I agree, I have two emails with them currently, one about the first incident(the one in my t4 that acts like its been wiped, castle link will not recognize it) and another telling them I'm moving on from castle, not sure what i'll try next.

To all who are thinking of getting the mamba max, I'm not telling you to not get one, just telling my experience. The mamba's worked perfectly and never thermaled (one for almost a year) before the 2.23 update. I still believe that the mamba is the best esc/escmotor combo i have ever seen.

Here's an irony i just realized, the three esc/combo's i got from Mike are fine, even with the update, The ones i got outside of Mike ( one from castle when they came out, one from starluck, scale plane thing, and he was selling mambacombo"s for 175) both failed. Now is that funny or what. Buy from Mike, its worth it

I might skip the MMM, if the castle link 2.23 is still the current update

According to what i read on other forums, its only a max issue. the mamba 25 and all other esc's don't seem to have the issue with 2.23. I wish i could say it was a driver issue like Castle says, but 2 out of 5 in my stable, thats weird

Plus the same thing happend to me right before it happend to you, so I think its the Castle Link...Personally, I think thats the problem...

I can't see the code, and i wouldn't know what i'm looking at (I'm a computer idiot) but i think there is something wrong, one of them (my mamba maxxes) was wiped while connected and no magnets around.

Is it really that important to program it via computer?

Honestly, guys, we want to run our vehicles for pleasure. We're not designing and prototyping a missle.( look who's talking..:010: ).

I hear you there. I might try a couple setups just to see what works good, but then I leave it like that. I've seen some people actually bring laptops to a race to fine tune things (glassdoctor ;)). Maybe some people are that good that they can tell the difference after making minute changes, I dunno.

To be honest, All I did was turn down the brakes, put the timing kinda low, made it to where the throttle wouldn't be so sensitive, and put it in forward only...

all i ever did was update the link and brought the esc up so i could do the cutoffs without problems, matter of fact the first one to stop working i started to change the cut off to 6 cell NIMH (5.9v) so i could see the difference. and that esc never gave me trouble till i updated it, not a skip, stutter or thermal, I have had it for almost a year and now its dead, the computer will not recognize it

(getting out from under the bus, lol...)

yeah actually there are certain settings that anyone can feel if you are racing... like drag brake and punch etc... it's very cool to be able to see all the setting at a glance, and then change something with two clicks and see if it helped...

But I have to say I would prefer to leave the laptop at home or at least in the car. And once you have got things dialed in and working ok... you will rarely need to mess with the settings anyway.

But it's nice to mess with stuff until you get it how you like.

As for this software update disaster.. I'm not touching the new versions for now... there is no need to update the software anyway. Nothing critical is in it for the MM. I'm sure there will be a future update that actually has goodies for the MM.... like the neu/novak profiles, etc. Then I will make the change...

I liked to keep things up to date in case they changed something an update or two that would render the esc obsolete, due to too much change in the link to update. Honestly its been almost a year and i still haven't found setting i like, I know its in the combination, I just haven't found one i'm comfortable with

I called castle and had a guy help me update my mamba max software and have not had any problems

There can't go much wrong with updating, but for some reasone more people seem to loose controllers from time to time..

As I said before, I don't know if its the program or not, but my experience tells me a certian amount of esc's will be considered a failure using the 2.23 link. One could have been a possible failure not related to the link software (ran perfectly once then lost neutral, but could still hook up to the computer), the other was a direct result of the program (while hooked up it went from one second where the software recognized but couldn't update , to not even recognizing the esc altogether) it was never unhooked or anything, it was like something wiped the processor

Like i said I don't want people to think i'm cutting down or flamming the Mamba Max, I still believe it is the best esc/combo on the market, I just think the current is not right and possibly causing some esc's to fail. Funny thing is it doesn't seem to matter the age, the ones that quit were the oldest and newest (ironicly also the only ones i didn't get from Mike)

Then, why don't you contact them( Joe)? they might help you out.

My esc fried and took the motor with it or vice versa.. i called castle and they handled it perfectly. i installed my new mamba in the truck and went off about 10minutes into my first run it thermaled.. motor temps were 139 battery at 120 and esc at 195 by the time i had body off and temp gun ready. this is stampede. its the 7700 motor but i dont understand the issues. i even have a window cut out like a nitro car. wether the gearing is 13/90 or 17/90 the esc temps are the same. all the gearing does is seem to change motor temp. im at low start power lowest timing and no drag brake with 40% punch control. im using 7 cell ib4200wc's.

With no body on it the temps are normal

The ESC is mounted on the rear shock tower.

You might get by with a fan on the esc... but it would be good to see if a setup change could help too.

How much does the speed and power change? If the speeds seem similar then I would say gear down even more and see what happens.

Are you running in grass at all?

The big issue is that the 7700 motor was not designed for use in a truck like the Stampede. The ESC temp being that much higher than the motor means you are severely overgeared. You probably won't be able to get it geared properly for that vehicle unless you drop the tire size way down. I'd really suggest looking into a different motor to get the temps down. Also, just because you go with a lower kv motor, doesn't mean you can't go fast. There are at least 2 of us on the forum with 10th scale trucks running motors under 5000kv that are doing 45+ mph on 2S lipos.

Yeah, the 7700 really doesn't like to be geared. It is much more sensitive to gearing than the lower kv motors. Try a smaller pinion. If the 13T is still giving you high temps, then go to a 10T and try that. You might also want to see if you can get a bigger spur, although a 90T spur sounds pretty big already. Then go to tires, smaller diameter that is. If you can't come to a happy medium, then you'll have no choice but to go to a lower kv motor. Personally, I like the 4600. You can really "tune" performance with the battery choice on that motor. Everything from very mild on 6 nimh cells to uber wild and crazy fast on 4S lipo.

May even need to go to the 94 tooth spur

Well, I just came back from RCX, and it was a ton of fun. There was a big track inside, with jumping, racing, etc. While I was there I caught up with one of the Castle Creations Employes, and asked him about the Mamba Monster Max.

He said that the ESC is finished and now they just have to finish the motor, and then test everything. He said the esc will about about the same size as the Mamba Max esc, and will be rated for 5s lipo. However, he didn't mention anything about an HV model to allow more voltage, although it may still happen. He also said that it should be out in 3 - 4 months now or late Summer instead of early Summer, like they said before. :019:

Unfortunately, stupid me forgot to ask about how much it will cost. I am pretty sure MetalMan also went, so he may be able to give a little more info.

Thanks for the info. Despite my rants earlier, I'll probably get in line for this one as well. If 2.23 takes it out i can always send it in

Oh, for crying out loud! We have enough ESC's capable of 5s already. Even the MM can do it (sort of). We need 8s+ with the current handling to go along with it.

I agree, but if they say 5s it should handle 7 or 8s lipo's for sure, Who knows, we might finally get a bec that can handle 5s without a ubec. 5s is enough for me, I'd rather have a bec in the esc that can handle the load. I also want a Mamba that can handle 4+pole motors over 6+s

I talked to Joe and the other Castle engineer/developer at RCX today and they said the MMM should be out in ~3 months. They said the ESC is just about done, but they are working on the motor (but I think this has already been said).

However, what I do not beleive has been said is that it will have an integrated switching BEC, like the one seen here, that can handle 7 amps continuous and 10 amps peak (like anyone really needs that) and will have an adjustable voltage output. Downside is that he said it will be rated only for 5S (would have liked to see 6S if you ask me), but that they will do an HV one later on that will handle more (probably 12S).

I also spoke with Richard, and engineer from Castle. He said the biggest thing when it comes to the voltage rating of the ESC is braking. Using the motor brakes puts a huge stress on the ESC, and they have had to rate the MMM to 5s Lipo because of it. However, he did say that it should do 6s with the use of mechanical brakes :).

As for a HV car ESC, Richard said that it's a ways off. I think he mentioned that they would pretty much have to make a new ESC, kind of like the MMM vs. the MM.

Castle will be coming out with the switching BEC, and it will handle 6s Lipo. A higher voltage version should also come out at some point.

We also spoke with Joe Ford for a while. He's a cool guy! At the show he was the one driving the RC Escalade (power wheels). It had a 95amp-hour lead acid battery in it and plastic tires. Apparently they were killing gears with rubber tires, so the slip from the plastic tires helps the drivetrain.

Unfortunately I didn't think to ask about the approximate MSRP/MAP for any of these items.

Damn...thats a good point...we should have asked...

Is the switching bec going to be integrated or sold with it? if its integrated I'll get one just to do away with UBEC's, no problems with them just one less thing to have to find a place for

this is all great news. now hopefully they will be able to stick to the 3 months. now the only question is do I pick up a new neu motor now or wait and see what they have coming out with the esc? I am currently looking at the neu 2.5d 1515 to do up a 8ight-t.

Sort of disappointing, if you ask me.
I've been waiting for that thing just because of the HV feature, but to say that making such a one after the Mamba Monster Max is like designing a MMM after the Mamba Max is absolutely unacceptable. Tekin's R1 Pro can handle 5s and it's smaller than the Mamba Max.
And we have to use mechanical brakes to run 6s?!
Believe me, this is no good news, for me at least.

For me, 5s is plenty. I just hope it comes out soon. It would be nice to have a Castle in my E-CRT rather than the unreliable ESC I've got now. I know they want to release a system but if the ESC is done, I hope they consider shipping it without the companion motor. They can always release a system later.

Crazy, refer to the word right in front of the bold "switcinng" in my post.

5S is plenty for me as well. I'm happy to say the least. I'm probably going to run 4S anyway, but I want the MMM for the extra current capability for the 1950/6 Hi-Amp.

If its sub $200, can run 5s reliably, and can run 2 or 4 pole motors and doesnt need any secondary heat sinks or fans its a winner in my book.

It will be great for everyday running.

I will wait for the HV version. But in reality the HV is really going to be for a very select crowd. The general basher/racer will not need more than 5s. The folks around here are just a little crazy with the power. (crazy in a good way :p ) Definately not the norm anyway.

Thanks and sorry, I have a bad habit of speed reading posts

Well, I might just keep waiting until the HV comes out.

I still think they should've at least made it 6s capable. Many people use layouts that have a battery pack on both sides (emaxx, buggies, truggies, etc) and it's nice to keep the weight balanced. Granted, the MM will probably be able to go to 6s, but won't be advertised as such. There must be a big price difference between low voltage FETs and higher ones since there are few high V ESCs and the ones that do exist are pricey.

i am mainly waiting on the mmm motor to use with my 125b. hope it is out by mid summmer

Metal said it was because of braking causing high spikes, I think the price for high enough fets and caps might have killed the budget aspect of the ideas the mamba packages were founded on. I hope the HV has all the good points on the mamba series, but the HV that everyone wants. The more i see on the MMM the more i like it, I hope the link gets better though

I personally have never used the CC link, but then again, i only have the mm 25....
Other than that, with all the issues i have heard about the link I would hope they cure this problem.....MMM should be great, i just fear that it will take longer than anticipated....

Its not the mamba 25 or any other esc in castles lineup, all the forum threads and problems i have seen are with the mamba max, which strangely is the only one with a usb jack and not plugged into the reciever wire

I would believe the problem with the driver in the esc if the esc never worked on the computer, the newest one did just that, but run once before losing neutral, but the oldest one had been programmed several times in the n=early year i had it till V2.23

As I have said before to all new people, I love the mamba max system, I'm just concerned about the programon the computer