Mtroniks ESC help please!

[Old Falcon Lad]

All

Firstly, apologies if this is a daft question - I'm really new to the world of ESCs, and I may be making a simple mistake. I got my first RC running again in 20 years last year, the Bear Hawk in my showroom. I ran it a couple of times fine, then put it away in the dry.

Just got it out with my 3 year old to have a look, and the ESC has gone haywire. It's an Mtroniks Sniper RV-20 Auto from Modelsport, that I don't think I can reset as such.

When I turn it on now, both levers on the transmitter (normal Acoms techniplus AP-202) are controlling the steering, and I have no control over the throttle. This occasionally kicks in when I move the steering lever on the Tx (Channel 2), but otherwise nothing.

I've pulled it apart and can't see anything wrong, no frayed wires, loose plugs etc. I can't believe I fried it already, it's not even been run in!

Any advice please?????

Yours in desperation,

Paul

[chris350z]

http://www.mtroniks.net/resources/AUTOSPOR...nstructions.pdf

Follow the intrustions to restore stock setting and then re program it.

Good luck

[Old Falcon Lad]

http://www.mtroniks.net/resources/AUTOSPOR...nstructions.pdf

Follow the intrustions to restore stock setting and then re program it.

Good luck

Thanks, tried that though and no joy. Would taking the ESC out completely help, to give it time to recompose itslef??!!

[Gruntfuggly]

Sounds more like a transmitter/receiver problem if both channels are controlling the steering - the ESC should supply power to the Rx, but doesn't send signals to the steering servo. Have you got another receiver or transmitter you can try with?

[OrangeSport]

I have the same ESC in a couple of cars. It resets itself each time you turn it on. You must always forwards throttle first, so it knows that what forwards is. You say that when you steer (channel 2) it sometimes goes. Is that a typo, or have you got the ESC and steering servo in the wrong RX plugs? Steering is usually channel one, and power channel two....

[Percymon]

I'd also advise you put any trim adjustments on your TX to neutral/centre positions before powering on.

[Old Falcon Lad]

Thanks guys,

Tried all of the above without success, including swapping both connectors round in the receiver - still just getting control of the steering plus some random forward and reverse power. I'll pull it apart and look for damage, but it's all new gear.

I've some old receivers that I've not tested yet, so I'll try and swap in one of those to see if it helps. Any other bright ideas appreciated!

P

[Kevin_Mc]

i've still to run mine's for the first time, i'll maybe do it this week but really should leave it a few weeks as i have Uni exams to do first.

hopefully you get it sorted and it's an easy fix

[tonysmini]

It's almost defiantly a transmitter/receiver fault, there's no reason for an ESC to pick up steering inputs unless the fault is in the receiver.

Check your crystals, I had a few issues with one of mine, an Auto 20 too actually, and after pulling everything apart, the only things I used over and over again were the ESC and the crystals, guess what it was??

A new crystal set and hey presto, everything worked. It's worth a look if the different tx/rx doesn't fix it.

[Old Falcon Lad]

Hi guys

Well, the kids are in bed and the Mrs out, so I finally had a bit of time to try and get to the bottom of this. In the end it seems its the transmitter - I tried the same Tx crystal in an old Acoms AP-227 and all work's fine. Also tried the dodgy transmitter on a seperate set of radio gear and had the same problem.

No idea why this nearly new handset is sending out odd signals controlling both/neither/wrong channels intermittantly - do these things go wrong easily? And can they be fixed? As the 20 year old one seems to work fine and the new one's packed up, I might just buy vintage from now on!

But maybe my 3 year old has been fiddling when Daddy's not looking... Can't rule out an accidental bounce down the stairs whilst I've been at work!

[tonysmini]

Are the RX and TX from a matched set? (Same age) You may find that it's that, a new TX may have issues with an old RX, the technology is much better these days, it could be something that simple.

If it plays up with every one of your RX's, you may be able tosend it back yo the shop you got it from or the manufacturer if it's worth repairing. It could be a loose or crossed wire inside.

[Old Falcon Lad]

Are the RX and TX from a matched set? (Same age) You may find that it's that, a new TX may have issues with an old RX, the technology is much better these days, it could be something that simple.

If it plays up with every one of your RX's, you may be able tosend it back yo the shop you got it from or the manufacturer if it's worth repairing. It could be a loose or crossed wire inside.

Yep, they were a matched set so I suspect a loose or crossed wire might be the issue. Is it easy to take these things apart and look for these sort of issues? Knowing my luck I might find it mysteriously full of Ribena or worse from the kids...

[Gruntfuggly]

In my experience, transmitters are pretty simple to take apart - stick transmitters are safer too because the stick assemblies are usually self contained (springs won't ping out when you take the back off). Remove the battery cover, batteries, and all the casing screws and you should be able to get the back off. Unscrew the antenna from the circuit board. There should be a few screws holding the circuit board to the front. Remove these and hopefully you should be able to lift the board off - there will be small wires running from the board to the sticks - be careful not to pull these off...

Hopefully that will at least let you check for Ribena contamination!

Please note - I take no responsibility in case your transmitter never works again...