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[Mad_Mike]

Another side project ive been working required an esc so i thought id take a chance and bought this item:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280726341886?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

If like me you build on a budget then i can say that the trial of this umcoftably cheap forward/brake/reverse esc was actually successful. Like all oriental esc's id take the amp rating with a pinch of salt but if your running a small motor or running a low current then it should be ok. For marine use waterproof it first of course but at only 7.29 including pnp if it fails youve not made a huge loss.  


Added by Admin.

It's Brushed Reversing ESC.include "brake" and "reverse" function.
Items :20A ESC
Weight :20g
Dimensions: 35.0*22.0*6.0mm
Current(A):20A
working volt(V):4.8V-7.4V
voltage range(V):4.0V---8.4V
BEC :2A
PWM:8K
Input signal ：PPM
Driver frequency：2KHz
Li-Po :2
Constant current 20A Max 25A< 30s Pulsed 50A< 5s
Li-Poly 2 cells;
Break On

[dodgy geezer]

Another side project ive been working required an esc so i thought id take a chance and bought this item:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280726341886?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

If like me you build on a budget then i can say that the trial of this umcoftably cheap forward/brake/reverse esc was actually successful. Like all oriental esc's id take the amp rating with a pinch of salt but if your running a small motor or running a low current then it should be ok. For marine use waterproof it first of course but at only 7.29 including pnp if it fails youve not made a huge loss.  

For my cheap small boats I use this esc: http://r2hobbies.com/turborix-25a-brushed-motor-esc-electronic-speed-controller.html .These have no reverse, but at £2.54 they are about a third of the cost...

[Mad_Mike]

But those esc's run continuosly when you press the arm button dont they? Albeit the esc ive pointed out is a little more expensive but compared to more reputable manufactures were still talkin pennies.

[dodgy geezer]

I lose the button, and wire in a switch, so it's continuously armed. It runs fine from stop to full, though no reverse. I bought a dozen some time ago when they were £1.80, and I just solder one direct to the back of a small motor when I put the capacitors on. At these prices they are about the same cost as a capacitor..    But, as you say, I wouldn't use them for a drain of more than about 0.5A.

Yours is certainly the cheapest I have seen with reverse. I could use an extra servo to get reverse for mine with a switch, but that would be an extra £1.94, plus the switch cost, and the labour... so I may well pick up a few of these. Thanks for the tip!

[Mad_Mike]

does this esc stop then when you release the throttle, i thought the hole point of the arming switch was so that you pressed it when you was ready to launch your plane but on landing the motor kept on running to simulate an idling propeller. If it does that then isnt your boat still going forward albeit slowly when your not your applying the throttle?

[Mad_Mike]

Ive just found this brake off version of the esc:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-ESC-20A-Brushed-Car-Motor-Speed-Controller-1-16-1-18-Brake-off-/261003480377?pt=AU_Toys_Hobbies_Radio_Controlled_Vehicles&hash=item3cc5050d39

[dodgy geezer]

does this esc stop then when you release the throttle, i thought the hole point of the arming switch was so that you pressed it when you was ready to launch your plane but on landing the motor kept on running to simulate an idling propeller. If it does that then isnt your boat still going forward albeit slowly when your not your applying the throttle?

Yes, it stops. Press the arming button to start the motor. Motor runs fine at full throttle, drops down through the revs as you lower it, comes to a full stop at low throttle, starts up again when you move the throttle up. Works just like you would expect a normal esc to do.

No reverse, but the size and cost is so low....   I've only blown one of them up so far, and that was trying to drive a Taycol Supermarine, which was probably taking about 10A at 12v. That's also a field-wound motor, so god knows what induced voltages were going back up the line. I see that as my error rather than a failure of the electronics...  

[Mad_Mike]

it was one of those types with the button on. typically cant find the product now

found it now:

http://www.r2hobbies.com/old/eng/proddetail.php?prod=rcps51601

[dodgy geezer]

it was one of those types with the button on. typically cant find the product now

found it now:

http://www.r2hobbies.com/old/eng/proddetail.php?prod=rcps51601

I see what you mean. It says that it keeps idling. But that's not what mine does...

I bought my items when that old web page was up, and I have just run one of the escs on a test set up with a Radiolink. 6v - 300 motor. When the throttle was set to low, the motor was stopped. When I put it up one click, it was still stopped. Up another click, and the motor started whining quietly - if I flicked it it would run for a short time. Up another click, and it was running smoothly at a low speed. Take it up to full, it goes fast. drop it to low again, it stops. And I can do this as many times as I want...

If you want, I can video this and send it to you on a PM?

I note that the current ad for the esc no longer states that the esc 'idles' at the low setting... see http://r2hobbies.com/turborix-25a-brushed-motor-esc-electronic-speed-controller.html

[Mad_Mike]

no need to vid it i beleive you. But you understand now where i got the confusion from and why i was initially put off it.

 Can the the esc you use be started from central thottle position? The Turnigy forward only brushed ones need the return spring taking out of the throttle so that the lever is all the way back before they start.

[dodgy geezer]

no need to vid it i beleive you. But you understand now where i got the confusion from and why i was initially put off it.

 Can the the esc you use be started from central thottle position? The Turnigy forward only brushed ones need the return spring taking out of the throttle so that the lever is all the way back before they start.

Yes. I have just taken my test harness and started one in the 'mid-throttle' position. Life is complicated a bit by using the Radiolink transmitter, which has a safety feature requiring the operator to select low throttle first before the throttle control becomes live - that means you have to start the Tx first, and then swing the throttle stick from high to low and back again before starting the Rx. This is a feature of the Tx, not the esc. Actually, quite a sensible precaution - it means that you have to positively set a throttle position before obtaining control...

I did that, then set the Tx throttle to mid, turned on the RX and pressed that 'arming' button. Immediately, the motor started at mid-speed. I then turned everything off and did the same start, this time setting the Tx throttle to low. This time, when I pressed the arming button, the motor did not start (because the throttle was set to low), and when I advanced the throttle, the motor started as usual.

So it can be started in any position - seems to operate like a standard esc...

[Mad_Mike]

looks like a handy peice of kit then probably better than the turnigy forward only brushed esc's.

It just goes to show that you dont need to spend a fortune to make an rc model like its reputated.

Lower build costs = more boats to build

[malcolmfrary]

I would just be cautious about the 20A claim - I have doubts looking at the motor & battery connectors.  They look good for about 1 and a bit amps.

[dodgy geezer]

I experimented with one and it seemed happy on 10 amps or so with an old Johnson motor - not getting hot. Then I blew it on a Taycol SuperMarine (as I said earlier, I think that was because of a high induced voltage).  But for actual use in a boat I use them down in the milliamp range....


Only down side I have found is the esc has a LiPo auto cut-off at 5v, which I don't think can be turned off. A typical small EeZeBilt will run from a 4 cell battery pack - if that's NiMh that gives you 4.8 nominal (a bit higher when the battery is just charged). That means that the boat will run OK for a few minutes, then the esc cuts out when you select full power and the battery drops down to nominal running voltage.

I have tried wiring the arming switch to a continuously on switch, which means that when esc cuts out it immediately switches back on again - but that produces rather jerky motion! You can also use Alkaline cells (nominal voltage 6v), or add another NiMH cell to the pack and run on 6v that way...  

I presume that all of these small cheap escs have the same design, and it's not a problem for 'normal' modelling use. But it means that it's hard to run a small boat on a very low voltage....

[Mad_Mike]

I would just be cautious about the 20A claim - I have doubts looking at the motor & battery connectors.  They look good for about 1 and a bit amps.

the wires are pretty thin and no you wouldnt chance a 540 on it but id put my money on it be able to handle a 380, or maybe even possibly a 545:

http://www.mabuchi-motor.co.jp/cgi-bin/catalog/e_catalog.cgi?CAT_ID=rs_545sh

I think for something like a sea port conversion or one of those air fix conversion these esc's might just do the trick. Im currently running a 280 on 2s lipo with it and its holding out fine. Ill have to get another one and test it to destruction.

[Mad_Mike]

Theres no info anywhere on the internet about this esc. I just thought id point out that even though the listing says 2s lipo the speed controller doesnt have an low voltage cut off 

[dodgy geezer]

Theres no info anywhere on the internet about this esc. I just thought id point out that even though the listing says 2s lipo the speed controller doesnt have an low voltage cut off 

With no 'low voltage cut-off' your esc would be a better one for my EeZeBilts than the cheap one I am using. I must pick up a few...

[Mad_Mike]

suppose its good in someways, im glad that the retailer got back to me in time before my lipo went flat because i presumed that it did have a lvc

[dodgy geezer]

suppose its good in someways, im glad that the retailer got back to me in time before my lipo went flat because i presumed that it did have a lvc

It's not only good - it's essential if you want to run a small low-voltage boat on NiMh....

If you need a lipo cut-off, you can just use one of these for a few quid - http://www.giantcod.co.uk/battery-tester-voltage-alarm-p-406198.html

[Mad_Mike]

got one on the way from ebay, just addional weight i couldve done without.

[dodgy geezer]

True - though I find myself not so much weight as space-limited. They are a bit expensive at nearly £3 - if they were £1 I might have built one into each superstructure...