01/12/2014
Apparently these were sold as shown in the pictures, before, but now have a small switch soldered to the three pads you can see in the picture of the side of the PCB with the four large FETs on it (and not much else).
The switch lets you choose whether or not it has a brake function, which stops the motor quickly if you move the stick from forwards to reverse. To go into reverse, you need to put it into the neutral position first. It only works that way around - moving from reverse to forwards happens instantly, with no brake effect. The switch is only read when you turn it on - it doesn't change anything until you turn it off and back on again.
The centre position for the throttle stick is automatically set when you turn it on, to wherever you have the stick, provided it's in a range of roughly 1/4 to 1/2. That's useful for transmitters that have the small switch to move the sprung centre position back, giving you more forwards travel on the stick than reverse. If you try to start it up with the stick outside that range, it just beeps at you.
My preference is normally to not have a brake, and to have instant change over from forwards to reverse, and back again. These ESCs can do that, with the switch turned off.
I often want an ESC with reverse but no brake, so the model can switch quickly from forwards to reverse. In a boat, there is no point having a brake - stopping the prop won't normally stop the boat any quicker. If you find yourself heading for a collision, you want to be able to reverse immediately. Also, if you want to practise manouvering a model car in a small space, or parallel parking with one, it feels a lot more natural if it changes from forwards to reverse and back again, immediately.
I haven't tested the current capability, and personally, I'd probably only use these in small models, or converted toys, but they should be fine for that sort of use. If they really are capable of 20A, I think you'd need to cut the shrink wrap off and fit a heat sink to the four FETs, to make them survive it.
The price is very good. I have some toys with more than one motor, that I want to convert to radio control, so it's good to have a source of small, cheap, ESCs like these.
Apparently these were sold as shown in the pictures, before, but now have a small switch soldered to the three pads you can see in the picture of the side of the PCB with the four large FETs on it (and not much else).
The switch lets you choose whether or not it has a brake function, which stops the motor quickly if you move the stick from forwards to reverse. To go into reverse, you need to put it into the neutral position first. It only works that way around - moving from reverse to forwards happens instantly, with no brake effect. The switch is only read when you turn it on - it doesn't change anything until you turn it off and back on again.
The centre position for the throttle stick is automatically set when you turn it on, to wherever you have the stick, provided it's in a range of roughly 1/4 to 1/2. That's useful for transmitters that have the small switch to move the sprung centre position back, giving you more forwards travel on the stick than reverse. If you try to start it up with the stick outside that range, it just beeps at you.
My preference is normally to not have a brake, and to have instant change over from forwards to reverse, and back again. These ESCs can do that, with the switch turned off.
I often want an ESC with reverse but no brake, so the model can switch quickly from forwards to reverse. In a boat, there is no point having a brake - stopping the prop won't normally stop the boat any quicker. If you find yourself heading for a collision, you want to be able to reverse immediately. Also, if you want to practise manouvering a model car in a small space, or parallel parking with one, it feels a lot more natural if it changes from forwards to reverse and back again, immediately.
I haven't tested the current capability, and personally, I'd probably only use these in small models, or converted toys, but they should be fine for that sort of use. If they really are capable of 20A, I think you'd need to cut the shrink wrap off and fit a heat sink to the four FETs, to make them survive it.
The price is very good. I have some toys with more than one motor, that I want to convert to radio control, so it's good to have a source of small, cheap, ESCs like these.
Apparently these were sold as shown in the pictures, before, but now have a small switch soldered to the three pads you can see in the picture of the side of the PCB with the four large FETs on it (and not much else).
The switch lets you choose whether or not it has a brake function, which stops the motor quickly if you move the stick from forwards to reverse. To go into reverse, you need to put it into the neutral position first. It only works that way around - moving from reverse to forwards happens instantly, with no brake effect. The switch is only read when you turn it on - it doesn't change anything until you turn it off and back on again.
The centre position for the throttle stick is automatically set when you turn it on, to wherever you have the stick, provided it's in a range of roughly 1/4 to 1/2. That's useful for transmitters that have the small switch to move the sprung centre position back, giving you more forwards travel on the stick than reverse. If you try to start it up with the stick outside that range, it just beeps at you.
My preference is normally to not have a brake, and to have instant change over from forwards to reverse, and back again. These ESCs can do that, with the switch turned off.
I often want an ESC with reverse but no brake, so the model can switch quickly from forwards to reverse. In a boat, there is no point having a brake - stopping the prop won't normally stop the boat any quicker. If you find yourself heading for a collision, you want to be able to reverse immediately. Also, if you want to practise manouvering a model car in a small space, or parallel parking with one, it feels a lot more natural if it changes from forwards to reverse and back again, immediately.
I haven't tested the current capability, and personally, I'd probably only use these in small models, or converted toys, but they should be fine for that sort of use. If they really are capable of 20A, I think you'd need to cut the shrink wrap off and fit a heat sink to the four FETs, to make them survive it.
The price is very good. I have some toys with more than one motor, that I want to convert to radio control, so it's good to have a source of small, cheap, ESCs like these.