Phoenix ICE HV Car Software
 

I was just wondering if the car software is still on the planning board.

Those ICE controllers are looking GOOD!

I would really love to do an 8S setup in my E Revo.

Thanks.

Patrick said the ICE 160HV and the ICE 200 will be available with the car software. I know I'll be sending my HV110 in and pay the non warranty for the ICE 160HV and maybe get the ICE 200 as well.

I could be wrong, but I thought he said the ICE platform.

Meaning the entire line.

The ICE 160 and the ICE 200 sounds like GREAT choices also. :yes:

The low voltage (8S) ICE will be available in a 150A and 200A.

The high voltage (12s) ICE will be available in a 125A and 160A.

The low voltage ICE will probably be limited to 6s in car applications -- the switching BEC is similar to the one used in the MMP. Even though it is rated for 60V operation, the braking energy can still be an issue.

The HV ICE doesn't have a BEC (it is Opto) so will probably still be good up to 12S. We still have to do some stress testing (especially on braking) once the software is done, to verify that it will work up to full voltage as a car version...


Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your answer.

Do you have plans to allow the Mamba Car Software into the currently available ICE lineup?

The 50 amp, 75 amp, and 100 amp versions?

I'll be more then happy to test :whistle: them (The 200A and 160A) out for you Patrick. I have 2 truggy at the moment, one is set up for 8S lipos and the other 10S lipos. The one with 8S lipos is very light, but the one with 10S is a tank. :lol:

I would be tickled to assist with testing also. :yes:

I can do:

E Revo on 8S Flightpower 25C 3700mah

E maxx on 12S Kong Power 26C 2600mah

I have an assortment of motors that are just itching for HV.

Abusing Equipment for the sake of Science. I love it! LOL

Yes, the port for the Mamba software to ICE hardware is in the schedule -- but I can't give any time line on availability yet, because we have just started porting the code, and don't know what issues we might see. The Mamba and ICE hardware is different enough that we aren't sure the port will go 100% smoothly... :neutral:

I should know more by the end of the month.

I would be interested in helping with the testing for the car ICE software and the 20 series motors simultaneously - using a Baja 5b as the test vehicle. I have been using the HV180 Boat esc in the 5b, but have a HV110 to try and a PhoenixICE100 coming to "try out" as well. :)

Oh man....Let us know how the testing went (Yep, I'm calling it in advance :lol:).

@Lutach & RCM Mike

I would much rather see you "Tech-Heads" be involved in Beta Testing, than someone who lies about testing, then tries to sell the Beta Unit on Ebay.

I don't claim to be the most intelligent or technical savvy person here, but I am true to my "causes".

For me, it's not about getting a "free" Beta Unit either. In fact, I wouldn't mind paying for a "Beta" unit up front.

Castle's warranty is great, and even if the Beta wasn't quite right the first time, they will make it so.

Castle and Patrick have worked hard to build a reputation for being a "true to it's cause" business.

I will support Castle not only because they honor their values, but they bring GREAT products to RC at a great price.

I love RC. :party:

Said like a true rc fanatic! Good for you James, nice to see others that are passionate about the hobby!

I would also love to see these come to market. I would not be much of a beta tester, too much else going on. I will be very interested to see the progress though. HV is the way to go, and i have a few projects on the back burner that would benefit ftom these escs. I even have a few 1521 and 1527 low kv motors that would really like 10-12s.... I guess I will wait and see!

Mike...any pics. of your B5 :whistle:

I'll happily test how well the brakes work in a quazzi-1/5 scale 13lb 18" wheelbase TXT-1... :yipi: :lol:

Oh please don't tease us! I called Castle about a month ago asking about these, and the tech said they weren't in the immediate plans. I asked him, what about the things Patrick said online? His reply was basically "its good to be the king, but we can't discuss future projects." I almost had my hopes dashed.

I'd really really like to beta one of the HVs in my Savage XL behemoth. I've got it running 8 and 10S now on a 1521. Got eagletrees and all sorts of stuff I can test with... Please please please please. :)

I would love to try one of the ICE160s. :wink: I'm even willing to pay for it.:yes:

I have a 5T with a 22 series Neu, running 10s. It is not a lightweight either, about 30-31lbs with all the aluminum hopups I have added. It does a good job testing all the electronics installed.

what was with the "deny everything" attitude at Ihobby???

I would gladly test one on the race track if anyone needs any data. Have eagletree logger to go with it as well.

i could test one with my savage, my tank-like heavy buggy, and possibly a truggy on 12s. i would even be willing to buy an eagletree just for that purpose. if i were to be lucky enough to be a beta tester, i would most likely also convert my baja 5b to brushless.

if you are looking for someone who knows what they are doing, but abuses electronics by driving like a maniac, i'm the man for the job:intello: i can make sure i run the esc properly, but also stress test it at the same time:yes:

Hey Patrick, you said car software update for ice esc's, does this mean any ice can be made to work the car stuff? I am still thinking about a high voltage Mini E-revo, roughly 6s with a 1200kv motor. Thanks for any info and can't wait

Crazy -- Sorry, we just don't know yet. There might need to be a hardware change along with the software, or it might just work fine with the existing hardware.

So I wouldn't go out and buy a Phoenix-ICE right now, and expect car software to become available for it. We may be able to port the software with absolutely no hardware changes, or we might have to change some resistor/capacitor values to make the car software work correctly.

AND -- it may be several months before we know. Sorry I can't give any more detail than that.

A few thoughts:
Things are moving extremely fast on the 1/8 brushless scene and soon the time will hopefully come to the 1/5 cars. To me it seems that the market is still somewhat immature in some areas and many times customers have to try and find the solution with the least downsides. I am currently looking for an ESC to work well with a HPI Baja conversion and I have set my mind on the Turnigy Monster and the CC Hydra 240HV (I will test both). Neither are nowhere near perfect so this Phoenix ICE HV Car ESC would definitely help close the gap.

But browsing the forums and seeing the interest there seem to be on this subject it is hard to imagine the manufacturers not starting to pay attention. Take a look at this thread that is now close to an impressive 2000 posts on hpibajaforum:
http://www.hpibajaforum.com/forum/sh...ight=brushless

Bottom line is that I see a huge market for this. It is still early days but I think that being out early and building a good customer base will have huge impact on market share once the snowball starts rolling.

^^^ :mdr: :yipi:

We agree.

Glad to hear our full throated support for us HV/ Lg scale fans.:party:


Now get us those controllers! :na: :)

Thanks for the reply, I won't buy one unless i can use car software, I'm just saying there is a possibility that there are more than 1/8 and up intrested in this project. I know there is an advantage in efficiency with smaller scale, even at lower voltages. I am intrested in playing around with higher voltages and smaller scales, If it fails , oh well, but someone has to try it. I have had great sucess with higher voltages with a 1/10 setup, An rc10GT with a lehner 1200xl Basic/5s flightpower 2500 25c pack going 30+minutes is quite a setup, Cool all day and long runtimes. I think i can do better on a smaller scale. I hope it can go across the board on the ice line, thank you

I did the same setup in a stampede (full FLM hehe) and got 1 hour on a 3700 4s pack with 45MPH+ speeds

Well, for those who are interested...

We were running a Baja around today on an ICE-200 with Mamba software. A few bugs still remain (startup needs some tweaks -- different EMF sense resistors, datalogging isn't working yet, and we gotta figure out how to put a fan on it for Brian -- we know how he loves fans...)

But preliminary results look positive...

NOOOOOO

All that does is make me void the warranty because you know I'll be removing it. :cry:

That's Excellant News! :yipi:

Datalogging probably being a software issue.

Sounds like you're almost there Patrick. The masses are going to love this! :yes:

Let me know where the line forms and I'll try to be one of the first to buy one when they are ready! :yes:

Indeed positive news Patrick! I look forward to more updates.

Once ready you can count me in for one too.

Awesome :yipi:

Hope you can get them out soon, I can really use one, or two, or three...

So this is what the ICE HV Controller is gonna look like?

Feast your eyes on these bad boys!

http://www.castlecreations.com/produ...ix_ice_hv.html

I'm under the impression that you're still making hardware changes to accomidate the Car Software?

I was hoping it would be possible to go ahead and buy the ICE HV 160amp ESC and just do a firmware upgrade through Castle link to install the Mamba Car Software.

Sigh! Patience James.........You can't rush perfection.

This is gonna be great though. :yes:

I've got a 1050/kv 1521 that would love to be fed by one of these.

Godspeed Castle!

Yeah well I've got a 750 kv 1521 that would love more than 12s :na:
It's actually being run by a HV-110 right now...

Patrick please don't forget us boat guys. :mdr:

Steven
OffshoreElectrics

+1, even the normal ICE 100 would be nice. Air-Boat software porting shouldn't be difficult, it just needs water cooling and some water proofing and it's ready for the market.

I've been playing with the ice 100 in a boat. Since its designed for a stick transmitter, I have to use a Pistix to get it to arm with my pistol radio. So far, its been great! The data feature is a blast to play with.

Steven
OffshoreElectrics

Yeah, I noticed you carry the Ice 100s now. Seems like they've sold pretty well, too. How hot do they run without air flow? The data logging is a really cool feature, I'd be using that every run if I had an ICE....

Damn, that 160 is a big controller. Will the 100 be ported to cars? The 80 might be pushing it my app, but the 160 seems a bit overkill. I could swing it, but, damn. A 120A in between those two would be perfect.

What about anti-spark?

I'll probably get the 160 amp version even though the 80 amp version will surely suit my needs.

12 Lipo cells holding 3.7 volts per cell under a 80 amp load is 3552 watts.

Just under 5 Horsepower. :gasp:

I'm thinking that pushing any kind of serious amp load on HV is gonna take a 1/5th scale or "larger" type RC.

We're looking at some serious power here guys. :yes:

Here's some figures for ya.

On 12S, and at the Max Continous amp load ratings, here's how the Ice HV Controllers stack up provided your lipos hold 3.7 volts per cell under the load:

ICE 40 amp HV ESC = 1775 watts or 2.4 horsepower
ICE 60 amp HV ESC = 2664 watts or 3.6 horsepower
ICE 80 amp HV ESC = 3552 watts or 4.8 horsepower
ICE 160 amp HV ESC = 7104 watts or 9.5 horsepower

Serious Power! :yes:

These are going to find the limits of the drivetrain parts for sure.

I will need the 160 amp version and so will many that make large scale conversions. I will be using it for a HPI Baja 5B SS Brushless.

Looking at CC's tech documentation it shows that surge watts for the 2215 is 5000 Watts. My calculation for 8, 10 and 12S setup's which I'll be experimenting with looks like this:

5000 = 44,4 x A => A = 113 Amps(12S config)
5000 = 37,0 x A => A= 135 Amps (10S config)
5000 = 29,6 x A => A = 169 Amps (8S config)