Strange problem....
 

well, after using my new mamba monster once i have come across a problem. When i was using it i didn't seem to have any brake, strange, i thought, but i figured i could fix it with the programming...

Info on the car and the use its had:
Hyper 7 conversion. 2650kv motor on 4s. geared for 40mph (11t pinion)
only run within my house so far... for about 5 mins, so nothing had the chance to warm up...

i went to program it today (again, for the first time, just to see what can be done) and it suggested that i upgraded the esc firmware, so i did. (using castle link software)

so i plug in the castle link, with nothing else attached to speed controller (i'm guessing i dont need battery attached to program?)

When i push update the castle link software says
status: waiting
then:
error communicating with device: did not receive a response from controller. try unplugging and reconnecting device,

While this is happening, the little red light on the castle link flashes 3 times, and with each red flash the orange light on the esc goes out.

I have tried reconnecting many times, i even re installed the castle link software.

Just tried to install new firmware 1.24 (beta) and its saying update failed and the red light on the castle link is coming on solidly...

Now when i plug my batteries in the controller does nothing. I really hope it isnt broken :( got a race coming up and a big bash day...

Anyone experienced anything like this?

Any of the tech guys heard about this?

thanks for the help guys... i hope it hasn't failed... no smoke, no fire, and not alot of use so far!

Joe

Well I have emailed castle's customer support, and horizon hobby's (distributor in the uk)
I hope to hear back from them soon, but in the mean time, can anyone help?

Thanks

Curious...

Have you tried connecting the esc to the castlelink, then plugging the castlelink into the pc? Sometimes you have to play around with the order in which its all connected to get the castlelink programme to recognise the esc/ castle link etc.

Is the castlelink device getting hot at all when its connected to the esc?

If the motor isnt chiming when its connected to the esc & batts are plugged in & you then turn it on at the switch, its possible the BEC has died a silent death..

HH will probably tell you to deal directly with Castle- much quicker turn around time when getting the esc serviced or replaced etc, no middle men to mess around with.

Which update button did you hit, the one in the lower right corner or the Update Firmware button? It sounds like the processor may have been corrupted during the firmware update process. Usually the corruption is minor and relinking and updating the firmware will fix the problems. But on rare occasions the failure occurs at a critical point in the update, rendering the controller unusable on the Castle Link or on the vehicle; the only way to fix it is to physically replace the processor. Again this is very rare and unfortunately there's not much that can be done since it can't be linked.

Shoot me a PM with your e-mail address and I will look for your e-mail in the morning, and let you know how we can get the controller replaced for you quickly and conveniently. I should be able to get you a replacement controller sent out tomorrow (Monday). Sorry for the inconvenience and frustration, but we'll get this sorted out and get you back up and running. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thomas Porfert
Castle Tech Support

initially i hit the one in the bottom right, and when that had no effect i tried the update firmware one,

I've tried many orders to connect it up, it connects fine, just as soon as i go to update anything it seems to drop the connection and not update.

As long as you can connect the ESC to a computer you can recover from this. If you have disabled the BEC reconnect it. If you can see and click on the software tab it is connected. You need to hit the Update Firmware' button and get a 'Success' after step three. If it gives you a failure notice on the update it usually has to do with the USB port on that computer. Try a different USB port on the computer. If a desktop go from front to back or visa-versa. It is is a laptop make sure it is plugged in to wall power. Make sure you are plugged directly into the computer and not going through a USB hub, port on a monitor or anything like that. If it still fails but you can connect it try a different computer. Different systems use different USB host controllers, have different default power save mode and many things that affect USB ports. Once you get a 'Success' it will work work fine and probably connect to the original computer.

If you cannot get a connection, the screen doesn't change to show the MMM, one of both of the 'Connection Status' lights are red and a different computer doesn't fix this give us a call to get it taken care of.

Bernie

very nice bernie wish everyone could see this post."they always want to blame the esc."

ok, Thanks for the help i will go through that and see if i can get it to work..

Bryan, thank you for your perception and you support. The primary goal here is to get the system working as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Bazzokajoe, If you cannot get it working please contact us directly by phone or email so we can deal with this directly. berniew (at) castlecreations (dot) com

Bernie

Just curious Bernie, how much current does the ESC (or CLink) draw from the USB port? IIRC, 100mA is available initially, but the device must negotiate for the full 500mA. Most computers don't seem to enforce the negotiation requirement, but I wonder if this could be a factor?

Brian, It has been so long since I have though about USB power and bandwidth negotiation with Windows and I am a little rusty. But yes, what you said it true. Some computers just don't allow the port to power both the link (about 40+ mA) and the ESC processor (40+ mA). You can see, the amount of current required is right at the 100 mA limit before negotiations start. The link is not very aggressive in its negotiations to make it a good Windows citizen. Because the USB host controller, the actual hardware that runs USB ports, can only control 4 ports, I have found that many times, with a desktop, simply going from front to back, or the other way around can get the link to work. This is because this changes the host controller hence software that runs the different ports. This is partially Windows stuff, specifically how Windows deals with specific hardware. The other part is the USB specification and how it allocates bandwidth and power. Getting in bed with Microsoft is necessary, at the same time . . . .

Another interesting note: this explains why you have to apply battery power if you are trying to connect a CC-BEC that is connected to an ESC. The USB port simple cannot power the clink, BEC and ESC's microprocessor and support components by itself and need help in the form of extra power.

Bernie

I know many older computers do not enforce the negotiation for power, but with so many USB devices on the market now, I can see computer makers and the OS enforcing it more stringently.

Hmm, so, there is a possibility that using an external power source to power the clink, BEC, and ESC cpu may help the USB work. This could be done by attaching the battery to the ESC, but lifting the red wire from the clink to the ESC. What I'm getting at here is that maybe something like this could be offered as a troubleshooting tip for those having trouble getting the USB to work.

Brian,

Using a power pack only works in situations where the USB port is overloaded as with a CC-BEC connected to an ESC. In this case, powering with a separate battery is essential and you do not have to remove the ESCS red wire. I am guessing if you remove the red lead on the ESC you won't need to use the power battery. Makes sense but we haven't tested this.

Bernie

Thanks so much guys, sorted out the esc, now it at least works!

It worked flawlessly in the rear usb port... how strange is that?

But now i still have my original problem... the reason i plugged it in in the first place...

I have very little in the way of breaks, i have turned them up to 100% just to see if they are actually gonna work, and the motor makes a horrible noise and doesn't really slow my car down... can this be helped?

i mean its usable... but not perfect...

Thanks

Wonky brakes usually means the ESC needs to be recalibrate to the transmitter. Recalibrate and I will bet 100% brakes will flip the car over forward.