Sidewinder ESC
 

Not that many of you power hungry people care :mdr: , but the Sidewinder ESC is almost done in production. The selling price will be about $77 street, and the controlling software is suuuuper butter as compared to the old MM startup routine. It will be a great low cost controller for people wanting sub 50mph setups. If you want some more details I can now tell you what I know.

Of course we love the details...

Will this be programmable on the computer as well like the MM? How many cells can it run? How many amps can it take (continuous and burst)?

Good for crawling too, right? I'd imagine at that price, it would be a nice alternative to folks buying the MM to run an outrunnner.

You are a tester, correct?

I usually read your posts over at the crawler forum(rcc), good info to be had!

I guess some std info would be nice, like amp rating, programability, etc.

Also, will it be good for 4s?, with the bec disabled, of course.

The price does sound good, especially since it will be cheaper than the velineon. Any chance that cc will bring out a lower kv motor than the 4600? That would also be nice.

Thanks for the info jrh.

Well, to start with it has about the same footprint as the MM. It is brushed and brushless just like the MM. It does not have a usb port on the side. It is PC programmable with MORE features than the current MM. It has deadband added I know, and they might have added more features.

The amp rating is probably around 60-70 continuous. Don't know the burst. 4s? Probably, but I haven't tried yet. It is rated for 3s operation.


I think that about covers it.


Oh yes, it controls slotted motors MUCH better. The low speed resolution is also about 10x better than the old MM. It ramps up better.

I wonder how it would do in a MT?

This sounds awesome for tenth scale applications. I love my MM so if I get a stadium truck I'll be getting this controller for sure, maybe with a Traxxas motor instead of the 4600. Plus I'll finally have a reason to buy the Castle Link besides upping my BEC voltage.:yes:

More programmable features you say? If it will do 4s, I'll get one for my dragster.

How about a pair of these with a pair of 12l feigao motors in a new emaxx. Run a pair of smaller (3000mah) 4s lipos or 2 2s larger packs in series and it would be a beast, and stay cool too. 150 for the two esc, and 100 for the 2 motors. The lipos would be the most expensive part, but I am sure that they could be had for around 200 for the pair. Just a thought!

What programming options are added?

I might see about trying on of the in my Revo. Might run ok with a 8XL on 4S with the 2 speed. The 2 speed and mechanical brakes should help keep it fairly cool...

Sounds like a perfect plan. it would be awesome if it does the job on 4S.

Yea, I hope it will work well to. Only thing is gearing is gonna have to be spot on...Think the 7XL will be ok? If not, I'm gonna have to get another motor anyway. Probably get a 8XL and put that in the Revo and the 7XL in the Racebomb with the MM.

Thats is cheap!

I want to hear how it does on 4s, its only 27 bucks more then a flat rate MM (which is what I need right now... To have a brand new controller

60-70 amps cont? thats kinda low...

70A @ 14.8v is a little over 1,000w, or about 1.4hp. That's enough for a smaller and/or lighter truck...

From what I know, just deadband adjustment. This may have changed as I haven't talked with the engineers for a few months.

Doubt it would work. You might get 30mph tops, probably 25mph at most. The startups would have to be very gentle and you will need a super light drivetrain. The mamba max barely works for a MT, and the Sidewinder is even less power.

I can confirm it does work on 4s. I was gonna give it a spin but my rear diff is stripped in my WK. boo.

I think it will work, but theres no telling. You have to account for the two speed. Allows low gearing for the startup, but once it gets going, its gonna have a higher gearing to get the speed. My MM and 7XL on 3S do fine. The MM gets a little warm, but thats because I'm using the internal BEC and its slightly over geared. I think the Sidewinder will work fine with a slightly slower motor and appropriate gearing, using a UBEC.

So if the Sidewinder has the good software, then where's the love for the MM? We've been waiting for that software for something like a year now.

Probably the same update when they release the sidewinder. They will have a new firmware at the same time I suspect.

Time for me to show my ignorance. I am not a computer guy. I can fix some stuff and have a very basic understanding. My main question is what does the term firmware mean in relation to the mm. I understand that the software is the actual program that the mm uses to perfom its commutation. Is the firmware the operating system, so to speak, that this software runs in? I try to learn something new everyday, and this has me wondering.

Firmware typically refers to the set of code that is loaded into a programmable logic device. Also, the commutation in the MM may be done by firmware...it depends on the components used. Most likely, it is all done by firmware as I don't believe there is a processor on the ECA (electronic card assembly).

Thanks skellyo, not coming from a computer background (I work on cars, paint and body) sometimes the lingo is over my head!

I could see it being tough to know the difference between firmware and software for anyone that's not specifically an electrical engineer. My wife just happens to develop firmware for a living.

Interesting, maybe she can take a look at the mm and make it work with a neu, or similar motor.

Just tell here that I asked nicely and said please!

You can also think of it this way: Software is anything you can modify, firmware is anything you can't (short of doing things that void the warranty).

I did a quick search and found this fairly concise explanation:

Both are really software, it's just the level of ease for which the end user can adjust them. Firmware typically resides in ROM/EEPROM/etc and requires a special "flash" operation to update, like a computer's BIOS. Typical software resides on a harddisk, RAM, Flash ROM (like a thumbdrive), or any storage medium meant for frequent updating.

Got a little surprise, I will be getting a package within a week. Hehehehe, I can't wait!

You guys see these?

http://www.castlecreations.com/products/ccbullet.html

Doh just spoke to them and expected to be out until the end of Q1...

Yes, the large production will be out by then. The smaller initial production has already happened. I don't expect to see any make it through Horizon or Tower, as employees get first crack at the teeny shipment.

Just got em in. Specs didn't change, but they did get rid of the solder posts on the final version. I wasn't too happy to see those on proto versions. Full review in progress.

Sidewinder or MMM?

I think its the sidewinder, i think the MMM isn't close to ready yet.

MMM should be about 6 more weeks knowing Castle, just a wild guess.

Sidewinders are done, but the Castle link software isn't done. No USB programming until it is done.


Startup is better and slower. It is much better at restarting from a stalled or backwards rolling position.

I just raced last weekend with one of the Castle engineers and a couple of the team drivers.

They were running the Sidewinder with 4600 and 5700 motors in 2wd, truck and 4wd (1/10 offroad)

The sidwinder is small and really light!! I didn't get to see the software (still too hush hush) but they say it's really good, and Jeremy Blairs car look good running it (he qualifiied one spot ahead of me in mod buggy)

I didn't try to too hard to dig for info about the MMM... I could tell they were not comfortable talking much about it. Getting the motors done is still the hang up right now so don't expect anything quite yet.

I did get some of their new 4mm gold connectors... very nice!!! Much better than the crap 4mm the MM has. They are like the big 5/6mm ones like Quark has, only smaller and lighter.

And I saw a new secret product that I can't discuss or I they will have to kill me, lol.

Did I mention the Sidewinder is tiny?

btw, it sounds like the Sidewinder (and MMM) will ulitmately come with female bullet connector sockets instead of the solder posts like they have now. That will be sweet... mucho nicer. lol

can i please hear about the secret?

I'll get peeps in trouble... so I can't. It's nothing earth-shattering... and should be public soon I believe.