Phoenix Edge ESCs have two input plugs that you can connect to two separate receiver channels. The plugs look like this:



The orange wire is the throttle input and the white wire is the input for the optional "Arm Lock" feature, which has to be programmed to be active. I use Arm Lock with my Taranis radio, with the white wire connected to channel 8. It's a nice addition for motor safety because the ESC will play a little tune when it's armed and a different tune when it's disarmed.

When I was connecting mine it occurred to me that with a normal hookup, all of the current for the radio control system is routed through the altitude limiter, which in my case is a Soaring Circuits CAM Limiter. That's probably not a big deal, but why do it that way when it's so easy to instead route the BEC power directly to the receiver for distribution from there to the servos, and also to the CAM limiter?

The way to do that is simple: Just swap the orange and white wires. You can remove the individual pins by gently prying the plastic retainers up with an X-acto knife and pulling, then snapping then back into place in their new positions.

The plug with the white, red, and brown wires should then be plugged directly into the receiver channel that controls motor arming (or into any unused channel if you don't use the Arm Lock feature), and the plug with the lone orange wire should be connected to the altitude limiter's female connector. The altitude limiter's male connector should be connected to the receiver throttle channel as before.

The difference now is that the altitude limiter's male connector is no longer delivering power to your radio control system, it is now receiving power from your radio control system for its own operation.

Apparently this didn't draw much interest, but just for the record I have to add one drawback to this that I discovered recently: Programming with the CastleLink USB module won't work anymore unless you make a special harness to compensate for the wiring change. Swapping signal wires in the connectors is quick and easy, but splicing might be a better way to avoid running all of your power through your CAM limiter.

I don't use the white wire. I only use the usual connector but remove the power wire as I don't use the BEC. I've been using the CAM units with restart.

Not sure what the white wire does but sounds like it is adding complexity to a simple system. I use a switch for Arming and Safety.

Set it up for what works for you.

Darwin N. Barrie
Chandler, AZ
Team Futaba

Originally Posted by dnbarrie11

Not sure what the white wire does...

You don't know what it does, but you're telling everyone not to use it.

Okay...

If you look at the circuit for the Cam or Altis you'll see the power wires are just tapped. Really makes no difference if you put current from the bec through them. Been discussed many times. If you want to use the arming wire go ahead as it will not change the function of any limiter. Just test it to make sure it doesn't foul the limiter in some weird way (highly unlikely)

Originally Posted by dnbarrie11

I don't use the white wire. I only use the usual connector but remove the power wire as I don't use the BEC. I've been using the CAM units with restart.

Not sure what the white wire does but sounds like it is adding complexity to a simple system. I use a switch for Arming and Safety.

Set it up for what works for you.

Darwin N. Barrie
Chandler, AZ
Team Futaba

The white wire enables an ESC-level arm/disarm feature, rather than a receiver-level one. Still enabled/disabled by a switch on the TX, but now not possible to trigger a start via trim or limiter issues.