Hello, I just got a Mini Funtana, a 40amp brushless esc, a park 480 outrunner motor, a 2100mah 3 cell lipo battery, and the 4 servos to do the job. I had previously learned with a NexStar Select RTF gas plane. I am trying to test out the electronics and get them working but I am having some problems. I plug the motor into the esc, and all the servos into the reciever, and then the esc into the throttle port of the reciever like the instructions say. When I turn on the radio and plug in the battery all the servos start to twitch and the battery beeps like it is supposed to. Then when I bring the throttle down on the controller and wait a second the esc beeps twice (like it says it should) but everything keeps twitching and the engine will start moving regardless of what im doing with the radio. It seems the radio doesnt controll anything??? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a setting I am missing? The crystal for the radio is out of the NexStar Select plane so I know they work together. Any advice for testing out the electronics? Thanks so much.

Have you checked to make sure your Tx battery has a full charge? My electrics will do that sometimes if there isn't enough juice in the Tx battery. Also make sure you read the sequence for setting the bec on your esc or it will run your lipo down all the way. I allmost ruined my first one that way. Good luck.

I dont even know what the bec is! How do I know if I have ruined by Lipo battery!!! I hope I didnt, they cost $100 almost and are on backorder for months. Lucky me I have two but it would be a heartbreak to loose one. What is this bec? Is there something I dont have? I thought all I need is the batter, reciever, esc, motor, and servos?

The bec (battery eliminator circuit) is the part of the esc that supplies power to the receiver and servos, so that you supply all the power from the motor battery, and don't need a separate receiver battery.
Check your esc instructions, there will be a limit on how many servos you can run off the BEC. You can also disable the BEC and use a separate receiver battery instead - you might want to try that and see if you eliminate the problems.
I doubt you ruined your LIPO unless you left everything plugged together for a long time. Most esc's have to be set up for the correct type battery and number of cells, or the correct motor cutoff voltage, so you don't overdischarge the battery. You also do not want to leave the battery connected after you finish flying - the esc and receiver will still draw some power and continue to run down the battery.

Well I looked through the 40-amo brushless ESC instructions. Its the E-Flight with dual BEC & advanced programming ESC (whatever that means?). I am using a 3-Cell Li-Po 2100mah battery pack. It tells me how to set voltage cutoff and then how to turn on Li-Po. What is the break though? At the end it says to turn the break on move the throttle back to the full position. To turn off the break move it to the off position. Is the voltage cutoff with moving the throttle basicly to see what "full-throttle" is for me when I have the controller to full? So when I set it I am good? Other then that what is the break again? Also, once I do this, do I need to do this each time I plug in the battery or do the settings save? Thanks so much for your help, im new to all of this. One more thing... it says to have the battery topped off when I try this, is this true? Also do Li-Po batteries have a "memory"? Can I start charging when they have only been discharged a little? Should I fully disscharge everytime before charging. Im so sorry about all the questions, im really new with this whole brushless lipo thing. Thanks again.

NEVER fully discharge a LiPo battery!!! That's the reason for the cutoff feature on the ESC. The "break" you are refering to is probably a brake. It keeps the prop from windmilling and causing extra drag when the motor is shut off. This is desireable for electric sailplanes.

Yes these guys are correct, & it's the voltage cutoff that will ruin your lipo if it is not set. My first brushless set up was with an E-Flite esc too. I just assumed that it came with the bec working. You know, play first, read later? Well it turns out they are not set until you go thru the sequence on the card that came with your esc to set it up. So I go to cycling my new lipo and the plane just runs & runs & runs, I'm thinking wow this is gonna be great this thing has ran for 45 min & it still hasn't shut off ! I finally got tired & shut her down myself. Thought I'd return to cycling it in the morning. Only now it does nothing! I go put it on the charger & 2 minutes later it's beeping like it's all charged up, nothing! [X(]Turns out I reversed a cell according to the LHS where I bought it. Luckily it came good after a week it started to take a charge again. But I'm sure it doesn't perform to it's potential. So do yourself a big favor, read first, play later.

Glitching can occur due to a number of things. How is your antenna on the rx routed? How close is the esc to the rx? Are the connectors firmly plugged into the rx? Is the wires from the motor to the esc and then to the rx kinked in any way? All these things can cause glitches and twitchy servos.

Dave...

Ok I did everything everyone is suggesting and everything still twitches all over the place. Also the instructions on the back of the ESC card to set it dont work. It says to turn transmitter on with throttle on full. When I plug the battery in the ESC beeps once. Then I wait 5 seconds and it is supposed to beep a second time, it doesnt. I then move the throttle control to the center position, it doesnt beep here either. I then move back to full and wait, still not another beep. Then I move it to the center position, it beeps twice, and all the sudden the brushless motor starts buzzing, but my controller doesnt control anything. Should my controller be working or does it have to set first? What is this twitching why wont it stop?

Ok, one more thing. I just tried a few options and here is where I am at. Im positive the crystal in the reciever works with the controller because I have another plane I tried it in and the radio transmitter and crystals work great. Now something is going on with the reciever I think that is causing me problems. I took the ESC off of the reciever and plugged another alternate nicad battery in the battery port of the reciever and everything twitched the exact same as when I gave the thing power from the Li-Po running through the esc. So its getting power, the esc works because its beeping, just the reciever is giving everything funny signals. Now I know im plugged in right and everything is snug, the reciever antenna is going off another direction so not to be close to anything else, is there something im missing for set-up on the reciever?

Are you using a new receiver?

Do your servos operate correctly with just the servos, receiver, and receiver battery connected? (Leaving the esc unplugged, and of course no battery on the esc).

If not, make sure you bought a receiver that is compatible with your transmitter. There are "positive shift" and "negative shift" transmitters - the receiver has to match, unless you get a universal shift receiver that works with both. Futaba & Hitec are negative shift, and I think Airtronics & JR are probably positive shift, someone correct me if I'm wrong (only have Futabe myself).
You also have to have the transmitter set to FM(PPM) or PCM to match the receiver.
There are also single-conversion and dual-conversion receivers - the crystals are not interchangeable on the two types. Most of the small electric planes use a single-conversion receiver, and usually you have a dual-conversion on a larger plane because it has better reception range and interference rejection. The same transmitter will work with either type receiver.

One problem I had programming an esc was that it did not recognize full throttle unless I also set the trim all the way up on the throttle.

After contacting the people at Horizon hobbies apparently the JR single conversion reciever (not dual conversion crystal) is not compatable with the transmitter I have for futaba unless you open it up and modify it a little bit. They said I can send the controler into Futaba and they will modify it and then I have to get another set of crystals for the JR reciever. Its basicly a pain to get the micro jr reciever even though it is negative shift set up with the futaba radio. Sucks huh? Now I have to get a Futaba radio setup and probably try to return the reciever because its negative shift? This is such a pain.

why not buy a used jr transmitter.they can be found for about $50

I did consider that but I would have to sell my negative shift reciever then and buy a positive shift. JR uses positive shift but they made a negative shift to be compatable with Futaba transmitters... If this crystal I ordered somehow fails to work I will go that rout.

Should work fine with the proper single-conversion crystal. The only problems I've heard about between Futaba radios and single conversion receivers is with the much newer 9Z series using the synthesized transmitter module.

When you get the crystal, hook up the receiver and servos using the usual receiver battery, without the esc connected. Then if you have problems with the esc connected, you will know its not a problem with the other components. You may have to reverse the throttle on the transmitter also - depents on the esc. Don't remember if you mentioned the transmitter model, but there should be a servo reverse switch on the transmitter, or a program setting if its a computer radio. If you have to reverse it, please remember to disconnect the esc battery before doing this, or you will instantly go from off to full power on the motor (speaking from experience there).

Good luck, and have fun with the new plane.

Shift and receivers:

Futaba normally transmits using a negative shift method - Doesn't matter what it means only that the receiver you use has to be negative shif. Futaba or Hitec receivers are normally negative shift.

JR and Airtronics normally transmit using positive shift. So you can normally interchange these.

Hitec does make both positive and negative shift versions of their receivers so you can buy the one that works with your radio.

Some radios can perform what is called Shift Select - That means the radio can be set to transmit in postive or negative shift. Hitec Optic 6 and Eclipse 7 are examples of shift selectable radios. The can use any kind of receiver.

So, if you have a Futaba radio, you should buy Futaba or Hitec receivers, or receivers that say negative shift, shift selectable or Futaba/Hitec compatible.

Hope that helps.