RC Groups - Castle Creations

Question Thunderbird 6 - Castle Link (Thunderbird 9?)

ShoGinn — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:25:25 GMT

So I hooked up my Thunderbird 6 to the castle link and it shows up as a Thunderbird 9?

I e-mailed support but am curious why it would show this unless the hardware is similar.

I purchased it on ebay so wanted to make sure it was labeled correctly.

on a side note I updated my thunderbird 54 and wow 3.00 is super smooth on my hacker a30-16m

Discussion How to calibrate Throttle range

missle — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:03:42 GMT

So I'm using using Firmware 2.16 with 3.22 castle link with my HV85 and Eflite Pwr 110 motor on 8S, 16x10 prop and I notice full throttle gets me ~ 2100 watts but mid throttle is only ~ 300 watts.

So I recall my DX7 to the HV85 by:
1. Program the HV85 to fixed throttle
2. Set throttle end points in the DX7 to 50 and 50 and leave the throttle at HIGH
3. plug in my bat and the ESC does NOT arm as expected
4. I slowly increase the upper travel limit and get a ESC blip at 71 and I give it 2 more on the end points for a total of 73
5. I then drop the throttle down to low and it immediately gives the same blip. That's not right so I go on and increase the low throttle until I hear another double blip.

This doesnt seem correct having the throttle end points of 63 low and 73 high.
BTW, I tried using autocalibrate but I don't like having to go to full throttle every time I arm the esc.

Discussion ICE 100 drift tail??

yves200 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:33:37 GMT

Hello, this is the first thread for me. First of all sorry if my english isn't good but im from Spain.
My question its the next, I have a trex 600 with a 4025- 1100kv scorpion motor (6s) and a few days ago i upgrade the stock esc to the ICE 100, since this momment i have a bit of tail drift (to the right). I'm working with fixed points, not governed mode, and i have cheked all parts of heli and all is well. The gyro is the align gp750 and the tail servo is the bls 251, i try change the tail servo too, but the problem its here yet. Its possible the esc makes tail drift??
Thanks a lot.

Discussion ICE 75 Power Loss

mstlc03 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:24:36 GMT

I had a rough day today w/ my ICE 75 and Scorpion 3026-1600. This is a fairly new setup and I thought I had it finally tuned properly. I'm running latest 3.0 firmware and have the PWM rate set to 8 kHz and a motor timing of 2. I slap on a freshly charged Turnigy 2650 6S 20C pack and off she goes. All of sudden, I hear a drop in head speed and notice that the tail starts to shake (definitely not enough head speed). I land it immediately and couldn't understand what was going on. My bud thinks that I may have a bum battery pack. We measure the pack and each of the cells registers around 4.07v. This pack may have seen around 20 flights so it's not entirely new. After a while, I slapped on a freshly broken in 3000 mah pack (only around 6 flights) and it ALSO did the same thing. I have no idea what is going on. I'm running a 14T pinion and 90% TC and headspeed is around 2800rpm. I'm using Fixed End Point throttle on this setup...should I just switch to Governor mode??

Here are the graphs on the 2 flights:

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Question Throttle range affecting setRPM

cub2000 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:47:09 GMT

I set up the end points on my Futaba 10c as indicated in the Finless video on helifreak, the throttle range (end points) is no longer 100/100 but something like 93/111. I use setRPM for 3 modes (normal, idle1 and idl2), then specify the normal throttle with 0, 47, 47, 47, 47. Then idle1 with 70, 70, 70, 70, 70 and idle2 with 100, 100, 100, 100, 100. The issue is, when I raise the throttle stick up in "normal mode", I think the RPM is right at idle1 RPM, so when I switch to idle1, it's the same RPM as "normal". I think the problem is because I shorten up the throttle range.

Why is the RPM I set in "normal" is not in effect?

Thanks in advance.

Discussion Why are SHV conrollers so much more expensive?

Fire42 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:00:59 GMT

Hi Guys
I was thinking of doing a 50cc setup using 15S and say 60-70A peak, so I could use my 3700's for a nice lightweight setup. I was curious as to why SHV controllers are so expensive, not particularly CC's but any of them. I'm sure there is a good reason, such as higher voltage components being much more pricey perhaps. I dont know, anyone enlighten me?. I'm sure the answer isnt a simple one
Dave

Discussion updated or not?

dex1 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:51:11 GMT

Hello.

here in Italy, owners of Phoenix is asked if after an update
to ver.2.18/2.18 or 3.00, if and 'possible return to ver.2.11?

dex1
thanks

Discussion ICE HV Controllers

capman231 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:55:41 GMT

I have a question, most of the big 10 & 12S setups that I am familiar with run between 75 and 100 Amps, why did Castle skip from 80 to 160A? Most people including myself won't pay $319.00 for the 160HV when all they need is a 100A ESC. A 100A ESC will handle 80 to 90% of the 10-12S setups. Looks like a marketing mistake to me.

capman231

Discussion Great C/S

highflier — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:43:03 GMT

Hi all,
Just wanted to let everybody know that once again I received great service from Castle.

Had a ESC that failed on the first pack, (ESC was pretty toasted) however it took me more then a year before got around to sending it in for service. Sent the motor to just in case it was hurt.

Well to make this short and sweet. Even after my taking a year to send it in. Castle treated me well and sent me a new or refurb unit N/C and even swaped the motor out in order to process it quicker.

Patrick, Great job. This is why we must keep American based companies in America. Contracting work off shore is OK, as long as the meat of the company and integrety stay in US.

Thanks

Highflier

Discussion capacitors fell off ice 75

RickC2009 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:51:31 GMT

I was flying my plane today and after a flight I picked up my plane and heard a noise. It was a capacitor that came off my ice 75. The other one is still missing.
The speed control still works but I don't think I will fly it like that!
rickc

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Help! Phoenix 80 Won't Arm After Upgrade to v3.00

alan_f — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:34:30 GMT

I e-mailed CC support, but thought I'd post this here as well in case other people using the Phoenix 80 are having the same problem:

I want to begin by saying my Phoenix 80 has served me well and trouble-free
for many flights. I recently upgraded it to the latest firmware (3.00) and
am unable to arm the ESC after the upgrade. I have tried the other versions
of firmware available in Castle Link 3.22 (2.x), but that doesn't seem to help.
It was working before the upgrade -- I don't remember the exact version, but
it was from 2005, the newest version of Castle Link I had downloaded prior
was 2.13.

When I tried arming the ESC, the first thing I noticed is that the throttle
appears to be reversed from before. I'm using a Futaba Transmitter (9CHP)
and Receiver and in the past had to reverse the throttle channel. I put the
throttle channel back to normal and can get further in the arming process,
but the motor still won't spool up.

I'm using the Phoenix 80 in the following setup:

Logo 10 3D
Kontronik Fun 600-18
12 cells (1 pack is NiCD, the other NiMH)

I was using governor mode, but have tried both governor low and fixed
endpoints throttle mode.

Here's what's happening:

- Power on transmitter, set throttle to 50%

- Plug in battery on heli, ESC chimes, red LED blinks fast

- Move throttle to 0%, ESC chimes again, red LED blinks slow

- Slowly increase throttle, at about 20% ESC chimes again and blinks twice
fast followed by a long pause, then twice again...

- Increase throttle, no change

- Thottle back to 0%, ESC chimes. LED blinks three times fast, followed by
a pause.

- Increase throttle, 4 chimes, beep and LED blink every second or so.

- Thottle back to 0%, 2 fast beeps and blinks.

After this procedure, the ESC reverts back to Auto-Lipo mode -- If I try to
plug the battery back in, it counts 4 LiPo cells after the first chime.
Connecting to CastleLink confirms that the cutoff has reverted from 5.0V
(which I had set previously and confirmed) has gone back to Auto Lipo. It did this several times on me...

In hindsight I should have left the ESC alone as it was working fine and now
I appear to be stuck with this version of CastleLink and firmware (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) -- the older versions don't appear to recognize my link anymore so I need to figure out how to get this to work with the new version of the firmware.

I've tried 2 battery packs, both of which have just come off of the charger
and show over 15V resting voltage.

I also have a Phoenix HV 85 that needs to be programmed, but now I'm weary
of upgrading its firmware until I can figure this problem out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Help! Mamba Monster esc acting up

tluke081 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:28:10 GMT

I recently purchased a 1/8 Mamba esc. After a few runs I noticed when the range was around 20 yards and gave full throttle it seemed like it was going from throttle to brake real fast. If I eased up on the throttle its was fine. But my biggest problem now is the on/off switch doesnt seem to work. As soon as I plug the batteries in the esc turns on no matter where the switch is positioned. I have hooked it up to the computer and reset everything back to default and tried recalibrating it. I can get the forward and brake to set but neutral will not set. I have tried to adjust the trim during it but nothing.

I am running a emaxx on 2 2s 5000mah 20 c lipos, EZrun 2300 kv motor, and everything else is stock

any ideas what the problem could be?

Discussion Auto - Lipo setting and TP chargers

dalbert02 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:29:30 GMT

Just FYI in case no one has noticed, if you set the ESC to auto lipo (3.0v/cell) often Thunder Power chargers will say you have selected the wrong cell count when you try to charge the depleted battery. I manually set my ESCs to 3.1v /cell but maybe that should be the auto value? Just a thought. I am not saying there is a problem, just maybe something to consider. It might be a little better for your lipos too.
-dave

(edit) BTW, it happens with different brand lipos.

Also, maybe a future release could have auto A123 as well?

Help! Castle customer service

nieves50 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:08:03 GMT

Ok, I know this in not the best place to contact customer service. I have been in contact with repairs for about 7 weeks with no results. I ordered a NEW PHX 110HV from one of your distributors back on Oct 2; it was DOA. Shipped for repair on Oct 6. A week later it was delivered to you guys (confirmed by delivery confirmation). I called 2 weeks later after package was delivered, repair said no package was received, waited another week, same story. Finally repair agree to sent me a new one with proof of purchase, I faxed the receipt and according to repairs package was sent. That was 2 weeks ago..........

Getting tired of waiting

Discussion Pricing

Fast Guy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:39:12 GMT

Just going to pick up another Castle ESC and noticed that a Phoenix 80a lists at $160.00 and a Phoenix Ice 100a sells for $140.00. Not that I'm complaining but the Ice seems to have more features and carries more amps. Just wondering why what seems to be less costs more. Thanks.

Discussion Joe Ford question

Evan D — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:08:17 GMT

Joe, I talked to you about my Escape in the office this week. You thought maybe the ESC caused my crash but I think I was wrong and I have a TB54 not a PH45. The whole setup is a 2200 3S 30C pack, Mega 16/15/2, APC 4.1x4.1, 3 Hitec HS65 servos, and Berg 4L. Plane has about 50 flights on it with no issues. This flight was a great flight. No issues until after a couple cool down laps setting up to land I flew quite a ways out and as I started to turn for approach I lost all reception.

I thought between the distance and low maybe the Berg lost signal. You thought maybe the ESC's BEC got hot. Would having a TB54 in it and not the PH45 change your mind?

Another question. The linear BECs you gave me... black to the right, red left and center... which is input? Left and center is out? Good for how many amps?

Thanks.

Evan

Discussion Does the Hydra LV handle 6S well?

mickvk — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:38:49 GMT

Somewhere I read somebody saying that the Hydra LV doesn't handle 6S lipo very well - that 4S was recommended. It didn't seem credible at the time.

I was just reading the excellent recommendations for boat configurations here

http://www.castlecreations.com/suppo..._boat_apps.pdf

And low and behold there are no 6S setups recommended with the LV. Is 6S really supposed to be avoided regardless of the specifications saying it's allowable?

Thanks for your input.

Discussion CCBEC Wiring Question

Z06kal — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:15:40 GMT

I'm going to be running 5 high torque servos in a plane. This is too much for a single CCBEC than I am comfortable with, however two of the servos are 7955's that can take straight 2S voltage as can the Futaba FASST receiver. Is it possible to run these servos straight off the lipo and run the rest of the servos off the CCBEC? I understand that I will have to make sure that the power wire is isolated going to the servos however ground will obviously need to be shared. Is ground shared automatically do I need to bridge it in? Will this work or possibly cause some kind of problem?

I drew a picture of what I'm proposing showing the two wiring configurations to the servos. Let me know! Thanks!

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Discussion ICE Adding an extra Connector for C-LINK

OnTheSnap — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:52:26 GMT

It's incredibly annoying to plug and un-plug the ESC from the receiver every time I want to download log data. Will a y-cable work?

Discussion ICE 50 Lite and V3.00

jh2rc97 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:06:55 GMT

I have an ICE 50 Lite running the following:
1. Neu 1110/1.5Y/5.2
2. 14x9 CAM Carbon folding prop.
3. 4s1p A123 2300s

With version 2.18 I am measuring peaks around 500 watts and 48 amps. The data logging is showing about 467 watts and 43 amps. I am using a Wattage current meter. Which is correct?

With version 3.00 I am measuring upto about 73 amps at 750 watts. The data logging is showing about 560 watts and 60 amps. Which should I believe? Also with 3.00 the controller temp has risen from 137 to 209.

For both the timing is set to Low(0) and the PWM Rate is set to 12Khz. What changes might help to lower the temp?

Alan

Discussion Problems with CC Ice 100A Lite Protos and MSH Motor

OnTheSnap — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:18:54 GMT

I just booted the MSH ESC and installed a CC ICE. Here's my long winded experience so far. Hopefully other ICE experts can chime in and shine some light on this.

My setup:
MSH motor (14 pole, 800kV)
14T pinion, 93 main
6s LiPo
Fixed end points
Low timing (unless stated otherwise)
Outrunner mode (unless stated otherwise)

Probem 1:
I first upgraded to beta 3.0, set it to outrunner mode, low timing, fixed end points and didn't bother to set the end points up. I spooled up, the slow start ramped up nicely, and at the end it made a sudden RPM jump of about 200 and was SCREAMING at about 3000 RPM. So 2 issues. First, this RPM should never happen with this gearing, and with the MSH ESC on spool up I was at 2850. Second, the sudden surge at the end of the ramp up was just wrong.

So I calibrated end points, and my high endpoint changed from 100 to 99. Strangely, the surge in head speed went away with a throttle of 99%! So clearly there is a bug here, and how it generates so much head speed is beyond me.

Problem 2:
Next I tried spooling up for a test hover with travel adjust set, fixed end points, medium spool up. As the MSH motor spools up there is audible arching sound half way through the spool up that goes away once it hits full speed. I tried many timing, PWM, and spool up rates, and nothing helped. I then down graded to 2.16 and the problem went away.

Problem 3:
This is the biggest problem. During flight, there is a new audible sound coming from the motor. It's not very loud, but is a distinct oscillation that sounds like arching. I tried the following experiements, none of which had any imapct on the sound
-Firmware 3.0 or 2.16
-fixed end points, gov mode
-Outrunner mode, 8khz, 12kHz
-Low timing, normal timing, high timing
-Switching back to the MSH ESC. No noise.

Otherwise, performance was equivalent to the MSH ESC when running in fixed end point mode at 100%. If I can get rid of problem 3 I would be happy. I have a feeling the MSH motor is different enough that the ESC is having problems selecting the correct timing for it and the feedback loop is causing oscillations and hence the noise.

Discussion Anti Spark Resistor

luixito — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:02:06 GMT

Hi:
Someone of Team Castle Creations could tell me whats better on a HV85?
- No anti spark resistor
- 1ohm resistor

The anti spark resistor is better for the esc or is only to avoid burned connectors?

Thanks

Question Editing the ICE Log Data Files

FlyingW — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:23:09 GMT

Has anyone figured out how to edit the saved excel data file?

For example, I downloaded and saved the data from one flight. There are three sessions present in the data because I turned the ESC on and off several times for range testing, checking controls, etc. before the actual flight.

It would be nice to have only the data I want to see - without having to select the session.

After editing out the unwanted chunks of data, I attempt to load the file into the viewer. Whenever I try to load edited files, the Castle Log Viewer gives me an error message saying:

[ Error while reading the data file ]
[ Input string was not in the correct format ]

I also get problems with excel saying that I'll lose some incompatible features by saving the file as a CSV. Is there a trick to this?

Thanks,

Paul

Question CC110HV with 13 or 14S!?

MaH� — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:13:32 GMT

Hi,
is it possible to take more than 12S with the my CC110HV?

I�ve a setup thats works fine with 12S 109A@high timing.
I�ve tested it with a Spin200 0� Timing @14S 109A. Final result more watts better efficiency more duration with my EDF model.....

So now I want to fly 13-14S with the CC110HV!?

thanks for info,
reg Martin

Discussion Phoenix ICE: Motor Timing Settings

e30ernest — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:21:50 GMT

Hello!

I'd like to ask if the motor timing field of the Castle Link for the Phoenix ICE controllers is in actual degrees or if each value represents an x value in degrees. I have a motor that runs in 10-15 degrees advance and I would like to know how to set that up on the controler.

Thanks for your replies!

Discussion The Mysterious Hex55

RC Man — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:38:22 GMT

I see Hex55 listed when you dump your settings but have never seen any information of what it is. Could someone from CC enlighten us on this mysterious parameter?

:confused:

Help! Anyone had success with eflite pwr 110 and 3.00 firmware

missle — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:40:07 GMT

So the saga continues. I'd really hoped that this latest beta would be the cure all but unfortunately it's not.
I'm running a Pwr 110 with 17x10 prop on 8S. I'd really like to run a 18x10 but anything over 1/2 throttle equals total motor pinging whereas with a 17x10 I can at least get to ~80% throttle but still can't punch out of a hover without the motor going out of sync. BTW, I had several flights with a 18x6 of which I can push the throttle good but the 6 pitch is just too weak for my Yak 54.

I've tested everything from Outrunner PWM to 8 to 12 hz; tried timing from 0 up to 5; played with the response time from 1 up to 5 and nothing gets rid of it. When I run my 20C 4000mah packs, it's not too bad but when I use my 25C it's borderline dangerous, and the 30C packs aren't even an option cause the desyncrany is way too bad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Discussion hydra 120 set up please help!

pmdevlin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:26:24 GMT

Hi all,

just received my new hydra 120, and am petrified of smoking it!

Its going in a large 4 foot 6 kg boat, that has an align 1640kv outrunner, and using 2 x 3 cell 5000mah lipos

I want a soft start, for those familiar with rc heli's, you will know what I mean, dont want an aggressive start, needs to be smooth and easy:)

I also want fast, but with reasonable run time. I know the set up, prop etc means a lot, but I am not sure what settings would be a good starting point, whilsdt I test which prop versus amp draw will be best.

Is there anything I can buy or fit that will protect the esc from amp surge? with smaller applications, an inline fuse works, but with this 120amp esc are there any safeguards that can be fitted to prevent it smoking?:)

Many thanks

Discussion Data logging dont work on firware 3.00 beta

alah — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:51:21 GMT

Hi,yesterday I updated firware on my ice100 to 3.00 and when I come back
today from the field and I downloaded data to my PC it show nothink.
Just the square where supose to be data kurve but nothink else.
When I reinstaled 2.16 version everythink is O.K.
Do somebody else recognize such behavior?:eek:

Discussion Phoenix 35 BEC FET overheating

Zamfir — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:27:12 GMT

I have a Phonenix 35 on 3 cells Futaba r617fs fasst receiver driving 4 hs65hb servos and during bench testing I noticed the BEC Fet was overheating. It was melting the heatshrink. This has happened before (I own 4 of these). I place a different brand ESC on the plane and it does not overheat. I returned the ESC and you sent me a new one. Now about a year later another ESC is doing it. This is all with the motor disconnected. I know about binding servos current draw etc..I am not even pulling an amp from the battery. Now this ESC does it with one servo (including different servos not installed in the bird. I have read about others having the heatshrink melt off the FET during bench tests also. I now have had 2. What am I doing wrong? Is there a known issue with this? I run this same setup (servos receiver) in other birds with no issue.