lrp sphere comp
 

looking at getting a lrp sphere speed controller this week, just been looking at the specs for it and the bec output is only 5.5v would this make a difference to speed etc of my fet servo which is a 6.0v digital from ko

thanks

No that will be fine, I've been using the KO PDS2363 ICS 6v servo's with ny Sphere Comp 07 with no problems

thanks

Just a quick question on the Sphere Comp:

A friend of mine has just put a Sphere Comp TC in his 4wd Off road car rather than the Sphere comp !

Is this a wise decision and would it make a difference ?

A very good choice. The TC speedo will give better cooling (it has a fan) and this can only be a good thing. The gerneal rule of thumb, is run a brushless speedo as cool as possible.

I run the TC controller in my xxx-4, it runs nice and cool.

If anyone is thermalling a Sphere Comp 2007 Edition there is something wrong. They run extremely cool now as the software and efficiency has been improved massively...

I think running a TC is more a choice of looks over performance to be honest.

I dont run a heat sink at all for off road and never had a prob with thermalling or even getting overheated slightly..

I am assuming you all know how to check the temp with the sphere after a run yeah?

They might, but I don't. Whats it all about?:wtf:

right, well the new sphere comp comes wth a temp check style mode where you can check how many "steps" your car is away from thermalling. The more steps, 22 being the max equates to your car being nowhere near thermalling, whereas steps 1-5 are very very close if not already thermalled. Each step does equate to a certain temp number but I dont have the list on hand. Sorry :)

To check this do the following...

After you have finished your run or 5 minute race (if you practice always run 5, never more as these things arent designed for 10 minutes full on racing) DO NOT SWITCH THE CAR OFF STRAIGHT AWAY... First pull the brake, put it back to neutral and switch the car off. leave the transmitter on the whole time.. Now next step is to hold down the mode key with the supplied plastic driver and turn the speed control on.. Now the setup (blue led) should start to flash. Count the number of flashes and this will basically tell you how far your Sphere Comp is from thermalling... The more steps the better...

From this you can judge whether to add more cooling, i.e a fan or a heatsink or even better drop the pinion a tooth or so! BUT THE BEST METHOD TO STOP FROM THERMALLING IS TO DRIVE REALLY SMOOTH, REMEMBER SLOWER IS FASTER... LEARN TO REALLY BE GRADUAL WITH YOUR TRIGGER FINGER AND I CAN ASSURE YOU, DO THIS AND YOU WILL BE SUPRISED HOW MUCH BETTER THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR SPHERE COMP 07 OR ANY OTHER ESC WILL BE.. CHECK THE STEPS TO SEE YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK!;)

and also for the guys running the old spheres if it thermals, you may as well basketball shot it straight in the bin as I can guarantee it will thermal again and again and again no matter what you do :)

My Sphere (non comp) gets hot enough to hurt but never thermals, which is good. Maybe I have a low pain tolerance? :D


Thanks for that explanation though Ron, I'll be installing the latest 07 version tomorrow so that will help me at the weekend to see how it's doing.

Ron, you don't 'need' to hold the brake and then go to neutrel when you switch it off.

every single time you even touch the brake it 'updates' the max temperature. this is reset when you turn the speedo on 'normally' next time.

for the record, I run a Sphere TC in my 4WD, but I did swap out the MASSIVE wires to use normal 13AWG wires.

the actual reading for the flashes is as follows

for every flash over 5 its worth 5 degrees away from shutdown.

so if you count 8 flashes, its 3 over 5 so thats 3x5=15 degrees away from shutdown.

Reto would not tell me the shutdown temp but he just said that its 'Freaking Hot'

I get between 13-20+ flashes out of mine, even running 15 minute practise sessions

Chris its 8 degrees per flash typo i guess
How to read-out the temperature:
 Switch at „OFF“ position.
 Keep MODE button pressed while you turn switch to „ON“ (then release button)
 SET LED will start to flash blue (MODE LED is off), now count the number of flashes.
• Thermal shutdown of the speedo would occur at 5 flashes.
• The higher the number of flashes, the cooler the speedo ran (e.g. the better it is!).
• Every flash over 5 equals to ~8°C lower internal temp. (e.g. 10 flashes is 40°C below shutdown)

I count not remember if the proto was 8 and production was 5 or the other way round...

either way, I still think in 5 for 2 reasons, its easier to add up :p and it always makes you think on the side of caution.

true but the quote is of LRP web site,
but good idea to air on the cautious side,

I ahve a similar question

I'm looking at putting a Nosram Matrix ISTC in my Lazer Zx5, anybody know if the fan will clear the top deck? is the fan removeable, looks to be hardwired with a very short wire in the pictures?

Im gonna order an LRP brushless setup this weekend hopefully. The comments about the regular sphere sound worrying, that if it thermals then chuck it. Do they regularly thermal (original sphere) or is it only if you are really stupid and has anyone ever thermalled one and had it work fine afterwards? Kinda offputting

i have been running an original sphere for a number of weeks now, bought it 2nd hand from the USA where it had been run in a T4 on a dusty track. I know, i cleaned it!!!!

Anyway, it's coupled to a 9t equivalent motor (forget the star equivalent now), so it has been getting a bit of a beating. I have used it with 3700's 3300's and Orion Carbon Lipo's.

It's geared with a 21 pinion on a kit spur.

Anyway, i have run the car twice from fully charged to flat once on ni-mih, which lasted around 15 minutes and once on Li-Po's (3200mah, orion carbon edition) and I got bored driving it - probably lasted oround 20-25 minutes on one charge.

The long and short of this tome is that the ESC didn't thermal on those runs or any others since, so i can only assume that if the original sphere is thermalling it MUST be geared wrong, and/or run without ventilation or heatsink.

It's hardwired straight into the speedo, and the wires are only just long enough to reach the fan when mounted on the heatsink.

I've had a Sphere 2007 thermal on me when the metal sticker thing on the fets came off complete with the heatsink. I used thermally conductive epoxy to stick it back on and it's been fine ever since.

Can you run it without heatsink Rich? Doesn't Tom run his without any heatsink?

I think it lasts about a lap in the 4wd before it thermals with bare fets :o

Tom used to run his Sphere 2007 in his XX4 without the heatsink, it's suprising how much of a difference the little metal sticker makes. Now he has a TC spec (or at least a TC spec heastink + fan) in the XX4 and 2007 + heatsink in 2wd, same as me.

nice one.........:o

when I got my comp spheres I put my regular sphere in my fast electic boat, this is a super high amp draw environment.

I ran it with a big prop and a 4* motor and it thermaled out on the lake, I had to wait for it to cool down before I brought it back in. once I took the hatch off it was plenty warm in there! I adjusted the prop and it was all running good.

before my new cars arrived from CML I borrowed a B4 to run, I used this speedo in my B4 for a practise day and a full day at CML Raceway without any issues at all. the practise day we were running 10-15 minute runs with a 3* motor.

so basically, I was pretty stupid to thermal it, but it was bloody quick on the water! :p
and the speedo still ran just fine in the B4 afterwards.

Thanks Chris, I know who to blame if it does go wrong :D
One reason im going LRP is the lifetime warranty and the fact theyre easier to replace than the nosram if they do go wrong.

dont worry, the one I abused is not in a box and on the shelf again :p

So not only does doughty drive anything on 4 wheels like a crazy man, he does boats too? insane :o

Ordered an original LRP Sphere with 6.5 motor this morning. Can anyone tell me whether the speedo comes with the large heatsink and whether it needs a fan, if it comes without a fan, would it be good to run one?

On the original sphere I would run a fan yes, and yes it does come with a heatsink which you should always run...

What mr doughty's gonna say, nah man i ran it in my B4 and it doesnt need a fan! haha

2wd no fan as there is hardly any load on the motor and esc, 4wd off road or TC onroad I would say definitely, huge load on both esc and motor!

you can never have enough cooling for a brushless speedo.

you will not hurt performance by running the speedo too cool, but you might save a thermal shutdown and finish a run.

at the end of the day, do whatever YOU think you need, always good to be causious when it comes to keeping brushless cool.

So the Normal Sphere comes with a heatsink, I though it didnt?

Also, what kind of capacitor should I put on it as I heard this is a must for the original sphere

it comes with a heatsink, but its not the heatsink that can accept the fan on top. (TC style)

put as big a capacitor possible on it, the capacitor smooths out the voltage and allows the speedo to run cool.

Would a side mounted fan e good as it can blow air OVER the heatsinks and out the back of the shell rather than just onto it?

Also, what size cap e.g. capacity and type would be good.

yes, side mounted blowing over it would work well, especially in 2WD when you don't have the height.

can't remember the rating, hopefully someone will be able to help out there, I used the 'LRP Small' one when I ran my orig sphere, but it can't hurt to go bigger.

4700uF 10V polarised cap