Raptor30Heli
Senior Heliman
Location: Oak Creek, WI
| This thread also belongs in Electric Motors and Controllers, but I thought I would share this with my nitro friends as well.
I am new to flying electric micro's, but have been flying Raptor 30's & 50's for a while now.
I recently purchased from a vendor at a swap meet, a new in package, Castle Creations Phoenix-10 speed control. I was familiar that Castle Creations had some problems with their first release of the Phoenix-10 and made it a point to make sure I was buying the latest and greatest release. I was assured by the vendor that it was the newest. I did, however, fail to ask for a receipt. I was at a swap meet - it didn't even occur to me to ask.
I am not new to speed controllers or electronics, so I trusted my wiring and set-up. After I had programmed the speed control and hovered my Piccolo for a cumulative total of 15 minutes, I packed up and went home. The next night, I removed the main blades and spun the head up (about 75%) to check for vibrations. There were just a little. I unplugged the battery and did some adjusting. Plugged the battery back in and the speed control did nothing - no response, no LED, no sparks, no noise - DEAD. I charged my 3cell lithiums to be sure I had a fresh pack - nothing. Some voltage was getting to the motor - I could feel armature resistance after the battery was plugged in. At this point I was pissed because I just bought it and I know I didn't abuse or incorrectly install the controller.
This morning I called Castle Creations directly. I told them my sob story. Without question they said they would ship a new speed control to me via Priority Mail. They said they would also include an envelope and postage to ship the defective controller back. They believe that I did indeed, get the older, original, Phoenix-10 instead of the newer one that I had requested from the vendor at the swap meet. Castle didn't even ask if I had a receipt.
Boy, I'll tell you - that cheered me up. A mfg. that stands behind their product. I'm not saying other companies wouldn't have done the same -but is sure is nice when they do. This kind of support will help grow this hobby leaps and bounds.
Great support Castle Creations!
Regards,
Mike Sherman |
