RC-Monster Forums - View Single Post - New traxxas castle mamba monster extreme?

BrianG · 12:23 AM

I was out doing laundry tonight and got bored, so I started thinking about what possessed Trx to require an iDevice (why I decided to ponder this unimportant topic of all things is beyond me). I realized my beef is not so much about the Apple device requirement (even though I dislike their products), but the need to get anything to fully use what I bought.

I assume they chose an Apple product because they are standard sized with standard hardware, so it's easier to develop a standard interface. I can also understand their desire to program the the telemetry interface for iOS since it's a more controlled environment. Not to mention there are so many implementations of Android on so many hardware versions that support and ensuring compatibility would be a chore.

What I DON'T get is why any device is needed to unlock the ESC? Require the device for added features like touch-interface, data storage, telemetry, etc - not a "great" idea IMO, but understandable. But don't limit the base functionality without that optional device. So I have to buy an otherwise unrelated product to use what I already paid for? Kinda like buying a 1:1 car with a V6 engine, but 3 of the pistons don't fire unless you hook up some Bose Acoustimass home speakers to the stock headunit.

Some people argue that even a current CC system requires the optional Castle Link to "unlock it", but that argument is baseless. It's more difficult, but you can program lots of stuff via the old fashioned transmitter way. You aren't buying a crippled device that only the CLink can unlock - it's just a finer tweaking tool. Big difference IMO. Other people argue that you have to buy better batteries for current setups to get the full capability. Baseless again. It's not like the system is intentionally crippled until it "knows" you are running lipos, it just allows it to run better.

OK rant over.

	(#6)
BrianG RC-Monster Admin Offline Posts: 14,609 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Des Moines, IA	12.01.2011, 12:21 AM I was out doing laundry tonight and got bored, so I started thinking about what possessed Trx to require an iDevice (why I decided to ponder this unimportant topic of all things is beyond me). I realized my beef is not so much about the Apple device requirement (even though I dislike their products), but the need to get anything to fully use what I bought. I assume they chose an Apple product because they are standard sized with standard hardware, so it's easier to develop a standard interface. I can also understand their desire to program the the telemetry interface for iOS since it's a more controlled environment. Not to mention there are so many implementations of Android on so many hardware versions that support and ensuring compatibility would be a chore. What I DON'T get is why any device is needed to unlock the ESC? Require the device for added features like touch-interface, data storage, telemetry, etc - not a "great" idea IMO, but understandable. But don't limit the base functionality without that optional device. So I have to buy an otherwise unrelated product to use what I already paid for? Kinda like buying a 1:1 car with a V6 engine, but 3 of the pistons don't fire unless you hook up some Bose Acoustimass home speakers to the stock headunit. Some people argue that even a current CC system requires the optional Castle Link to "unlock it", but that argument is baseless. It's more difficult, but you can program lots of stuff via the old fashioned transmitter way. You aren't buying a crippled device that only the CLink can unlock - it's just a finer tweaking tool. Big difference IMO. Other people argue that you have to buy better batteries for current setups to get the full capability. Baseless again. It's not like the system is intentionally crippled until it "knows" you are running lipos, it just allows it to run better. OK rant over. Last edited by BrianG; 12.01.2011 at 12:23 AM.