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Before the ESC profile samples will make sense to you, you must first understand what the different parameters are and what they allow you to do. In the next several paragraphs the different ESC parameters will be explained and you will be given a few practical uses and a couple of basic rules to follow.

DEAD BAND

Dead Band determines the amount of trigger travel between neutral and brake, and between neutral and throttle. If Dead Band is set to 6%, there will be 3% trigger travel between neutral and brake and 3% trigger travel between neutral throttle. Most expert racers like to reduce Dead Band to the smallest percentage possible. The limiting factor is the transmitter. We recommend a Dead Band of 3%. If a smaller percentage is used, problems with centering will be encountered. Also, the older the transmitter, the more likely centering problems will exist. Once you settle on a percentage for Dead Band, that percentage should be used in all of your profiles. You will develop a 'feel' for that Dead Band percentage, so changing it would require you to adjust your timing to drive your vehicle.

Tip #1 - Dead Band is unique in that it is the only parameter whose value should be identical in all profiles you create.

DRIVE FREQUENCY and MINIMUM DRIVE

Drive Frequency and Minimum Drive work hand in hand. The Drive Frequency determines the 'feel' for the range of the throttle travel, while Minimum Drive simply sets the starting percentage for that throttle travel.

Sample Setting: Let's take a sample setting and walk through what happens when the trigger is pulled from neutral to full throttle:

Dead Band=3%

Drive Frequency=15,600 Hz

Minimum Drive=5%

We begin at Neutral. The first 1.5% is Dead Band. At 1.6% we begin throttle at 5% of full throttle at 15,600 Hz.. The Drive Frequency of15,600 Hz. gives you a certain feel for the throttle range. As you continue through the trigger travel, you will eventualy arrive at full throttle (or 100%) of the throttle range. That's all there is to it!

Notice the only instance Minimum Drive comes into play is immediately after the trigger travel passes through Dead Band. These two parameters allow you to dial in a feel and a throttle starting percentage based on how much traction is available, type of vehicle and skill level of the driver.

Tip #2 - Drive Frequency can be used as a fine throttle adjustment and minimum drive can be used as a coarse throttle adjustment. Minimum Drive and Drive Frequency will be the two paremeters changed most to dial into different race tracks. The values used should become part of you vehicle set-up sheets.

BRAKE FREQUENCY and MINIMUM BRAKE

Brake Frequency and Minimum Brake (the brake pot on the ESC), have the same effect on the brake side of the trigger travel that Minimum Drive and Drive Frequency have on the throttle side of the trigger travel.

Minimum Brake determines the percentage of full brakes to be applied to the motor after the trigger passes through Dead Band on the brake side of the trigger travel. Minimum Brake is adjusted with the brake pot on the Cyclone or Atom ESC.

Brake Frequency can drastically change the feel of the brakes in you vehicle. Lower frequencies tend to make the brakes attack harder, while higher frequencies make the brakes more docile and easier to modulate.

Minimum Brake and Brake Frequency allow you to dial in a feel and a starting brake percentage based on how much traction is available, type of vehicle and skill level of the driver. Brake Frequency is adjusted through the computer soft ware or Pit Wizard, like the other parameters discussed.

DRAG BRAKE

Drag Brake is a feature that actually transforms the speed control's dead band into brakes with a pre-determined frequency and value. This means any time the transmitter trigger is returned to the neutral position (deadband), the brakes will be applied at the specified frequency and percentage.

The most benefit from drag brakes can be found in applications where the vehicle is difficult to slow or brake consistently. A sedan with a 24 degree stock motor is a good candidate. With the drag brake set at 11.7 khz drag brake frequency and 10% drag brake value, the sedan will be easier to to drive into turns as the brake function will be the same each time the trigger is returned to neutral.

There are two ways to set up drag brakes. Either method works. The one you choose is your preference.

1. The first is to select a drag brake frequency and a drag brake value. Regardless of which drag brake frequency is selected the drag brake will only become active if the drag brake value is greater than zero.
2. The other method is to set the the first bit of the toggle options = 1. When this method is used, the drag brake value and frequency are no longer active—regardless of where they are set. Now the drag brake frequency is the brake frequency and the drag brake value is the brake pot on the speed control. You can control the amount of drag brake by just simply turning the pot on the speed control.

Tip #3 - Don't discount the brake functions on your ESC. Many of the top racers feel the brakes are just as important as the throttle on a ESC. Experiment, experiment, experiment!

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