What's going on with Castle?

[Pdelcast]

You know I love you guys.

We do what we do because we are modelers too. And we love it.

There are industries where we could make a lot more margin, but i sure wouldn't look forward to going to work.

[Bondonutz]

You deserve the support and admiration Patrick, you've single handedly have done sooo much for our beloved hobby.

[TexasSP]

I just remember were we were 8-10 years ago before there was CC in the car scene.

Let's see, Schultze Motto: It's all the customers fault no matter what, MGM, Motto: we'll get it fixed in 6-9 months if your lucky, BK Motto: sometimes we offer CS, sometimes not, Hacker Motto: we had a car controller, we may again, good luck getting it fixed when it blows up, the Quark, we're smooth but our controller may not actually meet spec.

Not too mention that with the exception of BK (who's quality was very poor) all of these alternatives were twice the price of what CC offers.

While there are many Chinese branded alternatives on the market today, none would be here without Castle's dedication and success.

Patrick, we are glad you have stayed dedicated to the RC world. We have lost many good companies to the higher margin side of things. I can definitely see the lure of this, but sometimes not everything is worth the extra money.

[bigblkblazin]

I am a castle fan boy and god damn proud of it . Castle Customer service is the shit. 3 controllers in the last year and they backed me up 100 % .

One of the times Patrick directly resolved my controller problem. I think that's why all my controllers, becs are castle . The man stands behind is product. No one can question that.

Someone on here told me to buy 2 of everything just in case . Send it back and move on with life . RC is the most spendy frigging hobby . If you don't wanna invest this hobby it may not be for you .

[_paralyzed_]

The best indicator of future performance is past behavior.

Maturity lends itself to looking at the big picture rather than the immediate circumstances.

fastbaja5b admits Castle was the best of the best, but right now he has the bitter taste of blueberries in his mouth, and damn it, he wants everyone to know!

I stand loyally by Castle's side and fully expect them to return to where they were.

Thank you Castle, Thank you Patrick.

[magman]

I am willing to bet that the CC haters here forget that ALL companies go through rough stretches, but, the select few companies who persevere, usually end up becoming the best of the best.

My RC addiction was no where until CC gave us the products we have today. Now, I am a loyal customer for 8+ yrs...and counting!!!

[outlaw]

I would work as a volunteer for Castle in my spare time
But the distance is a little to long to get to work "in time"

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by outlaw

I would work as a volunteer for Castle in my spare time
But the distance is a little to long to get to work "in time"

Mirko, I'd love to have you come volunteer for Castle!!!

It's ok, we'll wait for you to get here.

[bdebde]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

Mirko, I'd love to have you come volunteer for Castle!!!

It's ok, we'll wait for you to get here.

Or a no travel option.... he can help with email overload, just select THE castle inbox and hit forward all!

[outlaw]

None travel option

This is what i do for 14 year now...
working for a AL Birmingham company as Senior Technical Support Eng.

But certainly not a bad idea... could do some of the "european support"

An "somehow" we do a lot controler and motor testing already
Just for passion

Patrick, next time I'll be in AL i will get some days off and will come up to Kansas...

[Kirkinsb]

My Mamba XL2 warranty replacement took about 15 days from the day I shipped it to them to me having a new one on my door step. Seems pretty good to me. I think they are getting more "on top" of the huge rush of XL recalls. I am pretty happy...

My XL2 did not go up in smoke. I had it in a brushless revo and encountered a low speed, but very sharp hit to the chassis from a ridge I did not see in the cement. It went from about 15mph to a dead stop instantly. My XL2 stopped working immediately from the sharp impact. Then later on the bench, trying to see if a connection on the esc failed....it did go up in smoke. Just a little bit...not a huge inferno.

But it was the low speed sharp impact that killed mine.

In my Baja 5t, I have had hundreds of impacts with no XL2 failures...so I kind of figure this failure was a fluke.... Castle took care of me in less than a couple weeks.

I am no fanboy...and I was super mad at them a year ago when i burned up 3 Version 1s and 2s..... But all seems much better now a year later with the XL2.

[hemiblas]

For my car electronics I have always run Castle, but I'm always trying to save a buck and for my cheaper airplanes since they eventually crash anyway, I tried to get away with cheaper cotrollers, but I'm done with that too. I've tried just about every brand of cheap controller and I really havent found one that works the way its supposed to. You name it and I have it and the issues are always there. Either the controller wont handle anywhere close to its amp rating, or the 3A bec wont handle some of the faster servos, or the startup routines just suck, or the motor loses sink at high rpms. Its always some funny issue and to figure it out I always put my ice controller in to see why the issue is happening. One day I had an idea, maybe I could just put an ice controller in to begin with and bypass the funny issues and slowly but surely I'm converting my fleet over to all Castle controllers. Warranty service is also non-existant on the cheap controllers so there is really no use in complaining. My last warranty claim from oversees took 7 months. 7 months!!!!!!!!! I'm another year older now.
I was a bit annoyed with the failures on the MMM V1 and V2s too, but really there is no one else that comes even close to providing the products and warranty support that Castle offers.

[Kirkinsb]

Originally Posted by hemiblas

For my car electronics I have always run Castle, but I'm always trying to save a buck and for my cheaper airplanes since they eventually crash anyway, I tried to get away with cheaper cotrollers, but I'm done with that too. I've tried just about every brand of cheap controller and I really havent found one that works the way its supposed to. You name it and I have it and the issues are always there. Either the controller wont handle anywhere close to its amp rating, or the 3A bec wont handle some of the faster servos, or the startup routines just suck, or the motor loses sink at high rpms. Its always some funny issue and to figure it out I always put my ice controller in to see why the issue is happening. One day I had an idea, maybe I could just put an ice controller in to begin with and bypass the funny issues and slowly but surely I'm converting my fleet over to all Castle controllers. Warranty service is also non-existant on the cheap controllers so there is really no use in complaining. My last warranty claim from oversees took 7 months. 7 months!!!!!!!!! I'm another year older now.
I was a bit annoyed with the failures on the MMM V1 and V2s too, but really there is no one else that comes even close to providing the products and warranty support that Castle offers.

I have to agree with you. Overall, I am pleased now that most of the teething problems seem to be over with the XL controllers. Seems things are good again....or at least that is my thought based on my recent experience. I have to rate my latest warranty repair experience an "A+". I really could not have asked for more.

[lincpimp]

I have ahd good success from Castle. Started with a MM when they 1st came out, and have run just about everything brushless they have offered, for cars, boats and air/heli.

I have had a few let go, a few were my fault, and a few were not? Anyways, I have used CC warranty support a dozen times or so. Sometimes they were out of stock and I had to wait, other times it was a quick turnaround. A few times they decided that they did not want my money and gave me a replacement free... Cannot complain.

Bottom lines is : YOU ARE PLAYING WITH TOYS!!!! THIS IS UPPOSED TO BE FUN!!! COMPLAINING ABOUT PROBLEMS YOU ARE HAVING WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING FUN IS POINTLESS!!!

We played on the edge with electric rc back in the day, I remember this. You had to figure it out, seat of the pants style. Nothing was "gauranteed", it was all untested. Now everyone thinks they can just buy some stuff and throw it together and never have to worry about it. If you are having issues with e-rc, go back to nitro.

If you think this is an expensive hobby, you are in the minor leagues. Buy a drag bike or car, or get into gun collecting, or offshore boat racing. RC is cheap and easy. I can build a complete rc monster truck in an evening.

Anyways, good luck to CC, I hope they can catch up and grow. Every business has a model, and I am sure Patrick is more pissed than any customer. I know how he feels, as I own a business too. If you do not, you will never trulyu understand the stress and pressures.

[outlaw]

@lincpimp

well written you nailed it more than perfect