Cmon Castle, are you serious?
 

My V.2 is dead. I was driving along and everything stopped, no steering, no throttle. I tried an ubec, nothing.

Lol. I think it's just certain people like you and me are just cursed.

One thing I find curious is that most of the people who have failures have them over and over again. Those that don't have failures, really don't start having them, they just keep running. Just thinking out loud here, but sounds like certain setups just don't get along well? My V1 has lord knows how many hours on it now and it keeps trucking. My buddy's is the same way. We both beat the tar out of ours. *shrug*

Now it's my turn to rant. And this isn't directed to e-mikey specifically, but to all the complainers (you know who you are).

I really don't get all the whining about the MMM. Yes, Castle has problems with V1 and possibly issues with V2 (too new to say for sure). So what? If you don't like the ESC, or Castles CS, or the way Patrick parts his hair, don't buy Castle products!

Patrick has said the failure rate for V2 is lower than when the MM came out. There are other options out there (Novak, Quark, MGM, BK, Schulze, MM, etc). Sure, they are more expensive and/or don't have the features the MMM has, but the options ARE there. I think it's really funny seeing people complain about V1 but then get another one (knowing the risk) and complain more.

Everyone wants a high voltage, high current, inexpensive, massively programmable ESC that is flawless with no problems. Well, you're just gonna have to give a little. Period.

^^^^^ Sticky material here for the CC support forums.^^^^^^^


I would like to add that the MMM cost alot of us around $150-160 shipped. Most comparable escs are nearly twice the price, and lack one or more features of the MMM. Castle is throwing us a huge bone here, so lets cut them some slack...

BrianG, I just see all these people saying how good the MMM and CC is so I bit, several times. I have nothing against CC really, which is why I deleted that post, it was just a rant. Sometimes I say things out of emotion.

I had no issues with my MM so I gave the MMM a shot. I thought the CCBEC issue I had was a fluke, I got another. Learned my lesson after the second time. You can believe that I wont buy another CCBEC or MMM, at least until everything is worked out.

Again it was just a rant.

And BTW, I love the way Patrick parts his hair.

I also notice this is a key factor here. Even with my failed V1, I asked Joe and Thomas if there was anything I may have done wrong to cause the failure. I always analyze myself as well as the company. I have the V2 now and all has been well.

I really can't understand how some people have up to 5 failed MMM's, it just doesn't add up.

I do notice that the catastrophic failures are regulated to the higher amp motors or over geared setups. Guys running 1.5d's on 6s offroad, or guys running the 1y on 4s geared for 50+ mph. I just don't believe in pushing everything to the limits, which is why my 6s 2.5d is geared for low to mid 40's. This is plenty for bashing, and in rough terrain it's too much. I really don't understand guys gearing bashing rigs for 45+ mph.

I am sure people will be mad for me suggesting this, but oh well.

Also a big ditto to BrianG's post. As always, much truth and wisdom in there.

The only reason I'm getting another MMM is because it is the replacement for my V1. I'm still waiting for the replacement which was supposedly shipped on August 11, 2008.


Heck, if CC can refund me the money I paid for my V1, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

If you bought it from Mike and paid 145 then send it to me and I will refund you myself... This way you won't have to use a Castle product any more...

I'm not supporting Castle and have equally been upset by missed dates and failures etc but this is a hobby - However no one to my knowledge has died or been physically injured by the delay...

Just ready the news 2million people displaced in India due to flooding, suicide bombers in Iraq etc, badies being put in Microwaves in the US, people losing their jobs, houses, cars and families due to a screwed up economy - Oh and a small hobby electronics manuafcturer based in Kasas had a manufacturing problem...

Perhaps time to get life into perspective?

Please PM if you want to take me up on my offer - I'll do this for up to 3 people/controllers who are that upset.

If I ever recieve a replacement :whip::whip::whip:. Did you even understand what I wrote?

I don't have to read the news about suicide bombers in Iraq. I was deployed before so I know first-hand what it was like. Have you ever served in the military?

I don't know where you're from or who you are but I could care less. Perhaps you need to serve in the military and be deployed to the war zone so you can understand better what it is like to personally see people getting killed by suicide bombers in Iraq. I had been there and my younger brother is currently deployed with the marines in Iraq.

Until then, just keep your mouth shut about suicide bombers etc. unless you have personally experienced what you're talking about.

Good old Bristish humor... oh so dry and whitty....

I will also extend this to as many people who would like to sell me a new MMM for $145...

As selfish as this may sound, my controller is more important to me than babies in the microwave.

I will say that CC customer support is top notch!! A new MMM will be on it's way when they get more in "early next week." I like the advance replacement thing.

If anyone is wondering, I am running an erevo (not convert) with 4s (2 - 2s2p from truerc) with a 21 tooth pinion and stock spur (68?) 1512/2.5d has never gotten over 140, and MMM never broke 110.

Just to update everyone, I just bit the bullet again and called CC. I was informed by that they will be shipping me a new MMM.

I also got this via email a few minutes ago:

I hope to receive this one. We'll see.

easy there George! I think arct1k is just trying to put things into perspective. Life sucks, there's a lot of bad things happening in the world, people are being killed everyday. Yet here we have people that are complaining because they can't enjoy their hobby because a small company in having some issues with manx

I was writing my response before/while you editing your post, so it may seem a bit out of context. Believe me, I edited my post because it was much more emotional as well.

I too wonder what people are doing to smoke their MMMs. The BEC thing is one thing, but a flaming ESC is usually a problem with the setup.

Anyone notice that the rumor is that the MMM is rated for 200A, but the MMM in the "Special Projects" page is rated for only 120A? (http://www.castlespecialprojects.com...ntrollers.html) Is it a totally different controller than the RC version we use? I really don't think so, and wonder if the amp hungry motors and/or non-optimal gearing are just too much?

He tried but unfortunately, I'm a person who had personally experienced some of the things he mentioned. Like what I said in my response to his post, I had seen a lot of bad things including soldiers and sailors getting by suicide bombers and IED's.

Have you personally seen people getting killed everyday? I have and it was not easy at all.

Anyway, I hope to receive the MMM so I can enjoy it.

HAHAHA, so true. While it was not the babies fault, I am sure that it was most likely in the shallow end of te gene pool, if the parents were anything to go by... Thanks for the laugh!


Has anyone checked the specs of the fets used? I am running my v1 on 4s lipo in a erevo geared 19/50 with a 1515 1.5d. From what i can gather that is a reasonably amp hungry motor (not as bad as a 7xl?) and the esc has no issues with it. Motor temps seem to be around 150-260f, and the MMM never gets hot, mostly due to 100% running fan. My lipos do get warm, like 120f. They are trakpower 4900 25c packs, so I figure that the setup is beating 100amps. I have a pair of fp 3700 4s 25c packs that i plan to run in parallel. That should provide the motor with some more power, and we will see who the MMM does. 185 amps cont rating with the fp packs...

I've personally experienced it (first gulf war -- landed in Kuwait the same day it was liberated... got shot at by snipers, had to deal with unexploded ordinance, etc...) That's why I urge everyone to support:

http://www.bagramrcclub.com/


Give some money to a good charity.


ANOTHER shameless plug -- and thread hijack!

My guess is that CC attempted to follow the arbitrary rating method of other brushless CAR ESC manufacturers to come up with a number that could work for the sake of comparison. But then for industrial applications they had to supply real-world numbers for actual continuous operation (unlike the 15amp average/200amp peaks we are accustomed to).

Ha ha, great timing Patrick. I've also served from 92-96' and would definitely like to keep my experiences seperate from a hobby I enjoy during my leisure time.

Whoever decided to use that as an analogy should take this as a learning lesson. I just purchased a MMM online and hope to enjoy it shortly. Sure, there were issues with the V1. I purposely waited to see if they could fix those problems. As well, I've read AND learned from the experience of other people as to what works best. I'm going to use a 1515 2.5d in my converted REVO on 6s andf see what happens. I am pleased with the customer support Castle has provided other people and willing to take the risk.

We never rated the MMM for hobby use -- ever. The 200A figure was something one of our customers came up with.... We won't stoop to the level of companies who purposefully deceive the public about their ratings to sell products. For example, another company likes to rate their controllers at a "25C" rating -- basically they take the 25C surge (under 20 millisecond) rating of the FETs in their controllers and tout that as a "current" rating. What it is: essentially they are giving a complete BS rating -- the rating could never be achieved in the real world, and is therefore a completely useless rating.

Castle, in aircraft and boat world, uses realistic ratings. The current ratings can be achieved with steady state temperatures with rated airflow. So you could run, for example, a Phoenix-60 at 60 amps with 5mph airflow ALL DAY LONG without overheating the controller. If we rated it the way other car controllers are rated, the Phoenix-60 would be a 550 amp speed control. Could it handle 550 amps? No way... So we don't rate it that way. Even though our competitors in the airplane and boat markets CONTINUE to rate their controllers with unrealistic numbers, Castle has never, and will never, rate our controllers unrealistically.

In the car market though, companies have always used BS ratings to boost their sales -- they lie to the customers, the customers accept the lies as truth, and then they buy controllers that can't meet a BS rating.

We decided that rather than deceive the public with a BS rating, that we just wouldn't rate the MMM. If we rated the MMM with a realistic rating, we would look anemic compared to our competitors, when in fact the MMM could handle much more power. And I wouldn't allow a rating that was pure fiction either....

That's nice to know Patrick! It goes to show what happens when enough people spread a rumor, it becomes "fact".

Personally, if a setup consistently pulls 120A+, it's time to go with higher voltage instead. The only advantage I can see to having an ESC capable of 200A+ is the heat is spread out more, and usually has an overall total rdson value (which is only part of the heat source).

BTW: did you get my PM I sent a few days ago?

While I think that not rating your controllers is certainly better than a BS rating, I for one would like to know what the real world capability is of the controllers. Even if I cant compare it to other manufacturers I would be able to compare it to other castle controllers and decide what excatly I needed for my setup and power goals. I think that if you established some sort of real test procedure that rated your controlers and pulicicised the test methods, you are popular enough and have built a respectable enough reputation that you could have a chnace of establishing a standard that if nothing else other independant organizations could test to. Its not uncommon for RC magazines to do dyno testing on nitro motors now days so as this segment grows I would expect similar types of testing to happen in the RC pubilcations of the various speed controllers. At least I hope it happens someday.

EDIT: I actually think its an opportunity to establish your company as even more of a leader in the industry.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of the T-Shirts goes to Fisher House! Go ahead, make Castle give more money to charity! I dare you!

Continous and burst ratings for all the reversing controllers are published by CC here:

http://www.castlespecialprojects.com...ntrollers.html

The controllers are rated with different levels of airflow - from none to >500 LFM. In addition there are burst ratings with a definition of 10 second burst, 1% duty cycle in AMPS

It could even benefit them to pay for a independent testing of their products VS other manufacturers products and then advertise the results in a major RC magazine.

I'd probably get sued if I did that. You know how people in California are. :whistle:


edit -- (Not that I have anything against anyone in California who isn't a lawyer... we got sued in California for saying "Made in the USA" ... and had to change to "Made in the USA using US and foreign parts." --- we couldn't have been sued for that in any state except California.... I do think California lawyers are especially odious, but most people in California are great...)

edit2 -- (Nice use of the word "Odious" eh?)

I say get a good lawyer and go for it. Sued for the truth?!??!!!

But yes we do love our court arguments here in CA.

Wow 322 post already? you have been busy!

Great use of the word and true! I may no longer live on the left coast, but I'm a CA native. In the 20 years I lived there I saw more lawsuits for bogus BS then anywhere I have ever been. My step mom was sued by a neighbor for growing purple roses because the assn colors were green and gold.

[/end thead jack]

:rofl: What's worse is I know it's true!

Wow, 3 pages already!!!! I go to sleep for a couple of hours and woke up to this. Just got back from the gym. Great!!!

I'm glad you understand what it's like to be in war. I just hate it when someone says something which strikes a chord within me.

Thanks for your support to those brothers in arms over there. I know how crucial every bit of free time and relaxation is towards easing and healing the wounds of war both mentally and physically.

Keep up the good work.


By the way, my stock MMM V1 was ran with the following setup:
51T spur
20T pinion
2x 3S Neuenergy 25C 5000 mah lipos
43/13 buggy diff gears
5955TG steering servo

It was working fine for about a month until it suddenly stopped running :yes:.

I think I might be the only one who is just waiting for good news. I'll still wait until everything is working perfect before I do get one.

I'm doing the same.
Still running MM 6s1p A123 with no issues.

I'm a complainer and I'm taking your advise 100%.

Well said...for what this controller has to offer, and the price we paid for it...come on people, lighten up. Besides, it is a NEW product, it takes time to work out ALL the bugs. We should all commend CC for the support of this product and for the other controller products as well. To those who are complaining, how many have a MM esc? I would be willing to bet most of you. When they released the MM esc, it took time to get the bugs out and now, they have a tremendous esc on their hands which many of us enjoy.

In this hobby NOTHING is guaranteed fool proof...... Be patient......... and good things will come!

Ahh, but we are gauranteed FOOLS in the hobby....

Maybe a better analogy is that I have been waiting for tools from Xray for months, parts for a car as well for a few weeks now. Waiting on parts from HPI as well which have also been AWOL for weeks now too. It's not just Castle that have issues keeping up with supply and demand.

I swear it is the 5955tg steering servo killing my MMMs becs. I may be wrong but I think that sucker can pull some big amp spikes.

mtbiker - im not sure, but i was wondering about this when the v1's were dieing. i estimated 60-80% were killed with a 5955tg servo... im not sure. but im hoping castle did some decent research when thats a very popular servo with MONSTER trucks... :)

im not too fussed. mine will probably die anyway knowing my luck haha.

I would think it shouldn't kill the bec as it is a very popular servo with plane guys as well.