PHOENIX-25
PHOENIX-25PHOENIX-25
PHOENIX-25
™
By Castle Creations
25 Amp Brushless Sensorless Speed Control
PHOENIX-25™ User Guide Page 2 of 6 Rev 5-date 11/13/02
This document, Phoenix-25™ software, and Phoenix-25™ PCB layout are all Copyright 2002 by Patrick del Castillo and Castle Creations
Warning! High power motor systems can be very dangerous! High currents can
heat wires and batteries, causing fires and burning skin. Follow the wiring directions
carefully! Model aircraft equipped with high power motors can kill. Always fly at a
sanctioned field. Never fly over or near spectators. Even though this controller is
equipped with a safety arming program, you should still use caution when connecting the
main batter
.
3.0 Flying with Your Phoenix-25™:
ALWAYS PERFORM A RANGE CHECK BEFORE FLYING WITH ANY NEW SPEED
CONTROLLER! PERFORM YOUR RANGE CHECK AT FULL THROTTLE, HALF THROTTLE
AND NO THROTTLE.
Initialization sequence:
1. Connect the speed controller receiver connector to the proper channel on your receiver (usually channel 3)
2. Turn on your transmitter.
3. Connect the main power battery to the speed controller.
4. The speed controller will remain disarmed (will not operate) until it sees more than four seconds of “brake”
throttle. Move the throttle arm to the lowest position on your transmitter, wait at least four seconds, and
then test the controller to make sure that the throttle operates.
5. Go fly!
6. If the BEC cutoff occurs before you land, you may restart the motor and use low throttle if necessary by
moving the throttle stick all the way down (to the brake position) and then throttling back up. BEC cutoff
will occur again if the voltage drops too low.
4.0 Using the Features of Your Phoenix-25™
BEC - The BEC power is supplied to the receiver and servos through the receiver connector wires. If you
wish to disable the BEC and use a separate receiver battery (required for the use of more than ten cells), you
must first cut the red wire in the trio of receiver wires. Simply use a pair of wire cutters to remove a short
section of the red wire near the receiver connector, and be sure to insulate the cut wire with a bit of electrical
tape. Then you may safely use a battery with your receiver.
Brake - moving the transmitter throttle stick to the bottom position enables the prop brake.
Cutoff - The motor cutoff will occur when the input battery voltage drops below the programmed cutoff
voltage (factory preset at 5.0V) for more than one half second. Once motor cutoff has occurred, moving the
throttle to the braking position (full off) can re-arm the controller. This will allow restart of the motor at low
throttle after cutoff has occurred. WARNING: Repeated restarting of the motor may drain the battery
to a point where the radio receiver will stop operating, resulting in a loss of control of the model.
Loss of Transmitter Signal, or excessive radio noise cutoff - Motor cutoff will also occur if the signal from
the transmitter is lost, or if the radio noise becomes excessive. After radio connection has been reestablished,
moving the throttle to the braking position (full off) for four seconds can restart the motor.
Safe Power Up - The Safe Power up feature is a “finger saver”, designed to prevent the motor from starting
accidentally on power up. To arm the controller, the transmitter stick must be held in the “Brake” position (all
the way down) for at least four seconds. Until the controller is armed, it will not provide any power to the
motor, regardless of where the throttle stick on your transmitter is positioned. Before flying your model, be
sure to “blip” the throttle to ensure that the controller is armed.
LED – The LED is used for programming the features on the Phoenix-25™. Once armed, the LED also
provides an indication that the controller has reached full throttle by lighting solid when full throttle is
reached. If the unit is in Auto-Calibrating Throttle mode (program setting 4-1) then you may see full throttle
LED indication before the stick is in the full up position. Simply continue moving the stick to full up. The
controller will detect the high stick travel and adjust full throttle accordingly.
5.0 Troubleshooting
Everything is hooked up correctly, the BEC (receiver and servos) works, but the throttle does not work.
The controller is not seeing the four seconds of “dead space” (low throttle) and is not arming. Try moving
your throttle stick all the way down, and moving the trim all the way down. Wait for four seconds and try the
throttle again. If it still does not arm, you may need to reverse the throttle control on your transmitter (see
your radio documentation). You may also check to make sure that your endpoint adjustments on your radio
(if it has them) are set all the way open.
Every time I throttle all the way up, the controller “cuts off” after a few seconds, even with fresh
charged batteries.
The controller will automatically shut down the motor if the battery voltage falls below the programmed
voltage cutoff (factory preset at 5.0V) for more than half a second. This is to protect your airplane from a loss
of control caused by too low a voltage at the receiver. If the cutoff is kicking in with fresh charged batteries, it
means that the voltage is dropping very quickly. This is usually an indication of a motor that is drawing too
much current for the batteries to handle. Try using a smaller prop on the motor, or using batteries with a
higher rating (for example, if you are using 800AR cells, you might try going to 1000SCR cells.)
The LED comes on when I throttle up.
This is normal. The LED comes on when full throttle has been reached. If the unit is in Auto-Calibrating
Throttle mode (program setting 4-1) then you may see full throttle LED indication before the stick is in the
full up position. Simply continue moving the stick to full up. The controller will detect the high stick travel
and adjust full throttle accordingly.
Nothing seems to work, receiver and servos are dead, and the throttle is dead.
Check all connections to ensure that they are correct, and that the polarity (+/-) connections are correct. If
everything is correctly connected, and the receiver and servos still do not work, contact the dealer where you
purchased your Phoenix-25™ or Contact Castle Creations directly. (See info below)
6.0 Contact / Warranty Information
Your Phoenix-25™ is warranted for one (1) year from date of purchase to be free from manufacturing and
component defects. This warranty does not cover abuse, neglect, or damage due to incorrect wiring, over
voltage, or overloading. If you have any questions, comments, or wish to return your Phoenix-25™ for
warranty or non-warranty repair/replacement contact Castle Creations at:
Castle Creations Email: support@castlecreations.com
402 E. Pendleton Ave. Fax: (785) 883-4571
Wellsville, KS 66092 Website: http://www.castlecreations.com
Tel: (785) 883-4519
