Haynes Manual Build a Robot

[AdamST180]

The Feathertwo's aren't necessarily bad speed controllers. When they work they are very good. However they're very hit and miss regarding reliability. There are some people who have been able to get them to work well for years but there are also others who have had many problems with them not working well or at all for all manner of reasons. It's a bit of a dice roll with them I'm afraid.

If I were in your position, I'd ask Alex at Nuts & Bots if he has any idea when they'll be back in stock & see if you're willing to wait that long. I understand that you're probably eager to get on with building but to be honest the wisest move is to be patient.

Having said that though, you could buy a Sabertooth & use it for now depending on what you plan to do with it. If you're not going to many live events with it you probably will get a fair amount of use out of it, by which time FeatherTwo's should be in stock again. To be honest it rather depends how much the £50 is worth to you.

Yeah i did PM Alex but no reply yet as im sure hes busy lol

Maybe like you say I should just be patient for now untill can get whats best rather than potentially wasting money by not waiting

I have all the other parts (minus the actuator) so can start assembling and wiring up what i have and get my plywood base ready and go from there

[James Williams]

Might as well get on with something whilst you're waiting lol.

Regarding single channel ESC's I know that Nuts & Bots DO have some in stock but each will cost the same amount as a dual channel. The tradeoff is that single channel ESC's are able to supply much more power to your motors. Ranglebox (run by Ellis of Pulsar fame) sells Botbitz ESC's which are £30 each but wouldn't you know it he's out of stock too.

There's a big thread about Speed Controllers which could offer you some ideas as well as a few build diaries but other than that I don't have too many ideas I'm afraid.

[Ocracoke]

Sabretooths are mixed bag. I use one in my Beetleweight and it works fine but that is the 2x5A version. I don't know about the rest. They are also reasonably expensive for what they are.

Does your transmitter support elevon mixing? If it does, my vote would be to get a pair of single channel controllers and let the transmitter do the mixing that activates both channels with one control.

[AdamST180]

Sabretooths are mixed bag. I use one in my Beetleweight and it works fine but that is the 2x5A version. I don't know about the rest. They are also reasonably expensive for what they are and of course.

Does your transmitter support elevon mixing? If it does, my vote would be to get a pair of single channel controllers and let the transmitter do the mixing that activates both channels with one control.

I have a Dx6i, not really used it yet but would assume it can do that?

[Ocracoke]

I would think so (http://www.crashtesthobby.com/spektrum-dx6i-mixing.html).

[AdamST180]

I would think so (http://www.crashtesthobby.com/spektrum-dx6i-mixing.html).

Ahh yeah i see, looks simple enough, are single channel ESC's easier to get hold of?

[Ocracoke]

Single controllers are indeed easier to get hold of and there are plenty to choose from but it is a more complex build because then you've got two separate sides as opposed to a easy to manage single dual. For a beginner, a dual is far easier since it all managed on the board.

I have all the other parts (minus the actuator) so can start assembling and wiring up what i have and get my plywood base ready and go from there

I know the feeling, I have all the parts for The Honey Badger 3 but a lack of wheels and motors is a problem :P

[AdamST180]

Yeah I read that thread and still keep coming back to the feathertwo as others say rubbish or cost a fortune lol

This is all untested ground for me and not got the courage yet so disassemble the drills and cut the wires

[Incontango]

Hi

I used a Feather 2 in Madusa and it was great. However, in the second fight at Manchester and after getting flipped 000's of times Mdausa stopped working. Having checked everything it was the ESC that will not longer sync up with the TX and everything else was fine.

I emailed nuts and bots and had a reply that they dont know when they will be in stock again. Alex could not even give me an estimate so I assume they are having some issues sourcing components or something. He did suggest I contact Rory about the possibility of a repair so there is some good after sales / fight service if something does go wrong.

I was happy to wait for a new one but given the event in June I might have to bite the bullet and get something else.

Cheers

Jon

[Rapidrory]

Hi all,

The issue with the FeatherTwo stock is entirely down to me struggling to find time to make them now I'm employed full time. I'm working on a new batch atm but progress is slow.

The Feathertwo's aren't necessarily bad speed controllers. When they work they are very good. However they're very hit and miss regarding reliability.

I wasn't aware there was any major reliability issues? Almost all failures that have been reported are either from being plugged in backwards or the motor wires had been shorted, which will kill almost any ESC. On the whole they've been remarkably reliable from what I've heard so far, though would be interested to know if there are any more examples of failures in combat.