ESC on Nttro?

[SpitFireV12RR]

Hey dudes,

I got a free Issue of RC Driver, and a guy asked a question about longer run times in his Rustler with an ESC rather than a servo.

Is this possible, and how is it done? The guy said it would be smoother and not feel like "steps" but didn't explain how it works or how it is installed.

I would upgrade to that rather than upgrading the throttle servo!

 

[sweetdiesel]

I think they are referring to ESC versus mechanical speed controls.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Yeah, as Sweet points out, and ESC is an electronic speed controller, not a servo. I can't imagine having the ability to replace a steering servo with an ESC as something would have to physically move the steering arms.

An ESC works by controlling the flow of power to the electric motor.

That being said, if in fact someone has figured a way to replace a steering servo with an ESC, I'd be very interested in seeing and learning about it. If you happen to find details on how this happened, be sure to post it here!

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

I know what an ESC(Electronic Speed Controller). I just thought it was interested how the hell he got it to work. I dunno...like you said, I thought an ESC was only for motors. But I'm puzzled how he gets one to open the carb like a servo can. Maybe it was an electric rustler...but he kept talking about improving speed and decreasing run times verses having a servo for thottle. Unless I'm a dumbass, is it possible to put a servo to control an electronic motor? I thought that was what an ESC was for? This is weird! I'll take a picture of the artical, or if you get RC Driver its in the March 2006 issue on the bottem page where "Tips" are.

 

[Candyman]

I believe they are indeed talking about an Electronic Speed Control vs. Mechanical speed control. The ESC regulates how much power goes to the motor using IC circuitry. A mechanical speed control is caveman technology that uses a servo which controls a mechanical wiper arm that passes over a variable resistor. Thus, the amount of energy to the motor is varied by resistance. Usually, cheap MSC's are 3 steps. Off. 1/2 throttle. And WOT. That's it. And they are horribly inefficient. They generate a lot of heat through resistance which causes all sorts of current loss. ESCs are far more efficient and have a much smoother delivery of the power.

 

[Candyman]

Oh, and BTW, Rustlers are available in nitro and elecric. This must have been an electric Rustler.

 

[robriguez]

What he said. With a mechanical speed control a lot of your electrical energy is wasted in the form of heat due to the resistors. So once you go to an ESC the transfer of power from the bettery to the motor is much more efficient so you get longer run times and in some cases higher speeds because more electricity is getting to the motor.

 

[MonsterCowpower]

In anything but a low price toy you MUST have a ESC,the mechanical speed control is dead.And try a 6turn hot motor on one...:whack: And you will very fast have a roasty smell.

Besides the current loss,the very few steps make it obsolete.Advanced ESC like the Novak GTX has so many steps forward its butter smoothness and this translates in much better control.