Revs -

Upon what do you base your statements, experience or
word-of-mouth?

The only reason I ask is that the windings of the motor
should act as coils, not unlike the coils in old points-based
auto ignitions. When you open the brush from one winding,
the voltage in that winding should increase until it's high enough
to arc to a lower-voltage point somwhere in the can. It should
arc to the brush, where the caps soak up all the current and prevent
it from getting back to the ESC.

During this time, however, the diode should remain reverse-biased,
so it shouldn't be turning on. If you've got oscilloscope traces showing
the diode functioning in an RF-suppression role, I'd love to see it. I'm
pretty close to slapping a 'scope on my motor/ESC and taking a look at
what's really going on with and without the diode, but if you've already
got that data, it would really end this discussion once and for all.

Mike