Mamba Monster X or Tekin RX4

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Looking forward to hearing your comparison.

After 3-4 runs with the RX4 I can say its low speed control feels good, it can be a good ESC but there are a few things I dont care for (or maybe I dont understand how to use it yet?).

Throttle curves are something I dont think Ive figured out yet, I only see a few preset curves to choose from. The curve I'm using is just fine but I'd still like to be able to fine tune things.
EDIT: I found the custom curves, the top 2 options can be customized. It allows you to adjust 3 set points on the curve up and down but not side to side. Works fine but it has a bit less freedom this way. There have been times I've used multiple points way down low on a curve to get a motor up to its start up speed.

Setting LVC seems kind of terrible to me because I have to choose between a 1-6 cell battery and cant just choose a global per cell setting. I use different batteries sometimes and I dont want to have to tear into the truck to change this setting to only have to change it back again later. Maybe I'm missing something here too but their UI is very basic so I dont see much else to adjust.

EDIT: I just double checked and while they do have a description saying "custom voltage cutoff programmable via Hotwire" they still force you to choose how many Cell battery it is.


It does have a on the fly adjustable drag brake which works but is a bit more tedious being that it takes 10 clicks to go down and 10 to go back up. Another bummer is your radio wont display where you have it set at so you have to remember, physically check or just go all the way up or down 10 clicks to get back to a position you can track it.

It is quiet at its stock frequency which I like, its quieter than a Mamba X.

It does have what Castle calls active freewheeling IIRC, Tekin calls it Active drag. It keeps the drag brake working while you give small amounts of throttle making it so you dont just coast downhill when trying to creep down.

Minor issue but after plugging in the hotwire to program the ESC you have to yank it out it using the wires because the plug is in a recessed hole.

I'll be going back to Castle just like I though, they do everything I want better for less.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

After 3-4 runs with the RX4 I can say its low speed control feels good, it can be a good ESC but there are a few things I dont care for (or maybe I dont understand how to use it yet?).

Throttle curves are something I dont think Ive figured out yet, I only see a few preset curves to choose from. The curve I'm using is just fine but I'd still like to be able to fine tune things.
EDIT: I found the custom curves, the top 2 options can be customized. It allows you to adjust 3 set points on the curve up and down but not side to side. Works fine but it has a bit less freedom this way. There have been times I've used multiple points way down low on a curve to get a motor up to its start up speed.

Setting LVC seems kind of terrible to me because I have to choose between a 1-6 cell battery and cant just choose a global per cell setting. I use different batteries sometimes and I dont want to have to tear into the truck to change this setting to only have to change it back again later. Maybe I'm missing something here too but their UI is very basic so I dont see much else to adjust.

EDIT: I just double checked and while they do have a description saying "custom voltage cutoff programmable via Hotwire" they still force you to choose how many Cell battery it is.


It does have a on the fly adjustable drag brake which works but is a bit more tedious being that it takes 10 clicks to go down and 10 to go back up. Another bummer is your radio wont display where you have it set at so you have to remember, physically check or just go all the way up or down 10 clicks to get back to a position you can track it.

It is quiet at its stock frequency which I like, its quieter than a Mamba X.

It does have what Castle calls active freewheeling IIRC, Tekin calls it Active drag. It keeps the drag brake working while you give small amounts of throttle making it so you dont just coast downhill when trying to creep down.

Minor issue but after plugging in the hotwire to program the ESC you have to yank it out it using the wires because the plug is in a recessed hole.

I'll be going back to Castle just like I though, they do everything I want better for less.

Definitely some odd things going on, but it's a newer ESC so I'm sure the firmware will improve as it matures.

After reading your review I'm glad I got the Mamba X during a Black Friday sale. It's so much cheaper than the RX4. I did get the T-360 servo to try though with a big BF discount.

I don't remember Castle's active freewheeling or whatever it is. I'll have to read up on that.

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I did get the T-360 servo to try though with a big BF discount.

I forgot to update my VS410 thread regarding my Tekin servo, my issue turned out to have something to do with my BEC and running a bypass adapter. Running the BEC through the receiver solved the ticking I was experiencing.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I forgot to update my VS410 thread regarding my Tekin servo, my issue turned out to have something to do with my BEC and running a bypass adapter. Running the BEC through the receiver solved the ticking I was experiencing.

Good to know! Tekin typically does things very well. You just pay a lot for it.

[Ty@Tekin]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I forgot to update my VS410 thread regarding my Tekin servo, my issue turned out to have something to do with my BEC and running a bypass adapter. Running the BEC through the receiver solved the ticking I was experiencing.

The ticking was likely the no-signal alarm. If the servo powers up with no radio signal, it will give that faint beep from the motor every couple of seconds. It is programmable and set to Latch by default, so a power cycle is the only thing that will clear it.

[HumboldtEF]

Originally Posted by Ty@Tekin

The ticking was likely the no-signal alarm. If the servo powers up with no radio signal, it will give that faint beep from the motor every couple of seconds. It is programmable and set to Latch by default, so a power cycle is the only thing that will clear it.

Hey Ty, we've been corresponding via email the last few days regarding this servo. The radio has always been powered on first. This ticking was what the servo did to begin with but now the ticking is gone and I'm seeing the other issue that I took the video of.
One thing I did notice with my ESC when using a external BEC is that when powered on with the on/off switch it wont do its start up beep sequence but it does connect. When the ESC is powered on with the switch set to on already it will do its start up beeps. I dont know if that has anything to do with the ticking I had heard before but I suppose thats not really a concern at this point since the servo has a bit of a mind of its own now.


Also I wasnt quite sure what latch meant in the hot wire settings, theres not much info on the settings. A video or a run down on this would be much appreciated

Thanks for the assistance

[Kajman]

Guys, anyone checked, if RX4/RX8 on 2s have bec only limited to battery voltage like Mamba X or any of them has step up BEC and keeps voltage?
Is CC BEC same too?

[Steve g]

Its the same as the mamba x. And the CC BEC is the same too.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[schaeffer]

Hi
I asked the question. Rx4 vs Mamba x because I am building a new truck .
After reading the thread I realized I had a chance to contribute. I have both ESC’s
However they are paired with two very different motors and are in two relatively different vehicles. I have the MAMBA x paired with a 3500 Kv Holmes puller pro
I use a castle bec ...and blue tooth connection to the castle app on my phone / it also ha the link wire .. app interface is almost as good as hooking it to a pc. That esc motor combo is in a modified axial bomber . The Tekin rx4 is paired with the tekin 2200 kv roc 4 hd. I use the tekin hot wire blue tooth to adjust the settings on the esc. The adjustable parameters available on the Hotwire are pretty good but I like the visual of adjusting the actual throttle & brake curve on the castle set up better... the Tekin set up is in a modified rc4wd gallande 2 / d90 ... pretty heavy for its size ... but looks amazing . The two set ups behave quite differently.
The bomber castle set up .. kinda behaves as a real rock hopper should .. it puts out unbelievable power on 3s wheels spin and chuck rocks and mud for miles ..I watched Holmes videos on how to set up the mamba esc .. to get the smoothest start up etc for precise crawling... & yes the 3500 Kv motor does slow down .. and sorta has smooth start up.. 50 percent of the time the motor cogs slightly but I can over look that flaw .. as I am always impressed by this vehicles power .. it’s literally like driving a chain saw through the woods ...there is one other noticeable effect of programming john Holmes parameters onto the Mamba x ... During start up the ESC puts out some unreal noises ...sounds like space cats fighting in the alley ... this effect is kind of nice because the operator is painfully aware of the stress being put on the vehicles drive train. ( all plastic parts will eventually fail using that motor esc set up) ... lots of fun but little coggy.
The tekin rx4 paired with 2200 Kv roc 4 hD behaves quite differently. I basically used the same parameters Holmes recommended for the mamba x .. although the tekin blue tooth interface is a little less specific where adjustments are concerned .. ( I may need to watch some more Tekin videos ) I didn’t pursue a ton of research on adjusting the tekin set up because it basically performed perfectly for the vehicle.. rc4wd chassis are metal but remain pretty delicate .. my galande 2 chassis even w steel drive shafts & upgraded gearing would never survive my current castle Holmes pairing . The tekin rx4 with 2200 kv tekin motor starts up flawlessly ( very smooth ) there is a slight noise made by the esc . The noise sounds manageable and safe. ( maybe that’s boring )