Although programming cards make life a lot easier, all of the different esc’s I have used were capable of programming using the throttle stick on a RC transmitter/receiver. For only a few bucks a simpler option is to use a servo tester. I recommend everyone should have one of these for testing and troubleshooting anyway. You may not have access to all of the programming functions on the fancy expensive esc’s. The only challenge is most times the instructions are written in cryptic chinglish.