:: MOTOR HINTS ::

On Sensored, Sensorless, and Dual Mode:

·        There are 2 different ways to drive a brushless motor.  The R1 uses only one way, sensorless.  The RS can run sensorless and can also run sensored, or it uses a combination of both, Dual Drive Mode.

·        If you connect a sensorless motor to the RS it drives it exactly the same as the R1.

·        Both the R1 and the RS are able to drive a sensored motor.  If the sensor wire is left unplugged from the RS it drives the motor sensorless exactly the same way as the R1.

·        If a sensored motor is connected to the RS it defaults to Dual Drive Mode, which starts out in sensored mode then switches to sensorless once in motion.

·        If Sensored only mode is selected using the HotWire, the Timing Advance value in the HotWire is ignored by the speed control, it only uses the timing on the motor.

·        On the RS, you can visually determine if the sensors are reading correctly.  If the sensor wire is plugged in and the RS is turn on, you should be able to see LEDs 5, 6, & 7 cyle faintly by manually spinning the tires on the car.  If neither 5, 6, or 7 light up then the speed control is not reading the sensors.

·        On the RS, you can also determine visually if you are in Dual Mode or in sensored only mode.  Trun on the speed control and verify the above, now use the transmitter to spin the tires up to  a medium speed, you sould see the LEDs all go out if you are in dual mode, they will remain lit if you are in sensored only mode.

On kV:

·        kV is a rating that describes how many RPMs a motor wants to turn for each volt of electricity it sees.  A 3000 kV motor will turn at 22,200 RPMs if a 7.4 volt battery pack is used (for as long as the battery can maintain that voltage).

·        Motor Timing can also affect kV.

On Motor Timing:

·        Motor Timing can be adjusted in 2 ways with a sensored motor, or in one way if the motor is sensorless.

·        The common way for to adjust timing for both motor types is in the speed control’s software.  Using Tekin’s HotWire interface users can adjust a value called Timing Advance to increase kV.

·        With a sensored motor, timing can also be adjusted by physically turning the timing ring on the motor.

On Motor Temperature:

·      Motor temperature can be affected by adjusting motor timing and by adjusting gearing.  As a rule, drivers tend to get better performance by using more Timing Advance and less gearing when using Wye wound motors like Tekin’s Redline Sensored series.  The Delta wound Redline Sensorless motors don’t like a lot of Timing Advance.

·      All Motors, including Tekin Motors, tend to lose strength in the magnet at high temperatures.  When the magnet loses strength it shows up as a loss of speed.  Monitor your motor temp with a temp gun, place a small piece of black tape on the aluminum can to improve accuracy of the readings.

·      If you see more than 180 degrees F on the motor, possibly your timing is too advanced or you are overgeared.  Try adjusting timing advance back slightly first.

·      Until you are seeing temps of about 160 degrees F on the motor, you are not pulling much power and are possibly not running enough timing or are undergeared.  Try advancing timing first.

·      Another way to generate heat is through commutation loss.  A high turn motor turns more RPMs than a low turn motor therefore it commutates more.  This means that even with no load, a low turn motor will gerentae more heat than a high turn motor.

On Delta vs. Wye wound Motors;

·        There are 2 different ways to connect the 3 windings in the motor--in a triangle (Delta) or in a “Y” (Wye).  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Tekin’s Delta wound motors (sensorless) have a big magnet, Tekin’s Wye wound motors (sensored) have a much smaller magnet so that they are approved for use in competitions such as ROAR and JBRL.

·        Because of the differences in magnets a 3 turn sensorless motor will not compare closely with a 3.5 turn sensored.  For example, the Tekin Redline 362 sensorless is a 3 turn that rates at 6200 kV, while the Tekin Redline 3.5 sensored is a 3.5 turn that rates at 8000kV.

Some rules of thumb to use when trying to get your motor dialed;

·        For 21.5, 17.5, 13.5 motors a good starting point is to maximize the physical motor timing and run sensored only.  Even if the timing is only at 25 degrees at the maximum, the sensors will actually be reading 15 degrees in front of that due to magnetic flux.

·        For 21.5, 17.5, 13.5 motors also set the software timing advance to 100% even if you are running sensored only (which disables the software Timing Advance).  This seems unnecessary but it is a good backup--if a sensor does not read correctly or if the sensor wire becomes unplugged during a run then the speed control switches to sensorless and allows you to finish the race.