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Tamiya esc's?

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Hey guys

Wondered what the difference of the Tamiya esc's are, so tried to make a list of the ones available now. Maybe it have been made before, but then I haven't been able to find it. There are a few blanks, maybe some of you guys can chime in on those?

TEU101BK (what is the turn limit?)

TEU104BK says 25t limit

TEU105BK says 25t limit

TEU302BK says 17t limit

TEU106BK is for 2 x 25t. motors

TEU103BK is for 2 motors (what is the turn limit here?)

TEU102BK is for Tamtech

What is the difference between TEU104BK and TEU105BK?

So if I want a Tamiya esc to go with the Superstock motors I need the TEU302BK, or have any of you guys used the motors with the TEU105BK??

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teu104bk (and 101bk) do not include a BEC. Very stupid thing to do nowadays, plug the batt cable into a modern receiver and you will fry both the receiver and the servo

teu105bk finally addresses this issue

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Single motor electronic speed controllers

TEU-101BK: 25 Turns limit (60 A). 100% Forward / 100% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 7.2V.
TEU-104BK: 25 Turns limit (60 A). 100% Forward / 50% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 7.2V. LiFe cutoff (disengageable).
TEU-105BK: 25 Turns limit (60 A). 100% Forward / 50% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 7.2V. LiFe cutoff (disengageable). Battery Eleminator Circuit (BEC) output 6V/1A.
TEU-302BK: 17 Turns limit (120 A). 100% Forward / 50% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 500 Hz / 1 kHz / 2 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 8.4V. Battery Eleminator Circuit (BEC) output 6V/2A.

Dual motor electronic speed controllers

TEU-103BK: Dual 25 Turns limit (150 A). 100% Forward / 50% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 7.2V. Battery eliminator circuit (BEC) output 6V/1A.
TEU-106BK: Dual 25 Turns limit (150 A). 100% Forward / 50% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 6.6V - 7.2V. Battery eliminator circuit (BEC) output 6V/2A.

Tamtech Gear electronic speed controller

TEU-102BK: For Tamiya 370-sized and 380-sized motors (60 A). 100% Forward / 100% Reverse (Reverse disengageable). Driving frequency 1 kHz. Battery input 7.2V. Battery eliminator circuit (BEC) output 6V/?A.

Addendum

- Running Tamiya motors below the respective Turns limit shown above is excluded from warranty and thus goes at your own risk.
- The GT Tuned 25 Turns and Sport Tuned 27 Turns motors are safe to use with the TEU-101/104/105BK, as well as in dual motor configuration with the TEU-103/106BK.
- All Sport Tuned motors are 27 Turns, regardless of country or misleading datasheets. Vintage Sport Tuned motors featured a slightly longer pinion shaft (necessary on some vintage chassis types), recent Sport Tuned motors are just equipped with a standard length shaft. Please see this article. They are timed, thus having a preferred running direction.
- The SuperStock 23 Turns motors are meant to be used with the TEU-302BK.
- Tamiya USA is providing a misleading turns limit specification of 23 Turns for the TEU-302BK, while the true limit is in fact 17 Turns.
- Speed controllers without BEC: Their voltage ouput on the red 2-pin BAT lead depends on/matches the voltage input of the racing pack battery. This is usually around 7.2V for a 6-cell NiMH/NiCD pack, or 6.6V for a 2-cell LiFe pack.
- The LiFe cutoff is 2.4V per cell.
- No Tamiya speed controller features a LiPo suitable cutoff (3V per cell).


Remaining questions

- I have no idea what's behind the driving frequency specification. I know electronic speed controllers are essentially rapid on/off switches, but could somebody please enlighten me on why there are fixed frequencies and adjustable frequencies? I'd like to see a detailed techniacl explanation. The only insufficient (and badly translated) statement I found was this:

TEU-302BK: Three types of current flow adjuster allow driver to choose from three acceleration speeds, including mild setting for slippery conditions, quick setting for high grip track conditions.

Source: Stellamodels
- Could somebody please help me out with the missing BEC current information for the TTG TEU-102BK? Many thanks in advance.

Last update: 2013/11/08

This post is work-in-progess. :) So please stop by in the next days to see if some new information has been added.

Thanks for providing additional information:

stamatis

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teu104bk (and 101bk) do not include a BEC. Very stupid thing to do nowadays, plug the batt cable into a modern receiver and you will fry both the receiver and the servo

teu105bk finally addresses this issue

Is that true? If so, maybe that's why my CC-01 Jeep Wrangler ESC stopped working. The receiver seems fine though.

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Talking about Tamiya ESC, why did they make the supermodified without a ESC that can handle it :( would be nice to keep everything Tamiya in a car !

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Talking about Tamiya ESC, why did they make the supermodified without a ESC that can handle it :( would be nice to keep everything Tamiya in a car !

I guess Tamiya's brushed motors below 17 Turns were meant to be handled by the Tamiya CPR-160F unit (combined receiver + 160A ESC in a single case).

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Also on those kit esc's you can run motor much lower than 25 turns I run 20 turn motors in my tamiyas no problem... other 60amp continuous rated esc's show a much lower motor turn # than tamiyas safe 25 turn limit.

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Also on those kit esc's you can run motor much lower than 25 turns I run 20 turn motors in my tamiyas no problem... other 60amp continuous rated esc's show a much lower motor turn # than tamiyas safe 25 turn limit.

In fact, Tamiya's speed controller Turns ratings are more on the conservative/safe side. Which either could mean they are built to last even harder stresses than originally intended, which is needed to guarantee carefree full-throttle offroad driving on the specified motors. Or that could mean the specifications from other manufacturers are just blown up brazenly.

Decide for yourself. :)

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On the BEC thing, if the receiver being used has a built in BEC is that OK?

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It's funny that receivers and servos still mostly run on 6V. When did people last run 6V battery packs?

Especially for servos, 7.4v adds a decent extra punch.

BECs (Battery Eliminator Circuits) are for replacing 4x1.5V AA receiver dry cell packs, just like we all thought was a great idea back in '85.

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On the BEC thing, if the receiver being used has a built in BEC is that OK?

Yes.

Most FM/AM receivers do feature a BEC and thus will work at a wide range of voltages, so you can either use a BEC-equipped ESC or an non-BEC ESC.

Most 2.4GHz receivers do not feature a BEC. They are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. This means either the ESC has to be equipped with a BEC, or you have to use a small external BEC (commonly called U-BEC).

Most regular sized servos are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. Only a few are specified to operate under higher voltages.

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Eek! Better check my 2.4GHz receivers as I'm running a few with 101s and 104s!

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used 101's and 104's they seen to be able to go down to a 19t motor no problem did add a fan to my 104 for the dt-02 challenge standard class ..

never had a rx go on my cheap core pro rig using cheap hobbyking rx's

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As I understand, the reason for the variable drive frequency is to alter the low-end "punch". Low frequencies give more power to the motor at low throttle, while high frequencies are "weaker" in that regard. Also higher drive frequencies are more efficient than low frequencies and generally result in lower FET temperatures and more linear throttle response. The early ESCs like the Novak T1 and T4 and other early-generation models from Tekin and Futaba were 60Hz and made the motor emit a loud buzzing noise at low speed rather than the high pitch whine you hear from today's ESCs.

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I have run ARRMA 15T and Kyosho G20 (20T) motors safely with a TEU-104 ESC..

I also have never had a servo or RX fry from plugging in the BEC plug to the correct prongs in a open channel of a RX

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On the basic Tamiya TEU ESC's I have rubbed off the black paint on the heatsink and stuck a copper heatsink on there which is desinged for computer memory chips just to give a bit of extra cooling ;)

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I had one defective 2.4 GHz receiver (Acoms GR-24) in my Hornet due to running it without a BEC on a TEU-101BK.

It didn't broke right from the start, but it got glitchy over the months, lost siginificant radio range and eventually refused to work. I had to buy another GR-24 receiver and changed the ESC to a TEU-302BK.

Since then, I wouldn't want to lose control over one of my dear cars again, just for the sake of saving little money from omitting a BEC. :)

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I'm glad I read this - I recently ordered a Futaba 4PLS to replace my AM radios (only hope I can adjust to the wheel) but my cars have older Tamiya ESCs. So now I know to check the receiver specs before hooking anything up.

I think it'll actually be OK - the receivers are rated to 7.4V and I have 6-cell NiMH packs, but it's good to know beforehand that it might *not* be.

Thanks for the big list and the details.

Cheers,

Will

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It's not going to worry your receivers, but your servos may not like the higher voltage

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Yes.

Most FM/AM receivers do feature a BEC and thus will work at a wide range of voltages, so you can either use a BEC-equipped ESC or an non-BEC ESC.

Most 2.4GHz receivers do not feature a BEC. They are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. This means either the ESC has to be equipped with a BEC, or you have to use a small external BEC (commonly called U-BEC).

Most regular sized servos are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. Only a few are specified to operate under higher voltages.

That's why I stick with Spektrum RXes in my cars. They are rated up to 9.6V.

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Yes.

Most FM/AM receivers do feature a BEC and thus will work at a wide range of voltages, so you can either use a BEC-equipped ESC or an non-BEC ESC.

Most 2.4GHz receivers do not feature a BEC. They are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. This means either the ESC has to be equipped with a BEC, or you have to use a small external BEC (commonly called U-BEC).

Most regular sized servos are expecting a voltage of 4V - 6V. Only a few are specified to operate under higher voltages.

That's why I stick with Spektrum RXes in my cars. They are rated up to 9.6V.

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Don't forget the Tamiya Volac MS.... just a rebranded KO VFS-1, but in a funky chrome blue case. Tiny, solder / battery and motor pins, no motor limit that I can see.

Specs from RCMart:

  • Control system: PWM control, variable frequency
  • Max. instantaneous current: 3120A (FET)
  • Max. continuous current: 780A (FET)
  • Power supply: 4.8-8.4V (with 4-7 cells)
  • Application motor: TAMIYA electric motor for R/C cars
  • Driving frequency: 0.9-12KHz (with 64 steps)
  • Output voltage for receiver: 6V (input 7.2V)
  • Output current for receiver: 2A
  • Weight: 18.8g

I have a couple of these, although I certainly didn't pay the $160 - $200 they show as list price..... and now you don't have to either... http://www.tamiyaclub.com/trades_model.asp?cid=114092

Alex

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Best is to always use an external bec (rated at least for 3Amps cont / 5Amps peak) and a "glitch buster" capacitor plugged into the rx. Remember to disconnect the red (middle) wire coming from the esc to the rx, if the esc does include it's own bec.

Not such an issue on casual bashing cars with weak slow servo, but for example a fast digital servo for drift cars can pull up to 7Amps peaks when powered at 6V, resulting in short voltage drops that can reset the rx and cause brief interruptions. Spektrum receivers seem particularly sensitive on such voltage drops.

As downsides: wiring get messy; you have to connect somehow the bec to the battery; rx and servo are always powered on

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