OEM or clones?...

[hemiblas]

I dont think Castle will move their controllers overseas. They have some of the best startup routines with less cogging on their speed controls. They also have some of the best programmability features for their speed controllers. I can see them going to china and then not just look alike speed controls, but I'm sure someone could easily steal their source code once there and sell to a competitor. One way to stop from losing all that R&D is to keep it here in the good ol' US. Motors are easy to copy, but as we've seen, quality isnt usually the same.
FastBaja, I've had my share of bad Castle controllers (along with some destroyed lipos to go along with them) and my share of good ones. I've come to accept that when you run this much power you essentially take a chance. The good old days of brushed speed controllers that literally lasted forever just arent there anymore, but we are going 60 and not 25mph. The major difference between Castle and the other vendors is that they take care of us and our problems. Anyone seen the reviews on some of the HK monster controllers, they are horrible. Generic speed controllers are hit and miss. But a defective 80 dollar monster lookalike speed controller is just money down the drain, because you will never see that again. Love fest ended, but you are within your right to be unhappy. I'm hoping you can get up and running soon.