4S Crawling? Castle Mamba Micro x2 (Install, Test, Review)
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- I have been wanting something like this for awhile!!!!
A quality ESC and motor combo that will allow us to use 4S lipo batteries in RC crawlers - and Castle Creations delivered!
Castle has released the Micro X2 (www.ebay.com/itm/403570804428....
This is a small ESC packs the capability to handle 4S batteries (ones used in the video: amzn.to/3KFK8xS), with crawler ESC settings, and a sensored 2850kv motor!
In this video, I set a baseline with the stock Element brushed setup, then swap to the Castle combo to see how much difference there is.
Video timeline:
0:00 Intro
1:03 Unboxing
1:31 Overview
4:01 Baseline
7:23 Install
12:26 Test Drive
16:28 Review
Hobbywing video referenced: • Which is better? Brus...
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Can’t wait to see your update on this after getting the Castle Link. I love the Castle systems on my crawlers.
The link is ordered! Hopefully it will be here soon!
Hahahaha! The backwards wheelie killed me!
It did it so easy as well!!!
love the content. Subbed, keep it up!
Thanks!
That is a nice ESC and motor set up, Thats how i was when i bought my first Castle esc, If they are going to give you the programmer for free they should put it in the box. But well worth getting the one for the computer lots of tuning ability with it. I also just bought mine on amazon for $20 got here faster
Thanks!
Castle says it has shipped, so we will see.
Oh no! Hope it works well, at least it’s not a XlX2! I had 3 fail in one day. The 4th one worked fine. Yes one caught on fire. This was last week. Great video! 👊👍💯🍻
Oh gosh! Yes, no fires here!
That is a cool looking track
Thank you!
I just preordered the micro x2 the other day. U mentioned the micro x2 is the only 4s crawler esc. I run 4s in all my crawlers. The mamba x is 6s rated n the copperhead is 4s rated. Have u ever tried turnigy batts? Ive got the turnigy graphene panther 1.4 4s 75c (green n black) batts that are about the size of the 850mah u showed. I get better than 2 hrs run time from one batt.
The castle link is much better than the field card. U have more options to setup the esc n cc bec aswell
Yes - you are right. I missed the Copperhead.
Thanks for the tip on the Turnigy battery.
the 1.4 4s graphene are on sale for $16. glad to hear you get 2 hours on them.
Looking good
Thanks!
I like the castle link. ETA: I did buy it ahead of time. It arrived before the Copperhead did. I can get by with brushed just fine, especially with all the gearing options there are now. Brushless is fun and the motors should last a very long time.
Longevity and battery life are nice bonuses for sure.
You should be able to change some parameters of the ESC with your remote. Most if not all castle ESC's can do about 9 minor changes, like brake mode, crawler mode, motor reversing, lipo/nickel mode, voltage cut off. Should be able to reverse the motor using the beeps.
You are right. The manual showed it. I really don't like doing that as I am always afraid of a mis-step.
@@RoadsideRC You're not gonna mess it up 😂 can always go back. Only thing that may happen in breaking plastic trans gears from that 4s power ☺️ about the only part you could get really wrong is lipo mode. Even then you just kill the batteries. I've tried alot of cheap ESC's I like Castle and Hobbywing, they are my go-to power systems.
That looks a very good set up did you try changing the motor wire’s around to see if it wasint running backwards 👍👍
Can't do that with a brushless sensored system. They have to be in order.
On any crawler that has a standard 3 gear transmission you could just unbolt and and rotate the skid around to change the motor rotation if room allows. With the element based vehicles you have to open up the transmission and change the gearing placement. You can swap the gears around to have overdrive to the front again but I do not know if flipping the transmission around would put the motor or spur gear cover in a bad spot.
You are right! This trans requires disassembly, but can be swapped.
Ive been doing 4s crawling for years using the mamba x lol. With any element you need to reverse the motor rotation. It is a pain in the butt to use the code to get the free programmer but its better than most brands where you have to pay 50 bucks for the programmer extra. I have a bunch of castle programmers along with hobbywing. I still think the mamba x is the best bang for the buck when it comes to overpowering a crawler.
Thanks for the feedback!
Now, I need to find a different pinion for this truck. It is too overpowered on 4S. Harder to modulate the low-speed - so I was thinking of going down in pinion to help it out.
Doesn't Castle market the Copperhead and Mamba X for crawlers as well? Those are also 4s capable unless I am incorrect in that.
You are right. I missed that.
homie done forgot about the copperhead 4S capabilities ;)
I sure did! Good catch!
Haven’t dived into brushless fully yet. Just got a motor, waiting for an esc. But can’t you just swap the two Outter leads to change the phase angle rotation like on a full scale electric motor?
That is only doable for non-sensored setups. With a sensored setup, you have to reverse the direction in the programming.
@@RoadsideRC good to know, thanks!
@@RoadsideRC now that I think about it that’s good for me. Doing a purple build with a GSpeed purple Cf V3, and the purple Holmes servo and both 1800kv and 2700kv motors. Both of which aren’t sensored, so if I run into this issue I now know it’s safe to reverse the leads! Thanks for the clarification.
Battery life increased and I think it's the only advantage. You will never need additional power or speed when trailing/crawling and even if you try the chassis and ground clearance doesn't allow it...brushed still works fine and it's a lot cheaper. Maybe one of this days they become history but at least now they are the better option for this type of rc.
I do agree with you. Brushed still works really well for crawling.
The only place we split is on wheelspeed. I really like wheelspeed for when I need to "hop" over an obstacle....and sometimes it is just fun...
I agree with you, but I just ended up in a situation where there is no brushed combo that is cheaper than a revolver+micro x set for the right amount of wheelspeed and torque. I just happen to have a weird gearing. It's a capra thing
The Holmes Torquemaster BR/XL esc and the H.H. high-end brushed motors are 4s capable. I paired mine with an 11t Torquemaster Magnum. 3s is good enough for me right now, but I may go to 4s just to have something different. You can also run 4s with the Mamba-X and Copperhead esc on a crawler. I think that would be a great esc for more of a comp crawler setup, out on the trail I like my higher kv motors, but my rigs are a little heavy (right at 10 lbs.) It would probably be fine on something lighter like you have though. I like the way they changed the look of it. And looks like they added a small fan to the top? Let me know if I'm wrong about that. Good video.
I agree for sure - 3S is typically all that anyone would ever need.
Unfortunately, it still doesn't have a fan - that is just a huge heatsink.
@@RoadsideRC I had to order the Castle link for the H.H. Torquemaster BR/XL esc and it doesn't come with a coupon so I had to pay $25 plus S/H. and have only used it once to turn the "Holmes hold" active brake on. I wish everything was as easy to program as my Axe system.
Do you think you could do a video tour of your backyard crawler course and talk about how you made it? I'm trying to build one and need some tips/ inspiration
I keep meaning to do a new version of that video - an update for 2022...and I just have not gotten to it. Maybe you will make me do it now!! :)
Here are some other videos to look at for ideas:
My old course: czcams.com/video/NOeS4vuqCW8/video.html
Obstacle build: czcams.com/video/lekq7pJObq4/video.html
Friend's backyard course: czcams.com/video/vvS_P4enKO8/video.html
@@RoadsideRC Great! thanks so much!
Does it make the screaming noise the copperhead and the slate motors make?
It is not silent, but not as noisy as those either.
Once I get it programmed, I will have another video where you can hear it better. This one had too much background noise (dogs, lawnmowers, etc).
what is the noise/sound? is it loud? the music doenst allow to hear it
Yeah, we had a neighbor mowing, so the video sound was bad.
It is rather quiet. Not silent, but pretty quiet.
I’m having the same problem with the reverse. Mine is also accelerating as soon as I turn the remote off. Any tips?
As soon as you turn the remote off?
That means you don't have the failsafe set correctly.
@@RoadsideRC yes when I turn the remote off it starts moving on it’s own. I don’t think I changed anything but maybe I did when I was having problems calibrating it. I think My remote was set to reverse so when I tried calibration it wouldn’t until I tried it holding reverse at powered up and did the calibration. Hopefully the failsafe is easy the change.
The Copperhead 10 has an up to weight of 7.5lbs, it's going in my SCX 10.3 Gladiator thats almost 9lbs. I don't know how they rate the Micro X at 9lbs?
I don't remember the specs off the top of my head. This ESC and motor combo has done well. My truck is certainly lighter though.
You do know that the copperhead is a 4S ESC which is also a castle and they have a crawler edition for that one also Mama x has crawler edition if you're a hobby Wing guy yes they don't offer for 4s
Yes, I had forgotten about the Copperhead.
you can change that with the controller commands you dont need the link there is a sequence with the controller should be on page 28 onward in the drivers ed book it came with
Here is the problem: I am always VERY leery of the throttle = yes, brake = no...."Am I really doing this right???" AAAAAAHHHHHHH.
I'll just get the programmer and be done with it. :)
You should do your research there are many 4s crawler escs that have been around before the microx2 was even talked about
You are correct - I got that wrong.
I have sidewinders, Mamba X, Mamba Micro, I never bought the castle link, or field card. I run them in crawlers. Super slow modulation....
Thanks!
Is there really no other 4s esc?
The Castle Copperhead will also do 4S
First 4s crawler esc? You mean first 4s Micro esc?
Lots of regular size 4 to 6s crawler esc's.
You are right!
link to your 4s 1800mAh battery?¿
Here you go: amzn.to/3KFK8xS
@@RoadsideRC thanks!
The BLink rules when it comes to castle Bluetooth connectivity at your finger tips try tht it’s worth the $50
Thanks!
@@RoadsideRC you’re welcome big fan of you watch ur videos they’ve helped a ton keep up the great work 👍🏽
Try swapping any 2 motor wires to correct the problem you're having.
That doesn't work with a sensored setup. It has to be in the correct A-B-C order.
@@RoadsideRC does it work with sensorless brushless?
Yes!
I just put a HH Crawlmaster Sport 8T in my Ecto, running a HW 1080 and 3S power. I thought I'd still want a Fusion someday, but not after experiencing this combo. czcams.com/video/oll-MbBeSXo/video.html
The 4S capable Castle is interesting though. I'm looking forward to the follow up video when you have it all set up!!
I agree! With that setup you have, why would you need a brushless setup?
I didn't think the HW1080 would run all the way down to a 8T motor on 3S. I thought it was limited to 16T or similar.
@@RoadsideRC, it seems to be doing fine so far. Probably just my newb-ness, but I didn't even check the ratings before I did it. Guess I'm now doing some endurance/durability testing to see how long it lasts.
@@RoadsideRC, I was just looking through the comments on the Exocaged RC video where he installed an 8T Crawlmaster Sport in an SCX10.3 with a Stealth transmission and HW1080 on 3S. Someone asked the same question you did and Joe answered they work together because the 5 slot motors are lower KV than 3 slot motors.
czcams.com/video/7fyfUjomiTE/video.html
Please Troy read the manual you can make the changed by beeps ....OMG
I did read it. Really don't like doing it via the beeps - really easy to make a mistake. Would rather have the tuner.
@@RoadsideRC Agree the Bluetoorh or USB it makes it easy....me Castle fan all the way ...HW I struggle with it burnt up one ESC smokes my Pro Programmer...I struggle...
Troy if you have questions hit me up more then glad to help...look at throttle ramp this is the great part of the Castle ....like I said hit me up dude...
i mean 4s crawling is freacking pointless simply dont need the power
Don't knock it until you try it!
The extra voltage will allow me to gear down even more. Best of both worlds - even more torque down low, with the same or higher top wheelspeed.