OK, I have
NOT suddenly become an expert on ESC's, but in response to Lionel's request, here is a write up of what I did to get the motor running.
I purchased a Turnigy Aquastar 160 and programming box from Hobby King. I bought the box because I have a real problem hearing the 'bleeps', let alone keeping up with a programming sequence. The items came without proper instructions but over a few days I was able to glean enough information to take the plunge and connect everything up.
The programming box has two three pin sockets. One is labelled with a 'top hat'/square wave, -, +. The other is labelled -,+,-.
The second socket is to allow the ESC to be programmed without plugging in the LiPo.
I plugged in the motor, plugged the ESC into the box (the socket with the top hat) and connected the LiPo (at arm's length
). I turned on the ESC and the box display came to life. There are four buttons on the box. Up and down move you through the programming sequence, left and right select the option you want for each stage of the sequence. It turned out to be a doddle. I only wanted to turn off the reverse so I just stepped down till I found that option and selected 'no reverse'. I then carried on stepping down until I reached the final question which was simply 'Defaults?'. I answered 'no' and that saved my changes.
I disconnected the LiPo and the box then plugged in the Rx. Now, I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do (however, I am still here to tell the tale) but I followed the routine for my old ESC:
Tx on, full throttle.
Turn on the ESC and wait.
Go to full reverse (I am using and stick style Tx so that meant using the trim to go beyond 0). Wait.
Go to neutral. Wait
(I didn't hear any bleeps during this process, but I can't hear bleeps anyway).
Turn off the ESC then Tx.
Turn the Tx back on, throttle neutral.
Turn the ESC on and wait for a couple of beeps.
That's it - push the stick up gently and we are away.
I think all this may have been unnecessary and the ESC may just auto-calibrate but whatever, it didn't blow up or spin the motor unexpectedly.
I've yet to see how this unit performs on the water. I've read a few horror stories of them blowing up as soon as they are plugged in but have no idea how many do
not blow up. I also read some complaints about the units not being waterproof. Mmm. I understand this was originally a car ESC and the only real difference is that the finned, fan cooled heat sink has been replaced by a water cooled block. I took the precaution of removing the water connections and adding a good sealant. They had plastic washers but they weren't very tight. Really, that is the only place the unit could leak. The water doesn't go anywhere near the circuit board.
Overall, the unit is well-presented. If the internals are as good as the externals, then it's a good unit for the price. I did notice during a bench test with the prop attached that the motor is running MUCH smoother on this unit. It sounded pretty rough before with no load on the prop. Either I got the prop tube greased better or the ESC is better (it is, after all, fourteen years newer in technology!) It does bring the motor to an abrupt stop if you slam the throttle shut. Probably a 'car' feature. Might have to see if there is an option to tame that but in the meantime, gently does it when closing the throttle the last little bit.
If that lot makes no more sense than the manual, let me know and I'll try again!