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Author Topic: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?  (Read 18763 times)

Subculture

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #25 on: February 22, 2012, 08:24:28 pm »

That sounds like a significant bug in the controllers firmware that ought to be addressed.
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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #26 on: February 22, 2012, 09:03:31 pm »

That's decided it. They're going back for refund.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

Anyone else who Googles this thread and has the same problem, please add a note. Maybe Mtroniks will take heed.
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murphy1570

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #27 on: February 23, 2012, 12:42:27 am »

Hello folks
I to have had very similar problems with an MTRONICS 10amp esc I bought three weeks ago, I phoned them up and was advised to remove the red wire and set it up with a seperate battery (ie no bec) then to put the red wire back in to the servo plug and that would do the trick!! I followed there advice and the esc now works but rather eratically, cutting out not stopping at neutral etc, very simiilar to the problems described by other members,
I think another phone call to Mtronics tommorow is in order and perhaps I will return the esc and ask for a replacement that works as it says "on the tin" or a refund, and try another manufacturer.
Any help on this would be appreciated folks.
All the best, John.
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irishcarguy

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #28 on: February 23, 2012, 07:51:33 am »

Look up ACTion Electronics they are one of our forum sponsors. Dave makes all kinds of first class stuff for our boats, you will not be disappointed. No connection just a very happy customer. Mick B.
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Mick B.

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #29 on: February 23, 2012, 09:00:52 am »

On initial contact with Mtroniks they told me the problem was down to me. First saying that my Tx setup was wrong, and after that telling me I needed to reverse the throttle. Today, however, they've changed tune and more-or-less admitted they know about the issue. Why the $%£& didn't they say so straight away?

The reason for the issue you are seeing is that the speed controller looks
for a 'window' of throttle travel when going through set up. If the 'window'
of throttle it sees  is larger than the speed controller thinks is
acceptable it will use the extreme of throttle that it sees and is happy
with as its full throttle position. If when you apply throttle you go past
this point the speed controller will, in effect, drop of the end of the
scale and therefore default to neutral.

This issue is a new one that has cropped up recently due to transmitter
manufacturers changing the way they design the throttle range.
This issue is solved, from our point of view, with the new Mtroniks tio
Marine controllers but can be an issue on some Viper controllers, and this
is down to tolerances as it doesn't happen with 99% of the Viper controllers
that are in the market.

The way to solve it when using a viper is to simply move your throttle trim
back a few notches, then go through set up again. What this does is move the
throttle window of the transmitter down a bit and back into the area that
the Viper speed controllers are happy with.


It seems somewhat complacent to say that the "issue is solved" because Mtroniks have another model of controller which doesn't suffer the same defect. If only 1% of Vipers suffer the problem then an immediate offer to exchange the units would seem to be the best policy to preserve Mtroniks reputation. But instead they gave me a bit of a run-around and then finally came clean and told me I'd have to live with it. So - call me cynical - could it be that rather less than "99% of Viper controllers that are in the market" really work OK?

Maybe I'm in a minority when I expect stuff from a 'reputable' brand to work as advertised. But my Vipers are in the post for refund. Not buying that model again.
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Netleyned

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #30 on: February 23, 2012, 09:06:38 am »

Yet another version of the reason for it from MTronics

Ned
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ACTion

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #31 on: February 23, 2012, 10:44:53 am »

Not 100% sure about this reply, although I can sympathise with MTroniks ref the haphazard way that some new radios are built. In our experience the throttle signal value varies only within the “accepted” industry standards of 1.0mS and 2.0mS. I’ve just checked a random sample of our 2.4GHz test sets and found that the lowest signal was 1.1mS (Spektrum DX5) while the highest was 2.0mS (Futaba 6EXA). I would have thought that MTroniks’ ESCs would recognise at least signals within this range – it appears not, unless there are a helluva lot of very badly setup sets out there. The only way to get around this ESC problem is to increase the size of the range of signals which the ESC regards as valid - we use 0.9mS to 2.2mS  - and it's also perhaps best to have full automatic setting whenever you switch on (as opposed to flashing lights, frantic stick juggling and button pressing).
We've had this so-called "plug and play" for years..................
I rest my case.
Dave M
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The long Build

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #32 on: February 23, 2012, 01:19:17 pm »

And don't forget Setting up an ESC also depends on:-

Which Pond/lake you are at.

Your Height

What leg you are kneeling on

The time of Year..

& the weight of the hammer to make any minor adjustments to when it does not work..  :}
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malcolmfrary

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #33 on: February 23, 2012, 04:14:02 pm »

And don't forget Setting up an ESC also depends on:-

Which Pond/lake you are at.

Your Height

What leg you are kneeling on

The time of Year..

& the weight of the hammer to make any minor adjustments to when it does not work..  :}
...Shoe size.......

It is a problem for any manufacturer dealing in quantity - to keep costs down you need to buy in bulk - in this case I presume there is a "program once only" PIC in there which means that any decisions made pre production are now burned into every chip in the pipeline.  With fully sealed units, there is no chance of a rethink and change as anything other than a major undertaking.  An advantage for smaller production runs where the manufacturer is not only aware of feedback, but can actually do something about it.
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HS93 (RIP)

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #34 on: February 23, 2012, 04:16:18 pm »

Bring back  BOB'S BOARDS O0

Peter ;D
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Subculture

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #35 on: February 23, 2012, 05:40:27 pm »

Still have a couple of those new in packet, I'll take an ESC any day.
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triumphjon

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #36 on: February 23, 2012, 07:01:34 pm »

i find the explaination of the fault we are experiencing very odd , the esc that ive just fitted is one of the " taken off the production line 7 tested " range and yet it has this fault of cutting out when my stick is on full power ?
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john s 2

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #37 on: February 23, 2012, 07:29:10 pm »

If Mtronks know of this problem, then why as responsible makers are they selling Escs that may not work? It seems worse because they have a range that is supposed to overcome the problems. Why not dicntinue the suspect range? John.
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Rex Hunt

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #38 on: February 23, 2012, 08:15:19 pm »

The tale of the issue being down to'design of new transmitters' doesn't hold water...........mine is a 7 year ols Robbe F14 Navy!

Rex
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irishcarguy

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #39 on: February 24, 2012, 09:09:45 am »

It seems today the motto is put it on the market & let the customer pay the cost of development, poor business practice if you ask me. Companies will not be right 100% of the time but then the faulty item should be recalled & replaced @ no cost to the customer. Mick B
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Mick B.

ACTion

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #40 on: February 24, 2012, 09:25:36 am »

It seems today the motto is put it on the market & let the customer pay the cost of development, poor business practice if you ask me.
It hasn't done Microsoft a great deal of harm, Mick!  8)
DM
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Subculture

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #41 on: February 24, 2012, 09:55:31 am »

I looked at the Planet instruction manual, and it says the throttle failsafe is programmable, so just program it so that the failsafe position is neutral (which is what you want anyway with a boat).

Something else you can try is to connect the controller to another channel and set-up the range using that.
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irishcarguy

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #42 on: February 24, 2012, 08:00:00 pm »

Or you could buy one that does not have those kinds of problems in the first place. Mick B.
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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #43 on: February 27, 2012, 12:17:05 pm »

Just had the refund from Mtroniks for those two Vipers. Overall the whole transaction has been a bit of a waste of time for me. But on the positive side Mtroniks have been communicative throughout and have given a refund without hassle.

My personal opinion is that Mtroniks are making a commercial mistake continuing to sell the Viper without giving the customer some warning that there may be compatibility problems with some radio gear. But that's their business.

Remember when considering Mtroniks that the Viper range may need more setting up than the instructions indicate. I.e. you may need to modify your Tx throttle curve or range. Even if it works flawlessly with your existing Tx/Rx, it may need this additional setup after you upgrade in the future.

Remember also that Mtroniks say that the new Tio brushed-motor range has no such problems.

Either way, with Tio or Viper, if you buy direct from www.mtroniks.net, you can be pretty sure that you'll get a refund if it doesn't work for you. Which is likely to be a lot better than, say, buying a no-brand ESC from ebay and hoping for the best.
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David 48

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #44 on: February 27, 2012, 12:59:19 pm »

I have been following this thread ,I am in the market for a TX ,all very intresting.I would have thought Sales of Goods and Fit for purpose rules and regs. would come into this somewhere. Very pleased that the supplier has come good .Keep faith with human race.
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john s 2

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #45 on: February 27, 2012, 01:46:06 pm »

Sales and goods act can be useful. Its worth remembering that items from China are not covered so if faulty its hard to do anything. John.
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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #46 on: February 27, 2012, 02:16:29 pm »

I had no need to invoke any fit-for-purpose acts, etc. Mtroniks have a good reputation for dealing with problems raised by customers. In this case they agreed to refund without any argument at all. The original sale was "free postage" (i.e. postage was included in the price), so my only loss was the 2nd class post to send the items back. I'm not complaining, and I don't think prospective customers should feel that buying from Mtroniks is risky. Quite the opposite.

David-48: Do bear in mind that these Vipers will work with modern Tx/Rx, so you shouldn't limit your choice of Tx based on what ESCs you already have. But Mtroniks fail to explain in their instructions that you may have to reprogram the Tx output. Any Tx where the output range can be reduced, or where the curve can be adjusted, should work OK. But I'd rather buy an ESC that works out of the box. Which means one of the other makes mentioned in this thread, or maybe a Mtroniks Tio.
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cuppa

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #47 on: February 27, 2012, 09:59:10 pm »

I have just experienced the same problem with a viper.

Did what others have done and adjusted the end point adjustment of the throttle stick to match the point where the 'over-travel' was causing the cut in reverse and it cured it.

Not a problem as i was planning to adjust the end point in reverse to only give a very slow speed due to my grandson having a habit of trying to run flat out in reverse and swamping the model!

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #48 on: March 01, 2012, 10:28:51 am »

On the basis of better the (waterproof) devil I know...

...I just bought a Mtroniks Tio Marine 15 to try as a possible replacement for the microViper Marine 10's which gave the original problem.

The Tio works fine across the whole range of throttle stick movement. So Mtroniks are correct - the Tio does not suffer the same problem as the microViper. It's only a little more expensive, but somewhat bigger. Though much of the size increase will be because it's a 15A module rather than 10A. And it can be set up for Li-Po batteries.

The Tio has to be set up the same way as the Viper by pressing a button within 2 secs etc. Which means - with my system at least - you do have to power the Rx separately when doing the initial setup. As others have pointed out, there are other brand ESCs which don't need this setup process. (But are they waterproof? An important consideration when the model is in the hands of a 7-year-old.)
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NickKK

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Re: MTroniks ESC - Should it do this?
« Reply #49 on: March 09, 2012, 02:27:37 am »

I have had three MTronics Esc's .... two of which I sent back and got a refund. The third is in a box somewhere ... I use  Action or Electronize Esc's now ... At least I know they work with no  fancy and complicated set up.... I can't remember what the problem was with one of them ... One just refused to work full stop, straight from the box. The one I kept I have had problems getting the full power through it at full throttle ... For some reason it is only delivering about a third of the power to the motor.  I'll not buy another Mtronics.
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