Mamba Monster dead?

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by GriffinRU

Badcaps.net :)

CC what was wrong with FM-type caps?


-Your switching BEC doesn't look right...

Nothing wrong with the Rubycons, couldn't get FMs. Remember WE ARE NOT BUYING CAPS in Asia.... so no possibility of getting "seconds" or phonies or manufacturer rejects like there is with Chinese manufacturers.

BEC doesn't look right eh? In what way?

Understand that I've been doing this for 22 years... it's not like this was designed by an amateur...

Patrick

[e-mike]

just a question....i dont want to be off topic but today i run really hard my maxx(for a final test before sending to cc) with my mmm and a 8000mah maxamp 20 c(yesterday i run a 4000mah 25c hecell) and my esc work without issue not''cutting'' and it did the job flawlesslycould it be my 4000mah pack was the problem...with the 8000 no issue but the 4000mah after 5 or 10 min the esc stop and restart few second later or no choise to reset with the switch?????

anyway im gonna do some other test ,,,,just to be sure..for now with a 8000mah.my mmm feel good!!

[GriffinRU]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

Nothing wrong with the Rubycons, couldn't get FMs. Remember WE ARE NOT BUYING CAPS in Asia.... so no possibility of getting "seconds" or phonies or manufacturer rejects like there is with Chinese manufacturers.

BEC doesn't look right eh? In what way?

Understand that I've been doing this for 22 years... it's not like this was designed by an amateur...

Patrick

It is alright at the end it is your "baby" and you are in charge of getting right components.
Strange relation with subsidaries you have, if you cannot request seconds, how do you know that you got the best in the first round?

I just had it my hands for 10-15 minutes and I was missing some caps's in switching BEC, what are the ratings for this BEC anyways, amps wise.

Fair, 22 years is alot, and you do have a respectable company and product. But do not underestimate people around you, I am simply trying to help you here even promoting your stuff.

If you have any concerns or recommendations, PM it to me I am willing to work as a team and would be happy keep some aspects private.

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by GriffinRU

It is alright at the end it is your "baby" and you are in charge of getting right components.
Strange relation with subsidaries you have, if you cannot request seconds, how do you know that you got the best in the first round?

I just had it my hands for 10-15 minutes and I was missing some caps's in switching BEC, what are the ratings for this BEC anyways, amps wise.

Fair, 22 years is alot, and you do have a respectable company and product. But do not underestimate people around you, I am simply trying to help you here even promoting your stuff.

If you have any concerns or recommendations, PM it to me I am willing to work as a team and would be happy keep some aspects private.

Fair enough ...

There is 100uf of output capacitance on the switcher -- ceramics, not electrolytics or tantalum. The input capacitance is 44uF of ceramic, right on the FET inputs, in addition to the approx 1000uf of electrolytic. Fets are snubbed.

As for the capacitor quality -- We've been using Rubycon and Panasonic both for many many years, and have never had a quality problem with either one. Rubycons are usually more difficult to get. The Panasonics usually have shorter lead time, and are more available -- but in this case we had the Rubycons available and Panasonic needed 12 weeks.

In our testing, the Rubycons ran a little cooler than the same value Panasonic FM series.

I'm not sure what you mean by "if you can't request seconds" -- we could, but we don't request seconds. I'm just saying that there isn't any possibility of us getting seconds or rejects -- we don't buy through brokers.

Patrick

[phatmonk]

So how long will it be until I get my MMM back.CC received it wednesday and no phone call yet informing me of its possible terminal condition.I havent received a email either.I actualy have seen a MMM on ebay that says its a updated/fixed and not the original.So are some of them fixable and some are not?not counting the units that fried.Mine never even got hot and used for 40minutes total run time and just stopped.It still looked like new.Or do I have to wait till mid June.I was probably one of the first to receive my MMM it was sent monday and got it wednesday.I have no problem with Castle and I am fully confident they will hook me up.I was just stoked that I was one of the first to get my hands on one.

Mine was 4 and a half business days door to door.

[no mods]

Originally Posted by phatmonk

So how long will it be until I get my MMM back...:

i sent my out with only a repair sheet that i printed offline. castle did not call to discuss repair options simply fixed it and shipped it. I too think it was about 4 days door to door

which in my mind is excellent CS

[phatmonk]

Originally Posted by no mods

i sent my out with only a repair sheet that i printed offline. castle did not call to discuss repair options simply fixed it and shipped it. I too think it was about 4 days door to door

which in my mind is excellent CS

Thanks too bad I have to send my second MMM back also same senario as the first.Very bummed.

[Sparky]

Ok, here is an update on my Mamba Monster. My first one is back in for repairs the second one I bought from my local hobby shop, so it must have been from a different batch. My second Monster had 80 minutes of practice time going into this weekend’s race. The fans on both of my Monster died within 20 minutes of run time. I’m luck my setup is based on 6s 22.2 volts because it runs cool enough without the fan. It was very hot here at Houston during the race 95F, so it was a good test for the Monster. I ran one practice battery for 15 minutes. And I ran three qualifiers each 5 minutes. I qualified 5th for the sportsman A-main. I also finished 5 in the A-main. The A-Main was a 15 minute race. The Monster performed awesome the entire time. It really took some hard hits too. If I would have had my suspension a little better I could have done a little better. The fan plug had gotten knocked off the bottom of the ESC board early during practice, so all this was done without a fan. I check my ESC temp. after every race and it was always about 150F and my motor was also 150F. I plan on drilling a few extra holes in the case next to the capacitors for more air flow and not use the fan anymore. Fans with dirt and jumps just do not mix they can not survive very long. The Monster also has a clearance issue on the bottom side of the case. The fan plug and the big black component on the ESC’s bottom side ware on the case. I think this is causing some of the failures. I am installing a very thin square rubber gasket between the bottom case and the ESC board. This will keep the big black component for getting hid on the bottom case on the big jumps. I’m really happy with the way it preformed this weekend and I should be able to win one of these races soon. It’s a tuff class of about 35 to 40 people. I’m starting to get some real confidence in the Mamba Monster. I think it going to be a very good ESC. Were just having a few first production bugs.

Setup
RC8
RC-Monster Conversion
Mamba Monster ESC
Maxamps 6s 22.2 volts 4000mah
Neu 1515 1.5y
Gear 46/17

[lutach]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

Fair enough ...

There is 100uf of output capacitance on the switcher -- ceramics, not electrolytics or tantalum. The input capacitance is 44uF of ceramic, right on the FET inputs, in addition to the approx 1000uf of electrolytic. Fets are snubbed.

As for the capacitor quality -- We've been using Rubycon and Panasonic both for many many years, and have never had a quality problem with either one. Rubycons are usually more difficult to get. The Panasonics usually have shorter lead time, and are more available -- but in this case we had the Rubycons available and Panasonic needed 12 weeks.

In our testing, the Rubycons ran a little cooler than the same value Panasonic FM series.

I'm not sure what you mean by "if you can't request seconds" -- we could, but we don't request seconds. I'm just saying that there isn't any possibility of us getting seconds or rejects -- we don't buy through brokers.

Patrick

I know a few brokers who buys from the factories just like many of the top factories, ems and odm out there. We brokers also have the upper hand when dealing with shortages and long lead time and I can tell you that Hon Hai (Foxconn), Flextronics, Elcoteq, Jabil, Benchmark, Videoton, Bosch, Philips, Sony and many others are glad that I'm around to help them. Most authorized distributors don't like how the brokers get the prices to actually win a company over. I even sold to a few authorized disti.

Edit: Forgot to mention every electronic components that I sell are factory sealed.

[GriffinRU]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

There is 100uf of output capacitance on the switcher -- ceramics, not electrolytics or tantalum. The input capacitance is 44uF of ceramic, right on the FET inputs, in addition to the approx 1000uf of electrolytic. Fets are snubbed.

Patrick

Nice caps, what ESR value they present and why your inductor is not as compact as caps? Ceramics should have zero, but this high capacity once must have some, more care about power ratings for them and cooling.

What do you mean by "Fets are snubbed" i.e. on-die or with the caps network?

By the way which component is failing, or it is too much to ask?

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by GriffinRU

Nice caps, what ESR value they present and why your inductor is not as compact as caps? Ceramics should have zero, but this high capacity once must have some, more care about power ratings for them and cooling.

What do you mean by "Fets are snubbed" i.e. on-die or with the caps network?

By the way which component is failing, or it is too much to ask?

The ceramics show about .005 ohm or so. The inductor isn't as compact as the capacitors because there isn't any inductors as compact as the capacitors -- not really sure what you mean. The smallest 22uh 4 amp inductors are at least 10mm square.

The FETs are snubbed using an RC snubber -- to prevent ringing.

The component that is failing is the switcher controller -- a National LM3485. National is looking into it with us -- seems the overcurrent circuit is failing internal to the LM3485, and leaving the chip in constant overcurrent state. That's why the output voltage drops to 1.08V - -it's in hiccup overcurrent mode. Replace the LM3485, and all works well again.

Patrick

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

The ceramics show about .005 ohm or so. The inductor isn't as compact as the capacitors because there isn't any inductors as compact as the capacitors -- not really sure what you mean. The smallest 22uh 4 amp inductors are at least 10mm square.

The FETs are snubbed using an RC snubber -- to prevent ringing.

The component that is failing is the switcher controller -- a National LM3485. National is looking into it with us -- seems the overcurrent circuit is failing internal to the LM3485, and leaving the chip in constant overcurrent state. That's why the output voltage drops to 1.08V - -it's in hiccup overcurrent mode. Replace the LM3485, and all works well again.

Patrick

for the techies
http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM3485.html

[GriffinRU]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

The ceramics show about .005 ohm or so. The inductor isn't as compact as the capacitors because there isn't any inductors as compact as the capacitors -- not really sure what you mean. The smallest 22uh 4 amp inductors are at least 10mm square.

The FETs are snubbed using an RC snubber -- to prevent ringing.

The component that is failing is the switcher controller -- a National LM3485. National is looking into it with us -- seems the overcurrent circuit is failing internal to the LM3485, and leaving the chip in constant overcurrent state. That's why the output voltage drops to 1.08V - -it's in hiccup overcurrent mode. Replace the LM3485, and all works well again.

Patrick

Is it possible that having 2 Fet's tripping the overcurrent, meaning your sense resistor (via Fet) readings are not consistent and Isense is way to sensitive from IC to IC? I am assuming that it is 1 fet per IC (6pin, close to inductor).

Yes, 4 amps inductor is hard to find, but I thought that you can get openframe ones and direct solder them to pcb.

[phatmonk]

Originally Posted by Pdelcast

The ceramics show about .005 ohm or so. The inductor isn't as compact as the capacitors because there isn't any inductors as compact as the capacitors -- not really sure what you mean. The smallest 22uh 4 amp inductors are at least 10mm square.

The FETs are snubbed using an RC snubber -- to prevent ringing.

The component that is failing is the switcher controller -- a National LM3485. National is looking into it with us -- seems the overcurrent circuit is failing internal to the LM3485, and leaving the chip in constant overcurrent state. That's why the output voltage drops to 1.08V - -it's in hiccup overcurrent mode. Replace the LM3485, and all works well again.

Patrick

Thanks for your personal involvement in this issue Patrick.Both of my Monsters have died you guys received one of them last wednesday and no one has called me so I am assuming you ars fixing it.It will be interesting to see how long it will be till I get the first one back.I will be sending the other one in when I get the first defective Monster back.I now have no speedcontrols so pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease fix it soon.

thanks
Will