testing shortly. Both of these esc's have cheap programming cards to set the timing and brake functions, so this is nice.

I've found that the E-Max/Arrowind motors are very good value for money. The 2820 is the .40 glow replacement and I'm now using a 2826 for the .50 to .60 size models. My test motors take some serious hammering, and so far I have not managed to burn out or break any E-Max motors. There are many other good motors at reasonable prices, so in the near future, I will indeed build up a data base of good combinations.

I've had a very good response in selling my timer now, and I've actually sold out! I did order more pc boards etc. a while ago, so I'll catch up within a week or two. I was rather overwhelmed in fact at the interest, so I guess you're dead right when you said "I think there is even a lower cost “crowd” that are eager to enter the Electric Airplane Group."

I'm getting some good feedback now especially with some "not-so-clear" stuff in my instructions, so this will help me to make it even better. Sometimes what I think is dead simple is not really that simple to figure, because I designed it, I know how it functions. Writing clear, concise instructions is difficult, especially for someone like me that tends to waffle on a bit. Thanks to the guys that have helped with this so far.

Keith R

Hi Norm,

Yes sir, got both of em for that price. Haven't ordered from them before but they were very responsive and shipped quickly so I'm a happy camper! If you note on their site they have an "Make us an offer" link, the lowest price they'll take for the ESC is $76.46 and $22.91 for the field programmer. If you put these amounts in each box it will automatically accept your offer. Pop em in your cart and check out, pretty cool.


Keith,

Thank you for all the info, much appreciated. As you probably saw I went ahead and bought the Castle ESC/Programmer, but, I didn't realize you made timers/governors. They look nice, wouldn't mind giving one of those babies a go! Where can I find those babies? Are they simple to operate/program-for those of us who are simple minded?

Hi John,

I posted the story on a recent htread below called "KR Governor Timer now available". There is a direct link to my site at http://www.keithrenecle.co.za/Electric%20CL.htm

I received a few from the pc board guys from my previous order where they had some crystal problems, so I have about 8 with me again. As I said above, I have a bigger order in already but this may take a week or two.

You asked if they are simple to operate? I think so, but there have been a few customers that got rather confused. It's simple for me, but then I designed it and wrote the software. I have had some real good suggestions and now when I read my instructions I can see the point. This is fixed now, and maybe I'll even make a short video and stick it on You Tube or something. It's not complicated and you don't need any pc to do it. So if you need one then just let me know. Thanks.

Keith R

Thanks Mike,

When I made my governor timer, I tried to make it work close to that of setting a normal glow engine where you would get someone to hold the model and tweak the needle valve watching the tach, so this is always a good idea. Safety first! You will however need something for the tach to work on, even if it's a small prop. Because it is an external governor that is using the throttle pulse width to add or subtract power, it will work better if there is a load on the motor otherwise the throttle pulse will be very low and the motor way out of its best operating torque.

If you don't have a tach, then try it at the default setting, and if it's too slow or too fast then simply set a low flying time, and adjust it a few clicks either way until it flies at the required speed. This is very similar to the way we set our glow engines without tachs. The real difference is that the glow engine will have an extremely narrow rpm range where it works well, and then you'll have to play with props, pitches, head shims, venturi's, nitro etc. etc. With electric, there is also a "happy band" but it's a lot wider and more tolerant as well. For example, if you have a certain speed with a particular prop and battery, and it's flying at the required speed, but the throttle setting is only 50%, then this is not a good, efficient system for the motor and esc. A good setting will be near max with enough power left in the battery at the end of the flight for the governor to still work. Typically after a flight I check my throttle pulse width and it is around 85% of the maximum pulse width. At the end of my flight time, I make the motor go about 25% slower for 2 seconds and then I give full throttle for a few more seconds to give some nice speed for lining up a good F2B type of landing. If it doesn't go much faster, then you'll know that you're getting near to the point of using too much battery, so you'll need to back off the rpm a little. The more tha this system is used, the clearer it will become, and id there is something that needs to be changed then I'll always do my best to do this.

Keith R