Product Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question about one of our products please email mail@astecmodels.co.uk with help in the subject, we will respond and place a reference here if it is helpful to do so

My MHF ESC beeps once but then I get nothing- what's wrong?

All our ESC's use a similar arming sequence - the first beep/ light/relay click means that the program is running. The next step counts 50 reciever pulses. After 50 good RX pulses the the ESC sets the null point to it's memory . The ESC then beeps/lights the LED/clicks the relay again - and waits 50 RX pulses, then sets the full on point - either from the pulse width or if it has not changed by loading default values. So no second beep means no pulses are being received from the Receiver

I have twin ESC's, running through an Amix mixer The drive pulses sometimes. Oh two motor batteries one on each ESC and no BEC.

This was an interesting one!! The final cause was that the two ESC's were running from separate batteries with no common. All BEC Esc's have a common ground between the battery side and the radio side. If the supply batteries are separate and the ground is not connected together then current can and will flow along the ground lead from one ESC - into the mixer and through the other battery. Why? Because when the motor stope starts and especially reverses you will get spikes. Normally these will be dealt with by suppression on the motor and in the ESC but with no direct ground route it will create electrical noise and that creates problems.  N.B. We recommend using a single drive battery do not be tempted to parallel batteries as this can cause real problems - especially if a cell goes down - then you just might get a fire!! Another god reason for using a fuse.]

My ESC will not arm correctly. Why?

This problem can affect any microprocessor controlled ESC.

Most microprocessor controlled ESC's go through an arming process of some type. Usually you will not have any problem but if you try to arm one of these ESC's at the pond-side with a number of transmitters close it may not arm or arm incorrectly. We have seen this on Astec, Schultze  and Simprop ESC's so it's not just us. This also generally happens with mini receivers. What happens is that the mini Rx's get that way (small) as some of the discrimination is removed. This does not present a problem normally but in close proximity to TX's you get some signal splash which lands up as a wrong signal at the ESC.  Be warned Some mini RX's also have range limitations!! Many of you will have experienced the same thing exhibited as a jittery servo or an ESC that suddenly starts and stops - but on the lake all is fine.  In this situation everyone peers over you and that just means their TX's are closer and the situation is worse. The solution is to step 3 or 4 steps away from the crowd and re-arm there.

Thanks to Ernie for pointing this problem out.

 My ESC will not run at full speed. Why?

This 'problem' can affect the operation of HFR15, microhf, microesc and the mixer.

We have found that this sometimes happens with 'computer controlled' transmitters, but could also be caused by potentiometer based throw adjustments available in some transmitters. The reason is generally that the user has set the end stop adjustments and/or the span/gain/throw adjustments in the transmitter to suit some other application. The answer is to reset the ESC channel (normally 2) to factory settings so that the normal signal output is a 1 to 2 ms pulse. All our products are produced with normal radio output in mind. Kindly check that transmitter outputs are set to normal and that throe adjusters are set to inactive.

My HFR15 has no reverse/ runs in one direction only what's wrong?

This usually happens only when in non BEC mode. The receiver battery either has a faulty cell or runs down to the point where there is no longer enough power to switch the relay. This can happen with most relay based speed controllers.

If the red lamp is normally on when you are running forwards then the relay will be picked when you are going forwards - in this case when you go astern the relay will drop and will not pick again. You will be better off swapping the motor leads and using your TX servo reversers to normalise the operation. This configuration will then draw less current and your batteries will last longer.

My Speed controller seems to cut out when the boat is running some distance from me. Why?

It is a fact that modern transmitters are putting out less power than older ones. This is particularly true of 27Mhz units and units designed for car racing. Most transmitter receiver combinations are designed to work on dry cells - putting Nicads in agravates the situation as it provides less voltage to work from.

To fix this try the following:

1. Use the full length of the receiver aerial outside the boat - do not coil 'spare' inside the boat as this reduces the available signal.

2. Try using a receiver battery with 5 nicad cells - most BEC's give 5 volts and this will give you 6 (as will 4 dry cells for instance)

3. If your TX uses Nicads try a test using dry cells (I know they are expensive). If this works add 1 or 2 more nicads within the TX case wired in series with the battery compartment. Label it so you don't forget!! If you use these and then put dry cells in as well you could be in trouble. If you are uncomfortable with this search out your clubs electronics guru - there is always one. Beware as this could compromise your guarantee.

OR

Your Receiver is picking interference from your motor electrics, This is more likely to be a problem with high frequency ESC's. To fix try the following:

1. Increase the suppression across the motor - we recommend 0.47uf (474) cap across the motor brushes and 0.1uf (104) from each  brush to the  case.

2. Re-arrange your electrics to keep power on one side of the boat and radio on the other

3. move the RX and aerial as far away from power cables and motor as possible.

4. go to a fully opto isolated ESC - BEC units are not isolated!!