Castle ESC programming question

[Fishcharger]

Putting a Mamba X and sensored Castle 2850kv Slate motor in my SCX10II build. Using the castle link what Motor setting do I want to choose? "Smart Sense Brushless", or "Sensored only"


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[allanon1965]

smart sense brushless....

[Fishcharger]

Cool thanks. Reading the description of both that's what I was going with too. I questioned myself though because local hobby shop said to set it to Sensor Only since it's a sensored motor.


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[allanon1965]

all my MMP's were set to smart sense brushless

[Fishcharger]

Gotcha. That's what I just set mine to as well then. Thanks again. Except now I need to dig into my Bomber to change its setting back to smart sense. Wish I hadn't listen to the LHS.


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[maverick67]

I'll contribute my 2 cents worth here. I think if you're going to use your rig for a go fast type application such as my Bomber, then definitely go Smart Sense. But if its an SCX10 II, and especially if its mainly used for slow crawling, I actually leave mine in sensored only. To be honest, I have tried both in my SCX10 II, and couldn't tell the difference in low speed control ability between the two. But at least you know for sure that you've forced the ESC to prioritize sensored precision over all else.

[Fishcharger]

Yep I'll be using it for crawling. Guess I'll just play with it to see if I see a difference.


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[MattySlimz1987]

I use SmartSense because I get more battery life out of it when I'm doing a mix of crawling and trail riding. When I used sensored only my pack time was cut short by a noticeable difference. Castle really put some forward thinking into the system's

[Fishcharger]

So just noticed a change in battery life, and not in performance?


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[maslin]

From what I understand, sensorless mode only works when the motor is spinning, that's why sensorless motors cog off the line then smooth right out. The sensors are used to transmit the position at very low speeds.

Sensored only used the sensors all the time, high speed, low speed, always.

Smart sense uses the sensors to start up and at low speed, then switches to sensorless once you're going. At speed sensorless is more efficient and actually gives better control.

[MattySlimz1987]

Originally Posted by Fishcharger

So just noticed a change in battery life, and not in performance?


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Not that I could tell really, the drag brake worked the same in both sensored only and SmartSense. I was wondering why I seemed to be getting a little longer run times, thats when I remembered only a few days earlier the only changes I made on Castle Link were going from sensored only to SmartSense mode and in the graph logging program for it, I changed it from 2 pole to 4 pole (which has nothing to do with performace, only data logging) so I put two and two together after reading more and found that it IS a more efficient setting, leading to a longer run time. The claim is surely true. This was on a same 3200mah 3s lipo battery. Even further extending my pack charge was the addition of a 2 tooth reduction on the pinion, going from the stock 15 to a 13, that helped with motor temps as well.

[Thomas Porfert]

Originally Posted by maslin

From what I understand, sensorless mode only works when the motor is spinning, that's why sensorless motors cog off the line then smooth right out. The sensors are used to transmit the position at very low speeds.

Sensored only used the sensors all the time, high speed, low speed, always.

Smart sense uses the sensors to start up and at low speed, then switches to sensorless once you're going. At speed sensorless is more efficient and actually gives better control.

Spot on explanation.

I've always tole people that Smart Sense gives you the best of both worlds. Smooth low end control on start-up using the sensors and then flips to the more efficient sensorless operation. Once the motor is running the ESC can accurately see the rotor position and allows for precise control.

So the sensors are only needed on initial start-up; forcing it run sensored the entire time eliminates the slight increase in efficiency during sensorless operation. The reduced efficiency will consumed more power, causing slightly higher motor temps and burning through battery capacity faster.

The only time I suggest using sensored only is when using a ROAR based 2-pole motor where you need timing boost. Running sensored only allows you to run up to 50° of timing; this lets the motor produce substantially more power but at the expense of significantly reduced efficiency. Timing boost is not recommended for 4-pole motors and is rarely needed these days.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations