Kaetwo's Tekin FX-R Review...

[kaetwo]

Well I finally got a chance to install and test the Tekin FX-R. As you know from a previous post (see below) I have been looking for the ultimate ESC. Here are my requirements:

- Size (anything smaller than the Mamba Max or Novak Rooster)
- 6.0V/3Amp BEC
- Drag Brake
- Brushed specific
- User Programmable
- 3 Cell LiPo Capable

I know that there are several ESC's out there that will fit most of this list of requirements but not all. So let’s see how the Tekin FX-R stacks up.

Size/Weight
Dimensions: 1.1 x 0.80 x 0.40 " (28 x 20 x 10mm)
Weight: 1.1oz.

When I first laid eyes on the FX-R I could not believe how small it was. At only 1.1 x 0.80 x 0.40 its the smallest ESC in it's class and is so much lighter than anything else that I've used. In the images below you can see how much smaller it is compared to the Airtronics Micro Receiver. As you know, our competition crawlers are getting more and more difficult to find room for the electronics and this ESC fits the bill perfectly. A guy could strap this thing to the side of his shock it's so small.

The weight of the ESC is a huge bonus too. In the past I've tried to place the ESC as low as possible to reduce CG. With this ESC there is really no need. It's so light that you won't notice its placement much at all. And if you use an Axial axle you can mount the esc on the front or rear axle with The Crawler Stores electronics trays.

Simply put....It weights nothing and has the footprint of a nat. This fits my requirements perfectly.

BEC
6.0V/3Amps

This is a perfect setup for a 2.2 comp rig. No external voltage regulators needed but if a guy wanted to boost it to 5 amps or more the option is there with a Novak or Castle Creations BEC. There simple to use and provide tons of voltage bliss for your servos.

The Tekin FX-R works perfectly for my BEC needs.

Drag Brake
I can't tell you how many times I've been shown up by some brushless crawler in a competition rolling downhill like it was being winched down. No matter how smooth or tuned my reverse is on my ESC's of the past, they never work the way I want them too. I either end up rolling downhill so fast that I hit the gate or blow right past it off some bloody cliff. During the last competition I decided that I was going to run nothing at all if I didn't find an ESC with drag brake.

The Tekin FX-R is PERFECT as far as drag brake is concerned. It has 11 steps to choose from in the field and as many as your heart desires with the Hotwire. Finally an ESC with drag brake for a brushed motor made by a company that specializes in brushed motors. I have yet to find an ESC that does a better job here. If you have never ran an ESC with drag brake you are missing out. And if your not running the Tekin ESC's with drag brake you’re not getting the most of your crawler. There is no way now that I have run drag brake that I will ever run without it.

Needless to say the Tekin FX-R is spot on with the drag brake feature.

Brushed Specific
Why? Simple, I can't stand brushless systems. It's my personal opinion but brushed motors are smoother and have a better more controllable feel to them. I've ran dozens of different brushless systems and the only systems that feel as good or close to a brushed motor is a censored setup and there too big and bulky for my taste.

I also wanted my ESC built by a company that specialized in brushed motors. I'm not sure if it matters but I do know this. There are 2 manufactures out there making brushed ESC's that have more time doing this than any other company. Novak and Tekin. There brushed systems are amazing, so I figure why not go with a brushed ESC from one of the best.

Tekin once again is perfect for this category.

User Programmable
I really like being able to tune my ESC to my particular needs, and being able to do so without needing a PC is an added bonus. Tekin has the following field tunable specs:

Drag Brake (11 steps)
Neutral Width (11 Steps)
Current Limiter (none, 10 steps)
Push Control- Anti Drag (11 steps)
FX, FXPro: Throttle Profiles (6 choices)
FX, FXPro: Brake Profiles (6 choices)
FX-R,FX-R Pro: Reverse Type (3 choices)
FX-R,FX-R Pro: Reverse Strength (11 steps)
Voltage Cutoffs (none, 2S, 3S, Custom)

The program is very easy to work. I especially dig the drag brake setting, reverse type, reverse strength and voltage cutoff. I can't wait to get the Hotwire and dig around in the ESC :shock:

The Tekin FX-R works great here.

3 Cell LiPo Capable
I have been watching rigs now in competition jump gaps, shoot vertical walls, and power out of some nasty situations. I made the decision after talking with the guys at MaxAmps to run a 3 Cell LiPo and LOVE IT! I run a 55x1 and I have plenty of wheel speed. It has made crawling so much more fun being able to shoot gaps and hit vertical lines that I could not have done before. It's a total riot and the guys are MaxAmps have got some great battery choices. I've been using them now for over a year and couldn't be happier.

Tekin hit the mark again!

Another feature of the Tekin FX-R that I really dig is the solder posts. Tekin has done this for years and I can't tell you how many times I've had to crack open an ESC to replace the dang wires. I re-use ESC's for all my rigs and placement always changes from rig to rig. Having the ability to replace the wires is a huge plus for me. It's clean, simple and easy to do.

Cost
It's not the cheapest ESC but it's not the most expensive either. It's about $100 - $125 give or take. Perfect for a competition rig.

Conclusion - Tekin hit every need that I was hunting for and more. The FX-R in my opinion is the finest ESC for 2.2 competition or Scale use out there. Every ESC in my collection is going to be replaced by one of these and can't thank Tekin enough for there great products. My only regret is that I didn't look into Tekin earlier.

I hope this helps everyone out and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for reading!

8)

FOLLOW-UP REVIEW (almost 5 years later) - http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/electronics/105316-kaetwos-tekin-fx-r-review-42.html#post4063092

Previous Post - http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/electronics/102191-tekin-fx-r.html

 

[SVEN]

Very nice review, thank you for trying it out for the rest of us "thumbsup"

Does the large cap come with the esc, and is it necessary to have it?

 

[Stormin2u]

That's tiny, you could put that anywhere.

 

[Just Zach]

Thanks for the great review Kaetwo.

I've got one too and have the same feeling. Every ESC I have is getting replaced by one of these. The capasitor comes with it and is required. One of these little bad boys and a cobalt 7t or 10t motor from Holmes Hobbies is the best set up I have ever used"thumbsup"

 

[Thundermaxx]

Just added one to my Tower wish list. Man that thing's tiiiiiny:shock:

 

[shrek]

nice review, talked me into getting a couple thanks.:shock:

 

[K_B]

Very nice review, thank you for trying it out for the rest of us "thumbsup"

Does the large cap come with the esc, and is it necessary to have it?

I just soldered up a couple of these for a friend. The cap does come with it and according to Tekin is absolutely necessary. I think it's for initial startup of the motor under heavy acceleration. So for crawlers, it may not be necessary due to much lower amp draw but according to Tekin, you could damage the speedo if you don't use it.

I never really even considered one of these for my crawler (brushless guy myself) but after reading this, I may give it a shot. I would agree that unsensored brushless still has a way to go before it can compete with a brushed motor for low rpm smoothness.

 

[DahlELama]

Thanks for that review! When I am digging in looking for gear like this... which I am right now... I look hard to find forum posts from folks that actually use these things. Your post is exactly the kind of information I search for and hope to find on sites like this! This really helps!

Quick question...the 'Hotwire' you mentioned, that is the PC/USB interface right? Do you know what kinds of things/progammability you can do through that interface? Easy to use?

Any input is appreciated...

Thanks!
e.

 

[kaetwo]

Thanks for that review! When I am digging in looking for gear like this... which I am right now... I look hard to find forum posts from folks that actually use these things. Your post is exactly the kind of information I search for and hope to find on sites like this! This really helps!

Quick question...the 'Hotwire' you mentioned, that is the PC/USB interface right? Do you know what kinds of things/progammability you can do through that interface? Easy to use?

Any input is appreciated...

Thanks!
e.

Your more than welcome.

The Hotwire I believe is PC/USB interfaced. It would use a USB2 Mini cable, but I'm still waiting for mine to arrive so I'll know more very soon. As far as the things that you can program...I think everything that you can set in the field can be set with the Hotwire. It's just more tunable. Rather than having 13 pre-set drag brake options, you would have a larger setting from off to full on.

I'll get one very soon and post up what I find ;-)

 

[Jaynen]

now you just need to use one of the GWS receivers like I got for my scale rig, those two together would be awesome.

Edit: And thanks for writing it up so nicely.

 

[DahlELama]

I'll get one very soon and post up what I find :wink:

Excellent! Looking forward to finding out more on the HotWire for sure.

e.

 

[Sprint 80]

Got one installed in my crawler and I'm very impressed with the performance and size of the esc. The throttle response is very smooth and the drag brake works great with a brushed motor. The esc is very easy to program, I programmed mine without the Hotwire adapter. I also installed a cc bec just to be on the safe side. I'll be testing the esc and running it at our next comp.

 

[kaetwo]

Well I've had a good 3 weeks of testing this ESC both in play and competition use. Before I continue, please understand that I don't endorse or write fluff reviews to kiss the A$$ of a vendor/manufacture. I type it like it is and will post exactly how I fell about a product. Having said that.....I will officially replace every ESC that I have with one of these. This includes my scale rigs as well. These ESC's simply work.

Here is some follow-up from my last review;

Drag Brake - This worked perfect in competition use. You can set it to stop you dead or allow you to roll smoothly down the hill. I have mine set to a 3 but I run a very light rig. I don't know how I ever ran in competition without drag brake. Now that I have it, I'll never do without

Size/Weight - What can I say? It's the lightest and smallest ESC in its class. It makes my Airtronics Micro Receiver look massive. You can easily mount it on the axle, tuck it in a balloon for a scale rig or tape it to any part of a chassis. The location possibilities are endless.

Power - I run my FX-R with a 3 Cell Lipo from Maxamps and couldn’t be happier. This is the first time that I've run a 3 cell with a 55x1 and dig it! I had plenty of power to burn up a dirt slope while still having amazing low end control. The ESC never got hot and never amped out using a Hitec Robotics servo and a Hitec 81MG for dig. I bound them up plenty of times and never had a problem with the BEC. The Lipo cut-off is a nice touch as well ;-)

Overall I could not be happier with this ESC. I have used just about every ESC out there and this is the only one that filled every one of my requirements. As more and more people try them out I get a ton of positive feedback.

I hope this to the point review helps out.

Late
8)

 

[Sprint 80]

X2 on the FX-R. Ran it on the last comp and I have the drag brake set on three also and it is the best drag brake I've found for a 55T brushed motor. The start up is very smooth and programming is very easy. And you can't beat the size of this unit.

80

 

[phishead1101]

The specs at http://teamtekin.com/fx.html Say it's only capable of handling 2s lipo. Have you modified the ESC to handle the 3s or is that a miss print on Tekin's part?

I am not very Lipo savy ( I have been studying "thumbsup") so forgive me if this is a newb question.

Thanks for the write up! I think this is going to be my next esc replacing the mamba max!

 

[kaetwo]

The specs at http://teamtekin.com/fx.html Say it's only capable of handling 2s lipo. Have you modified the ESC to handle the 3s or is that a miss print on Tekin's part?

I am not very Lipo savy ( I have been studying "thumbsup") so forgive me if this is a newb question.

Thanks for the write up! I think this is going to be my next esc replacing the mamba max!

Thats a good question. I've got an email into Scooter at Team Tekin to clarify that for me. I'm almost positive that it's 3-Cell as there is a Cut-Off setting for 3-Cell, but I'll let you now what Tekin says "thumbsup"

8)

 

[01XJ]

Kaetwo has been using his 3cell lipo with no problems so i would imagine it is fine to run a 3 cell

 

[kaetwo]

Yup!!! No problems with my FX-R and a 3-Cell Lipo.

I just talked with Scooter at Team Tekin and he clarified that for our rock crawling applications, the ESC will handle a 3-Cell without a problem. He said that when you start running a Mod motor like a 10 double or something, you may run into a few hickups. However Just Zach is running a 3-Cell Lipo and a Holmes Hobbies 7T Cobalt Puller now. I wonder how his setup is working :-o

8)

 

[4link4eva]

Well what about a warranty situation?

I've seen before people saying that 'yeah, that'll work fine', but when the ESC burns out Team Tekin can just come back and say, 'Well, it's your fault, it wasn't designed for 3 cell LiPo's'.

So where does Team Tekin stand on honouring warranties with 3s packs?

Cheers for the write up, I'd just like to make sure it's sound on a 3s before I dip into my pocket and buy one.

 

[EeePee]

This is seriously the best brushed ESC on the market today period!

I run a 10 turn HH Cobalt and love the combo so much I'm taking it behind the school and getting it pregnant! :-o

I've run mine on a 3 cell lipo before and had no problem at all, other than a ridiculous amount of power and speed to make me giggle. Though I use only 2 cells for comp use...

This thing sets the benchmark these days for brushed ESCs.

"thumbsup"