Need help with throttle
01-09-2006, 08:04 PM
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Need help with throttle
I'm an airplane guy, so please excuse my ignorance here. I was given a RC10 truck by a guy who is tired of it. It has a Futaba radio and BEC system. I have tried everything I know to get some throttle control, but it is basically stop or wide open throttle. On electric powered planes, I have the same throttle control as nitro, but this thing has a lot of trigger travel that is dead. Do I have a bad radio, or is there something I don't know? Thanks for any insight..
01-09-2006, 08:11 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
your ESC needs to be set-up again. usually this is a 30 second process. also, [although unlikely] there might be a MSC [mechanical] speed control on the car, so get rid of it if it is [as i said that is nearly impossible-but check it] and install an ESC. hope that helps. get the body off the car and tell us any info you find on that little box with some wires leading to the battery pack connector [usually has a heatsink on it as well] -that is the ESC [electronic speed controller].
01-09-2006, 08:34 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
you should ask your friend for the manual of that esc. although it is pretty easy to set it up without the manual, it is a little difficult to list every step within a forum for that particular esc-which personally i haven`t owned. make sure we are talking about the esc and not the transmitter!!! however, try to switch everything up [with the batteries plugged in of course] and push the setup button on the esc. then in most cases you will need to pull the transmitter trigger all the way down and then all the way up then release it back to neutral and then push the setup button again. in most cases the esc light should blink when partial throttle is applied and should light steady [not blinking] when full throttle is applied.
01-09-2006, 09:10 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
Here is the order you should turn everything on, make sure you do it this way.
Turn the transmitter on (radio)
Turn the switch in the car on
plug the battery in
Turn the transmitter on (radio)
Turn the switch in the car on
plug the battery in
01-09-2006, 09:29 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
Unfortunately, there is no manual for the ESC, only for the transmitter and receiver. I'll try the setup using the steps you outlined and see how that goes. Thanks for the advise.
01-09-2006, 09:38 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
you are welcome. if it doesn`t work that way, try playing around with the setup buttons on the esc. as long as you don`t change the wiring or anything else, nothing harmfull could happen. NOTE: it would be best if you removed the wheels [or -even better-remove the pinion gear -aka the gear on the motor shaft] before you make any experiments with the esc, or the car could run out of control. if you remove the pinion, make sure that when you re-install it you need to pay extra attention to the gear mesh: too tight mesh and the you will get poor performance plus the motor will overheat. too loose mesh and you will strip the spur gear. use a paper page between the pinion and the spur to get the proper mesh. hope that helps...
01-09-2006, 09:42 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
If it has a button this is how all futaba ESC's setup works:
Push down button while transmitter is on and battery is plugged in
Turn on car while still holding button
release button after car is on
pull full throttle untill the LED changes
Go to full break till led changes
go to neutral and let it sit
Push down button while transmitter is on and battery is plugged in
Turn on car while still holding button
release button after car is on
pull full throttle untill the LED changes
Go to full break till led changes
go to neutral and let it sit
01-09-2006, 09:53 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
Well, I may have started off giving you some mis-information. I did find the manual in the charger box. This thing is referred to as a FET motor control amp. It appears to do basically the same thing as an ESC on an electric powered airplane, but looks more complex. The instructions show two trimmer pots that are adjusted while watching a red/green LED. Probably a similar function to the setup you described. So, I'll give it a try tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks to all you guys who offered suggestions. Sorry for being such a newbie.
01-09-2006, 10:02 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
Whoops, even blew it on the model number.....it is FP-MC112B, definitely Futaba. I think it's from early '90's.
01-09-2006, 10:33 PM
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RE: Need help with throttle
yes you are: i laugh a lot and sometimes i do it even with stuff that can`t make other people laugh. not black humor though...
the 'funny' part was the combination of the "slight dislexia" [dislexia is a greek word and is rarely used since its more of a medical term and less of a common word] and the "google". what made it really funny was the previous post [mine] in which i said "oti na nai". in greek it means something like "whatever,wherever,forever", and just next to that comes the "Whoops, even blew it on the model number.....it is FP-MC112B, definitely Futaba. I think it's from early '90's." then next to that you say "no wonder google wouldn't find me anything...". i know you might not address the funny spot, but this is what people in my place call spontaneous humor, aka "malakies"!!!. under circumstances it fits most people`s humor sense...
[me personally...well...i am another story! 
]
@choffman41: sorry for the thread hijacking!
the 'funny' part was the combination of the "slight dislexia" [dislexia is a greek word and is rarely used since its more of a medical term and less of a common word] and the "google". what made it really funny was the previous post [mine] in which i said "oti na nai". in greek it means something like "whatever,wherever,forever", and just next to that comes the "Whoops, even blew it on the model number.....it is FP-MC112B, definitely Futaba. I think it's from early '90's." then next to that you say "no wonder google wouldn't find me anything...". i know you might not address the funny spot, but this is what people in my place call spontaneous humor, aka "malakies"!!!. under circumstances it fits most people`s humor sense...
[me personally...well...i am another story! ]@choffman41: sorry for the thread hijacking!
01-10-2006, 10:37 AM
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RE: Need help with throttle
Well, i've had plenty of MC112B's in my days, though I haven't used one in about 10 years. From what I recall, one of the pots is for the 'center' adjustment. Turn it until the wheels just start turning and the LED dims off, then turn back until the light is full bright and the wheels stop turning. The next pot is for the linearity (can't remember what they called it) of the control. With the POT turned full, it will be like an on off ESC. Turn it all the way down to nothing. Hit the gas on the controller. The light should go dim and start getting brighter. You need to turn the pot while the car is at full throttle until it lights back up to full. That is your full power adjustment. I think the futaba actually turns RED when it is at full power, so turn the POT until it either changes to RED or it is on fully. That will assure you are getting full power. If you adjust thepot until it 'just' turns on at full throttle, you may be driving around at 95% throttle most of the time. Turn the POT a little more until the RED light comes on at about 80% throttle to give you some room to make sure you are getting full power...
I hope my memory is right, but messing around wit hthe POTS really can't hurt much...just make sure you are getting full power and the throttle is smooth...
I hope my memory is right, but messing around wit hthe POTS really can't hurt much...just make sure you are getting full power and the throttle is smooth...
