Basic Electronic Speed Controllers

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Basic Electronic Speed Controllers

Basic Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC): An Overview and Guide

The majority of the population is overworked. Sometimes You just need to sit back and have some fun. RC cars have been a favorite pastime for years and a great hobby to take up for stress relief.

So, whether you are new to RC racing or a long time RC enthusiast, you should know and understand the basics of the RC electronic speed controller to make the most out of your RC car experience.

These controllers are much more advanced and have many more features than other models. This article is going to give you an overview and a basic guide to using electronic speed controllers (ESC).

Let’s take a look!

Electronic Speed Controllers

An ESC is a device that controls the power of an electronic motor. It works as a percentage and can allow you to change it anywhere from 0 percent to 100 percent. An ESC can either be a sole separate unit or can be united into a receiver.

There are two types of ESC, a brushed ESC, and a brushless ESC.

  • Brushed: This is the original ESC that has been around for quite a while. It’s the cheaper option that is used in most RC cars.
  • Brushless: This is the most advanced version of the brushed ESC. It allows you to have better performance and can last longer than the brushed version. However, it comes at a higher price.

In order to use an ESC, its important to properly calibrate it to your RC.

– Calibration

This is critical to properly controlling your RC. When you calibrate your ESC, you are setting it up so that your transmitter can effectively communicate to the RC. If you don’t calibrate correctly, you won’t have complete control of your RC.

In order to calibrate your ECS, you will need to go into the calibrate mode. You will have to calibrate it for full brake/reverse, full throttle, and neutral. Make sure to check with your ESC manual and follow the recommended steps for calibrating your specific RC.

Understanding ESC’s

The new ESC’s now allow you to tweak and change different aspects of how you race your car. With the modern ESC’s you’re able to control your RC much more! Here are the different aspects of your RC that you can change with an ESC –

Different Modes

The ESC’s allow you to access different driving modes for your RC. There are typically 3 choices for your RC –

  • FWD/BR: This is ideal for when you don’t want your RC to go in reverse. It restricts you to just controlling your acceleration and brakes. This can also prevent you from damaging your RC from accidentally going from forward to reverse to fast
  • FWD/REV/BR: This allows you to go forward, reverse, or break. This is just like driving a regular car and is the most basic setting
  • FWD/REV: Forward and reverse are the only options while in this setting. Most ESC’s don’t come equipped with this option

We recommend that you stick to the first two settings unless you’re a pro at using an ESC.

– Throttle

This is what going to control how soon your RC reacts after you’ve pulled the trigger. The higher your throttle setting is, the sooner your RC will accelerate after squeezing the trigger on your ESC. The better and more advanced controllers will have several different settings for your throttle. Generally, these are listed from levels 1 through 7.

Having different levels is going to come in use when you’re driving across different terrain. For example, You wouldn’t want to use the highest setting if you’re racing on the sand, your wheels would just spin and spin. Now, if you’re racing on asphalt, then setting on the highest level is going to be most beneficial.

– Brake

Similar to throttle, the brake force of your RC is going to depend on the settings with your ESC. The higher your set it, the harder you’re going to be able to break.

Just like with the throttle though, the higher your brake force, the less grip your RC will have to the ground. Using a high brake force on a ground that has a high grip can cause it to flip and crash.

– Drag

Another braking feature with ESC’s is drag braking. This occurs when your transmitter is in neutral. This allows you to automatically apply a percentage of braking accurately. This can help you reduce user errors while racing around the track.

– Thermal

Your typical ESC will be able to monitor its temperature threshold. You’ll be able to set your controller to automatically turn off if it becomes too hot. You want to take advantage of these so you don’t burn out your device.

– Voltage

Another great feature to pay attention to is the desired voltage. If you discharge your battery below 3.0v parcel, you can damage the battery beyond repair. Setting this up can help your batteries last much longer and not worry about losing performance.

Most of the newer ESC also has an auto-detect feature that shows if your batteries have been charged properly or whether they’ve gone bad. It is essential to only race your RC on a proper charge battery – otherwise, you risk damaging the battery more or your ESC.

Racing with ESC

Now that you know the basics of electronic speed controllers, it’s time to get out there and start racing your RC. Take some time to learn as much as you can and enjoy your hobby! Just remember everything we discussed and make sure you take advantage of all the advanced features in newer ESC’s.

If you have questions about ESC’s or RC racing, head over to our contact page and send us a message!