Tekin Hot Wire/Castle Link review

[xCoolHandLukex]

I bought a Tekin FXR with 35T motor and a Hitec servo with castle BEC for my Axial Honcho. I wanted more torque, better drag brake and I really didn't like the stock servo. I decided to get the Hot Wire interface and Castle link. The castle link was pretty simple since all I did was up the BEC voltage to 7.4 for the servo. Did what it was supposed to I measured the voltage before and after. To do a fair comparison I programmed the ESC with the Hot Wire then reset everything and did it manually.I have to say I thought the Hot Wire was just a gimmick to make money but after using it I would rate it 9/10.

Pros
- downloaded and installed in about 5 mins super easy
- took me about a 30s to hook it up to the ESC no harder than pressing the buttons
-once it connected everything is pretty self explanatory, I was able to set everything up the way I wanted on the first try
-you can reset everything to default settings any time you want, I know a few times on my Traxxas ESCs I got lost trying to follow all the flashes and messed things up then spent an hour trying to figure out what I did
- way more convenient and simpler than trying to use the buttons and LEDs I can do in 10s what takes 15min with the buttons
-I have really big hands and since I mounted the FXR and reciever in a box I find it hard to press the buttons with all the wiring in there, I have to use a pen
- Updated my ESC to the latest software version I don't think you can do this any other way, I tried it before and after the update didn't really notice any difference so not sure how useful this is. Maybe somebody with a very old version or some glitching may notice something.

Cons
- you need a computer to use it so unless you pack one with you you'll still have to use the LEDs to make field adjustments
-it does cost $30-$40 for something you can do for free just takes a little more time and patience
-you may not take the time to learn how to manually adjust the ESC

All and all I would buy it again.

[Charlie-III]

I feel the HotWire is better than doing "button pushes", but yes, it requires a PC.

The Castle Link is similar with one GOOD exception......you can save a ESC profile, then copy it to multiple ESC's.
Not an issue with a single ESC rig, great for dual ESC rigs or, multiple rigs.

In general, I give to the Castle stuff.

[xCoolHandLukex]

I like to try different brands and compare them. I bought a Novak system for my Night Crawler and I want to get a Castle set up for my Summit and maybe my Slash then I`ll be able to try the Castle Link out a little more. There BECs are awesome I have 3 now and after water proofing and setting the voltage on them I haven`t had a single problem. Does castle make a pre-packaged Crawler system ?

[40 grit]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I just purchased the fxr and the hot wire. Also have the castle link all ready. I know the castle is great but it's nice to know I made another good (lucky) choice with the fxr and hotwire.

[jeepguy5]

I wouldn't use the 029 or 030 firmware update for the fxr yet. There having programming issuses with them. Is stick to 028. Won't notice it. I fried 2 fxr with the update. Lucky tekin replaced them free of charge.

[AddictedtoRC1]

Originally Posted by jeepguy5

I wouldn't use the 029 or 030 firmware update for the fxr yet. There having programming issuses with them. Is stick to 028. Won't notice it. I fried 2 fxr with the update. Lucky tekin replaced them free of charge.

I think some were good and some were bad. I've been running both mine on version 030 since I've had them.

[jeepguy5]

One of mine has Ben fine on 030. The other 2...up in smoke. Just trying to help prevent a headache.