what specs to look for in crawler speed controls?

[STANG KILLA SS]

what kinda stuff do i need to look for? as far as handling the two motors. obviously reverse, anything else?

ive got this old futaba MC 210CB reversing ESC but i have no clue if it will work.
ive also got 2 other ESC that are novaks. but not sure if they will work. ive read the "how to build a crawler" post on what ESC they recomend. but theres no mention on what requirements are actually needed if you already have some ESCs, if they are not those.

any help?
here on the specs on the futaba ESC..
http://www.futaba-rc.com/manuals/futm0921-manual.pdf

[madmaxxed]

i would say to look for a high BEC rating and also the motor limit.

[racerx]

Read the thread about the Tekin Rebel II in the electronics section, there is a TON of really good info there. You must have at least 3 amps of bec for dual steering servos. So the choice is only a few, Super rooster (discontinued) Tekin R.II about $85.00, I would look at these two. You can get new in box super roosters on e-bay but the reb. II has more bec power and will cost you less $$. But read the thread I mentioned first, it should answer any Q's you might have. Hope that helps.

[STANG KILLA SS]

ooops didnt realize that made a difference. im gonna be 2 wheel steering....
what do i look for on "motor limit"
they dont have many specs on that futaba sheet...

[racerx]

Most people use high wind count motors for crawling (ie. 45t,55t,& 65t) they draw less amps than say a 27t (stock) motor or a 19t mild mod motor so most esc's will handle this type of motor ( I say most!) because some don't like the heat that crawling loads can produce and POOF! out comes the smoke... I have used a duratrax intelispeed sport in my TLT and it lasted about 2 weeks and started to shutdown because of heat, next I used an EVX from a E-maxx worked well but had low bec so steering was weak. Now I use a Novak rooster, better steering but I now have a big "lag" between F & R ! I may send it back to the factory because other people use this esc w/ no prob. In my Clod Super crawler I use a Super Rooster and it works perfect! They are getting harder to find but if you can get a NIB one I would.

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by racerx

Most people use high wind count motors for crawling (ie. 45t,55t,& 65t) they draw less amps than say a 27t (stock) motor or a 19t mild mod motor so most esc's will handle this type of motor ( I say most!) because some don't like the heat that crawling loads can produce and POOF! out comes the smoke... I have used a duratrax intelispeed sport in my TLT and it lasted about 2 weeks and started to shutdown because of heat, next I used an EVX from a E-maxx worked well but had low bec so steering was weak. Now I use a Novak rooster, better steering but I now have a big "lag" between F & R ! I may send it back to the factory because other people use this esc w/ no prob. In my Clod Super crawler I use a Super Rooster and it works perfect! They are getting harder to find but if you can get a NIB one I would.

ok so your saying i dont really need to worry about the motors. great. and being that im 2WS all the power will be going to the 1 servo. well i guess ill just try it! i dont really care if it "poofs" its been in the attic for 5 years lol. i may dig out those novaks ive got and see what they are. im sure there better than the futaba...

[SVEN]

Look for BEC rating. If you plan to run a servo regulator or a reciever pack then the BEC really won't matter. High BEC rated ESC's are the Novak Super Rooster, Tekin Rebel 2, and the Novak Super Duty (has double pump reverse. some like it, some don't)

Look for voltage input if you want to run more than 6 cells (most ESC's are made to handle 6 cells, but few can handle more).

If you are looking for good throttle response, check out the Frequency. Higher the number, the more responsive the throttle control will be.

The motor limit. Lower the better. With a 10 turn limit, you will be able to run 2 20turn motors in parallel (theoretically).

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by SVEN

Look for BEC rating. If you plan to run a servo regulator or a reciever pack then the BEC really won't matter. High BEC rated ESC's are the Novak Super Rooster, Tekin Rebel 2, and the Novak Super Duty (has double pump reverse. some like it, some don't)

Look for voltage input if you want to run more than 6 cells (most ESC's are made to handle 6 cells, but few can handle more).

If you are looking for good throttle response, check out the Frequency. Higher the number, the more responsive the throttle control will be.

The motor limit. Lower the better. With a 10 turn limit, you will be able to run 2 20turn motors in parallel (theoretically).

great info! whats double pumper reverse?
yeah gonna run a 6 C cell 5000 mA pack... so 7.2 volts is fine.

ok ill be running 65T or maybe 55T so that pretty much lets any speed control work right? (55T divided by 2= 27.5T = stock motor)

so sounds to me like other than the BEC the requirements on a ESC for a crawler are extremely low... great to hear. i may give that old futaba a chance ;)

[SVEN]

Double pump reverse is when you have to push the trottle trigger up to brake, then let it back down, and then push it up again to engage reverse. If you are not quick on the trigger, you may not be able to engage the reverse quick enough to save a roll over.

[rocktoy]

I use a cheap futaba ESC in my clod. 2 65t lathes no probs. I run a Seperate pack for servo power though. I did have the pack unplug and within minutes the ESC fried its BEC ciriut. Luckily it still works with a seperate pack for the servo's.


I now have mine modded a bit. I use servo's that can handle 8.4v so I spliced the power wires from the tamiya plug on the ESC into the ones that go to the receiver. It works fine now with just my 7.2 pack. You do this mod its at your own risk though

I honestly can see the point in spending 100bucks on a ESC when I got this one for free.

[insanerc]

It's just my opinion but the electronics in a crawler or any other rc for that matter are the last place I would look to cut corners and save. You can easily find yourself buying replacement parts again and again as you burn stuff up. I know about the old ESC theory of 10 turn ESC=2 20 turn motors but it is my experience that this is a little flawed. Example, I ran my stock Clod cans (27 turns) on my Tekin Rebel 2 (10 turn limit) while waiting for some lathe motors to come in and the ESC would get very hot particularly in stall situations which you will have with a Clod. I don't think the theory includes stall situations of even allows for some high current servos that we use on crawlers. You need to keep in mind that crawlers inherently are difficult to turn due to their long wheel bases and their locked diffs so many of us use very high torque servos that have a pretty high current draw. Well enough of my rambling and I hope I could be of some help.

[brendan h]

i use a duratrax intelispeed sport on a 55t lathe in my tlt. never gets hot i only got it hot once cause somthing shorted out. but i fixed that and works fine. i run a RX pack also. the only downside to ths ESC is the delay between F and R. whats a ESC with no delay between F and R?

[oIIIIIo]

It looks to me like you may have stumbled on a decent little crawler ESC with that Futaba. If you look at the specs it lists the "regulator output" at 6v/3A. That sounds a lot like the BEC rating to me. If so, it should be plenty - that's the same rating as the great Super Rooster. Current Futaba products have a 6v BEC, but they don't publish an amp rating. I would definitely run that Futaba ESC and let us know how it holds up for you.

[zjguy721]

Anyone run a Novak XRS? It would be in a TLT-based front steer only with a 55t lathe motor. It's nice and small, just wondered if anyone has used one.

[oIIIIIo]

I suspect that a few people are running the Novak XRS. It's a good brand name and can be had fairly cheap However, it has only a 5v/1A BEC which is low for both voltage and current, and is rated for a motor output of only 40A. That might be enough, but I suspect that under a hard stall condition you could exceed 40A in a crawler. Another thing to look for in a crawler ESC is a decent drive frequency. This higher the frequency, the smoother the throttle response will be especially at very low speed. The XRS is a bit low here as well.

A similar ESC - size & quality wise, but with better all around specs, is the Futaba MC330CR. The price for these on Tower is higher than the XRS, but you can find them on eBay for a decent price. Make sure you avoid the Chinese clones though - they are junk.

[oIIIIIo]

Originally Posted by oIIIIIo

It looks to me like you may have stumbled on a decent little crawler ESC with that Futaba. If you look at the specs it lists the "regulator output" at 6v/3A. That sounds a lot like the BEC rating to me. If so, it should be plenty - that's the same rating as the great Super Rooster. Current Futaba products have a 6v BEC, but they don't publish an amp rating. I would definitely run that Futaba ESC and let us know how it holds up for you.

I was doing some more reading on the MC210CB and may have found it's Achilles’ heel. Apparently the drive frequency is only 60Hz. This will mean that it probably won't have very good throttle response and may heat at low speeds. Still, I'd try it and see how it works.