Since most brushless boat ESCs do not have instant reverse, I went with a low cost rc car ESC from Hobby King that had instant reverse. www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp It can handle 100 amps continuous, has programmable instant reverse, and is protected by a plastic dust-proof case that is easily waterproofed. The fan isn't needed so that is removed. I remove the programming push button ... it had a tendancy of triggering programming mode when it got wet and isn't needed with a programming card. Programming is very easy with a programming board. www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp One card will program any of the HK RC car ESCs. Programming is easy ... just plug the ESC servo lead into the card, turn on the ESC power, click through the programming cards menu that is written on the card itself, then hit the write button. As easy as that and about as long as it took to write about it. The only real problem I ever had with the ESCs was that they sometimes lost sync with the receiver whenever a high amp draw pump motor was turned on. I tried LOTS of different ways to prevent it and ended up finally seperating the pump and drive system into thier own battery power (which a lot of people do anyway). Since doing that, the ESCs havn't lost sync. Note that it only happened with high amp draw pump motors such as Titans and Stingers ... the ESC works fine with stock BC pump motors. The Richelieu and Verite had low amp draw pump motors at TreatyCon and didn't have any desync issues.
One note here, another option with brushless ESC's I've used is the Castle creations mamba series (now superseeded by the sidewinder series). the reverse setting for instant reverse is available via programming (as are a lot of other options) that hobby king esc is a good looking find at less than half the price, however
You might be able to avoid having to run two ESC's by driving two shafts with one big motor using gears. I've never tried it (or brushless for that matter), so...take the idea for what you paid for it.
Actually, that is how the Erin is powered. One motor on a BC single motor/dual shaft gearbox. Works good.
Its good to know that works. I'm going to try that in some of my smaller ships with old brushed motors to see what I think. There's a few times I've gotten mossed or thrown a dog bone and been able to creep in on one shaft. Tying both shafts to one motor would obviously make that not possible anymore, so I'm not sure how much I am going to like it.
Doesn't that depend on where the dogbone is? If you have dogbones on the shafts between the gearbox and prop, you're protecting the gears from "shock" if your prop hits something. If you're running only one 'bone between the motor and gearbox, you could strip some gears. But in the first scenario, throwing one 'bone means one shaft is still powered.
I'm not presently using gears at all, with the exception of the Salem. Both the Invincible and the Belleau Wood have direct drive, and Salem has two motors geared to two shafts. With the BC one motor two shaft gear box, there will only be one dogbone between the box and the shaft, the motor doesn't need a dogbone to connect to the gear box. With my other ships, its one motor direct drive to one shaft, and I've lost one shaft due to a lost dogbone and to moss and the other still works. with the one motor to two shafts though a single gearbox if one binds up, both shafts are toast. If I throw a dogbone, one shaft will still turn.
frankly, I've never had the 1 motor 2 shaft gearbox totally lock up when one shaft binds. Usually, it breaks the tabs off the plastic dogbone on the bound shaft and continues propelling the other shaft.
That's interesting. I wouldn't have guessed it, but now that you mention it, it makes a lot of sense. There's really not a whole lot of plastic on the edges of those, the torque snapping them off makes sense.
Heh. At last year's Nats, I accidently grounded one of the Erin's props against the shore and snapped one dogbone. The ship continued battling on one shaft ... until a few minutes later when the brushless motor's torque and the stress of quick stopping/starting actually tore the plastic pins off the other dogbone, leaving the ship drifting. Luckily, we had a man in the water right after I called 5 which helped keep the Axis swarm from sinking the Erin ... well, that and no one really wanted to make a mistake and get behind the Erin's cannons. The entire incident was caught on Head Cam video which is posted on Youtube.
When I first aquired my Baden, it had a beautifully made stainless steel 2-bladed prop & a stainless steel dogbone. That thing would chop through anything I chose to run through those blades. I also discovered (the hard way) that driving it in very shallow water put a very, very sharp edge on that prop. I've since replaced the prop with a 2.25" 4-bladed Battlers Connection prop, but I've still got that SS dogbone.
I prefer to use U-Joints instead of dogbones. Less noise and more strength. I am building a pre-dread now in which they will get tested in their first "fast gun" warship. I am running two small brushless motors, one on each shaft... with gearboxes. I am excited to see how well they work. Das Butts
