Kaetwo's Tekin FX-R Review...

[mann0mann]

One of the things it would be nice to have Tekin clarify is, the specs for the FX and the FX-Pro series.

The website indicates that the cell/voltage input is the same 4-9 cells/2s

The manual online indicates 4-7 cells/2s on the FX series and 4-9 cells/3s on the Pro series.

And specifically is the BEC the same? The specs say 6V/3 amp for both ESCs. I'd like to know does the BEC drop to ~2 amps on a 3s pack with the PRO series as well?

To me this is an important question. I have seen how well servos perform with Novak's 6v/5 amp BEC on the Rooster. I know a castle BEC can be added to any system, but honestly it's not something I want to run. One more thing to setup, one more mess of wires, one more thing to fart with.

-Mike

[chimney]

well I am not impressed with the fx-r, I thought that I was upgrading from my rebel-2 but the fx-r stops when you turn the wheels all the way right or left
on the floor or held in the air.I have done everything I know to do. I went back to using the rebel-2, o-by the way I have no problems with the rebel, it has no drag brakes but it doesn't stop when you turn the wheels either.
My 2-cents
Chimney

[Rockcrawler]

Originally Posted by chimney

well I am not impressed with the fx-r, I thought that I was upgrading from my rebel-2 but the fx-r stops when you turn the wheels all the way right or left
on the floor or held in the air.I have done everything I know to do. I went back to using the rebel-2, o-by the way I have no problems with the rebel, it has no drag brakes but it doesn't stop when you turn the wheels either.
My 2-cents
Chimney

What servos and batteries are you using?

[binaryterror]

My FX-R is a dream. Easy to program in the field on drag brake too.

I'd definately recommend them!

[JohnRobHolmes]

Sounds like you need to set your EPAs chimney.

[kaetwo]

Originally Posted by chimney

well I am not impressed with the fx-r, I thought that I was upgrading from my rebel-2 but the fx-r stops when you turn the wheels all the way right or left
on the floor or held in the air.I have done everything I know to do. I went back to using the rebel-2, o-by the way I have no problems with the rebel, it has no drag brakes but it doesn't stop when you turn the wheels either.
My 2-cents
Chimney

Chimney, rather than just making a blanket hate statement, why don't you ask for help? Pose it as a question and we'll be happy to point you in the right direction.

John already gave you the fix with this statement:

Originally Posted by JohnRobHolmes

Sounds like you need to set your EPAs chimney.

It is indeed the endpoints on your steering. Dial them back and you'll be golden.

[kaetwo]

Originally Posted by mann0mann

One of the things it would be nice to have Tekin clarify is, the specs for the FX and the FX-Pro series.

The website indicates that the cell/voltage input is the same 4-9 cells/2s

The manual online indicates 4-7 cells/2s on the FX series and 4-9 cells/3s on the Pro series.

And specifically is the BEC the same? The specs say 6V/3 amp for both ESCs. I'd like to know does the BEC drop to ~2 amps on a 3s pack with the PRO series as well?

To me this is an important question. I have seen how well servos perform with Novak's 6v/5 amp BEC on the Rooster. I know a castle BEC can be added to any system, but honestly it's not something I want to run. One more thing to setup, one more mess of wires, one more thing to fart with.

-Mike

I know where your coming from. I too would like to get the final word on the specs

I'm sure we'll hear from one of the guys from Tekin and get some clarifications.

[Zken]

The FX page on our website holds the latest up to date info. Our packaging and manuals are printed in the thousands at a time and once done the info on them is what it is. Funny part to that is we have a revised FX box with updated info...sent it to our printer...they used the old art work AGAIN to run the print...gotta love production. :neutral:

Yes the BEC is the same on the pro and non pro units. 6V/3 amp is correct. Yes you will see a drop on either unit when going 3s, the FX is a very robust lil bugger and the numbers we provide to the public are in a real world range...no fluff and actual.

An EBEC is always an option but so far the FX has kept up pretty well.

Sorry that you guys are seeing different info from the same source....our packaging has been a headache before and we hope to clear up and clean out the misprints.

Keep em crawling guys...this stuffs WAAY cool. Can't wait to get my crawler going!!!

[kaetwo]

Thank you for the update

Several of us have had problems with the ESC "amping out" (for lack of a better explanation) when throwing the servo full EP. This now makes sense because everyone that I've talked with that has had the problem have been running 3 Cell. As a test I used my 2 Cell Lipo and no "amping issues"

Thanks again for the updates

[Trimmy]

I cannot wait to get mine, I want to run a 3s lipo so it looks as if I will be buying a CCBEC dang it I didnt want to do that.

[Col_Sanders]

I hooked mine up yesterday and ran a pack through it and so far I love it. I need to do a little tweaking on the drag brake and with my radio but I'm happy with it!

[chimney]

First off I didn't say that I hated the esc I an not impressed with it. I got news for you the end points are set. you must not have red my post I Don't have trouble with the rebel-2. not changing anything except the esc the fx-r
shuts down when you turn right or left without turning all the way. battery 2 cell lipo servo is airtronics 94359 and if this is shutting down the servos then its funny it doesn't shut down the the rebel 2 or my mamba max. and if you feel that this is a hate blanket statment just because I state the facts then don't read this. just because your fx-r works good for you doesn't mean that this one does!
Chimney

[kaetwo]

Originally Posted by chimney

First off I didn't say that I hated the esc I an not impressed with it. I got news for you the end points are set. you must not have red my post I Don't have trouble with the rebel-2. not changing anything except the esc the fx-r
shuts down when you turn right or left without turning all the way. battery 2 cell lipo servo is airtronics 94359 and if this is shutting down the servos then its funny it doesn't shut down the the rebel 2 or my mamba max. and if you feel that this is a hate blanket statment just because I state the facts then don't read this. just because your fx-r works good for you doesn't mean that this one does!
Chimney

My bad.

It sounds like you have the two basics down ( 2 cell Lipo and EPA's set correctly ). It could be the ESC....If it was me I would have Tekin take a look at it, or ask there techs. I think that you would really like it, once it worked properly for you.

[JohnRobHolmes]

Sounds like a bad unit to me too, low input voltage and proper epa points to normal BEC operation.

[mann0mann]

Zken - could you answer one additional question. I think Kaetwo was curious about this as well.

With 100% understanding that 3s Lipo use is not "officially" supported and will be handled on a case by case basis if warranty issues arise...one thing that could dictate even the use of a 3s is whether there is an actual cutoff for a 3s pack in the FX series.

The only reason I ask is the manual indicates there is a 3s profile and I'm assuming Kaetwo is able to actually choose that profile either by manual or through Hotwire interface. But it hasn't been clear if that is actually working?

But can you confirm is there actually a 3s cutoff profile that works?

Thanks!

-Mike

[Zken]

MannOmann,
Yes there is a functional 3s cut off in the FX series control. It can be accessed via the mode button directly on the ESC or the Hotwire pc interface. With the hotwire you can set a custom should you be running a 4s with a EBEC.

Chimney,
Contact Ty with customer support. We'll want to take a look at this in the engineering department since you just opened it up new and its doing this. We may be able to send one out today if you can get intouch with him.

[mann0mann]

So I brought home a FX-R and Hotwire programmer tonight and put it in my new AX10 Edge install.

Here's some additional thoughts and comments from my perspective.

1.) I am not a big fan of the solder posts. I also felt soldering on the cap sucked too. It's nice that you can change your wires, etc. But for example, I own a hobbystore, the majority of our customers are newcomers to the hobby. This would be a handful for them and could go bad easily.

2.)I also thought the solder posts were almost too small for the gauge wire they provided. The wire would not fit in the slot at all (not sure if it was meant to in the first place, but that would have made the process easier.

3.)I was also disappointed in the fact that they only provided three lengths of wire. You are forced to cut the wire they do give you in half and have relatively short leads. The short leads were not a problem for this install but could be for others?

I know *why* they did this, but given this is a reverse speed control and given this is an esc in a higher price range. How hard would it have been to included a second black wire?

4.) As an additional note the RX lead is shorter than most servo leads. I measured 8 inches, compared to 12 inches on my JR and Hitec servos. No issue here for me, but again could pose a problem and require an extension for certain installs.

5.) Lastly a huge pet peeve of mine. A Futaba RX lead. Grrrr...why-o-why does anyone still do this anymore? Drives me nuts. I know you can cut the polarity tab off, but they never fit right, you can cut too far, etc. There's no reason to even have these anymore...ditch the polarity tab and then the thing is universal.

I'm not trying to nit pick just providing additional information...

So now onto the good, the ESC is incredibly small. Even Kaetwo's pics don't give it justice. Very tiny. Size wise if your using the new DX3R it's almost the same size as the SR3100 rx included.

Setup of this radio through the button programming is excellent. Great LED and chime prompts. Very Easy. Novak could learn a thing or two from these guys.

I also used the Hotwire software. Got to say, using alot of Castle Creation products over the years flying airplanes, etc. and programing mambas on a daily basis for customers. This software has alot of catching up to do. Plus the pricing on the interface is way to high for what your getting. It's double the price of the castle link.

I've really got to run this to give it more of an impression in terms of use. I am going to be using a 10T Cobalt motor and a 1320 TP 2 cell battery. So far it's super smooth, no jitters, no issues with the ESC locking out at full left or right as the other poster mentioned and I'm using a Hitec 5955TG servo.

This was a tough choice to make for personal use. The Castle Creation ESC offers great software programming and the ability to run 3s packs, and both brushed and brushless motors. It however has a big footprint and not a weaker internal BEC than what I was considering.

The Novak is smaller, no software interface, easy to wire/hook up. Interesting drag brake (not sure I like it and it's not adjustable) but has a fantastic internal BEC.

The Tekin gave me a compromise of everything. Plus we have never really been a big Tekin shop prior to this and I love having the opportunity to test and try things out so we can make great honest reccomendations to customers.

Hope this helps some others out...

-Also as an additional note. I'm using a DX3R and I could not get the ESC to calibrate without reversing the channel. Not a huge issue, but the manual really seems to be adamant about keeping it "normal" not reversed. Anyone else have this issue?

[binaryterror]

Originally Posted by mann0mann

1.) I am not a big fan of the solder posts. I also felt soldering on the cap sucked too. It's nice that you can change your wires, etc. But for example, I own a hobbystore, the majority of our customers are newcomers to the hobby. This would be a handful for them and could go bad easily.

If you can't solder on those posts it might be time to consider a new hobby. You don't have to install the wire in the slot, I never do, just use the slot to hold the solder. If you are a newbie in crawling and you are looking at $100 range speed controls likely you can solder, or are willing to ask for some help of a hobby store. I know my Local Hobby Store will install a speed control if you buy it there...SERVICE.

4.) As an additional note the RX lead is also quite short. Again could pose a problem for certain installs.

Mine was too long, this is a he said she said complaint. If its too long or short, simply cut and add or remove a section of wire. Bingo.

-Also as an additional note. I'm using a DX3R and I could not get the ESC to calibrate without reversing the channel. Not a huge issue, but the manual really seems to be adamant about keeping it "normal" not reversed. Anyone else have this issue?

Mine was fine in this. Cleared the DX3R memory, bound the radio and RX. Calibration was perfect.

[Zken]

MannOmann,

Very interesting review and thanks for taking a look at the FX-R, I hope it does you well on the rocks! Please elaborate on the CC software...as we are still working on adding functions and useful tools to its interface....suggestions are more then welcome

Our R1 and RS speed controls run both brushed and brushless and are animals in both applications...FX was designed specific to running brushed the best it could be run and as small as possible.

We love the input you guys provide, keep it coming!

[mann0mann]

Originally Posted by binaryterror

If you can't solder on those posts it might be time to consider a new hobby. You don't have to install the wire in the slot, I never do, just use the slot to hold the solder. If you are a newbie in crawling and you are looking at $100 range speed controls likely you can solder, or are willing to ask for some help of a hobby store. I know my Local Hobby Store will install a speed control if you buy it there...SERVICE.

Nobody said I couldn't solder to the posts. I just said I don't prefer them. I'll use your example and say this is a he-said/she-said complaint. Kaetwo and yourself may prefer them. I personally don't.

BTW - thanks for insinuation and assumption we offer no "SERVICE". I didn't realize you knew my business and customer base so well.

Sheesh...it's not like I slammed the product. I'm using the dang ESC for personal use, when I could use and take home anything I want. I think that actually says alot.

These are all just things I discovered and took notice of that weren't mentioned along the way here.

-Mike