RCCrawler Forums - Moped ESC

I was looking for an ESC that could provide the power needed to handle 4WS and duel lathes on my Crawler, many of them seems like they would work. But, when you start running dual servos for 4 wheel steering, the BEC rating on many of the ESC's available to crawlers becomes very important. I was faced with this problem recently and started looking for an ESC to meet my needs. Cost was also an issue I wanted to address. The Tekin Rebel 2 and Novak Super Rooster are great ESC's, but are fairly pricey and it the case of the Novak SR getting fairly hard to come by.

The problem:

I wanted an ESC that could handle 4WS and duel motors. The ESC hunt started w/ the TR2. Very capable ESC w/ great BEC ratings and is pretty much the "standard" for crawlers today. But at anywhere from $70.00 for a used unit to $100.00+ for a new one, the price was an issue. The Novak Super Rooster is a similar ESC w/ adequate BEC numbers. But it has been discontinued by Novak, and used units on e-bay are also very pricey at $75.00+ being the norm. Not a prospect I looked forward to. Also both are units are fairly large which limit their mounting possibilities.

The search:

I scoured Tower Hobbies ESC's as well as several other hobby shop's available ESC offerings as well as Novak and Tekin's web sites. Several ESC's looked promising only to disappoint me w/ the BEC numbers. The Novak XRS w/ it's small size was a possible candidate only to be shot down w/ it's 1.5 amp BEC rating.

So I started looking at the multitude of offerings on e-bay. Talk about availability! The number of different ESC's on the bay was staggering! Literally 100's of different ESC available. Some w/ great information and sellers w/ great feedback. Others w/ items that just didn't seem to be up to par, a lack of information and low seller ratings! After 100's of searches I finally found a unit that met the parameters on price, size, and BEC ratings I had put forth.

The product:

I decided to go with the VR16 MOPED . Mainly because of the price ($35.00 shipped!) Very small size (only slightly bigger than a quarter) and a 5 volt 3 amp BEC. I figured that 3 amps would probably be sufficient for 4WS. So there wouldn't be a need to use a receiver pack. And I like trying things that no one else has. Some times it's fun to be the guinea pig. So I purchased the MOPED off of e-bay and waited and waited.

When I received the MOPED, I was very pleased with the size of the unit. It is TINY (really small compared to the SR and TR2 ) and it weighs just over an oz. It doesn't have any visible heat sinks, but after several uses, it never seems to get very warm. The on and off switch was already there, and the directions it comes with are as easy to understand as any ESC at twice the cost. It's rated for 10 - 36 turn motors, but this shouldn't be an issue as the TR2 has the same rating.

The install:

I removed the included Tamiya battery plug and bullet motor connectors and I then replaced them w/ Dean Ultra Plugs. That made the ESC easily removable w/o use of soldering. When I was finished with the wiring, I decided on the area on my chassis where the MOPED was going to be placed. I choose the rear axle brace on my NN based Clod. I use 3M Duel Lock rather than Velcro or double sided tape. I purchased it at the local Radio Shack for less than $5.00 for ( 8 ) 2 inch pieces. I peeled the backing off and stuck the Duel Lock where it was needed. I Shoe Gooed the On/Off switch to the case rather than bolting in onto the chassis. I then hooked everything up and ran through the set-up according to the directions. The set-up procedure in the instructions was easy and in no time it was ready to do my first test crawl.

The test:

I really didn't have much time to test the MOPED getting ready for the next days comp. But everything seemed to work fine in the limited test session the night before. During the comp. the MOPED worked without a single glitch. The directions clearly instructed that the installation of capacitors on the motor was necessary. I didn't add them to motors due to the lack of time. Still, I didn't have any issues. The 4WS never glitched and I didn't have any problems at all. The 4WS worked flawlessly, and the motors where never at a loss of power. Although there is a bit of lag when switching into reverse. Nothing extreme or that hindered it's performance.

In review:

The VR16 MOPED, IMO, is an excellent BUDGET ESC to be used in RC Crawling. W/ the expense of the TR2 and the Super Rooster becoming harder to find, people are going to be looking for an ESC that can perform well and still be easy to obtain and be affordable. At under $40.00 SHIPPED, the MOPED is an extremely good choice and I think other will find the MOPED to be a great performing, budget minded ESC. It is easy to install and set-up, extremely light weight, tiny in size and produces more than sufficient BEC numbers. The MOPED is the best budget ESC available to the crawling community.

I Hope this review comes in handy to others looking for a ESC that can both meet their crawling needs and still be affordable. For less than the cost of a TR2 or SR you could order 2 MOPEDS. Crawl w/ one, have one in reserve and still have a few buck in your pocket. Good luck!

Dez