*If the ESC does not count the correct number of cells, as indicated by the

™
beeps, then your cutoff voltage will NOT work. Do NOT fly. First, ensure your
battery is fully charged. If the problem persists please contact customer
support.

Note: if auto-calibrate throttle (default throttle setting) is selected, always

restrain vehicle and run throttle to full power prior to flight to allow ESC to
recognize the full throttle signal.
Note: Always power your radio transmitter before powering up the
receiver and/or the ESC. Some receivers with failsafe features or receiver

USER GUIDE
units that are not bound on receiver power up are entirely capable of
causing the arming sequence to occur and command the ESC to drive the
motor. Always keep the aircraft restrained and clear of body parts when
™ the ESC is powered.

Always perform a range check at full, half, and zero throttle before flying
with any new speed controller!
IMPORTANT WARNINGS
• Castle Creations is not responsible for your use of this product or TALON ESC PROGRAMMABLE FEATURES
for any damage or injuries you may cause or sustain as a result of Talon ESCs offer a wide array of operating modes and settings for helicopter,
its usage. multi-rotor, and fixed wing vehicles. These settings are most readily
• Castle controllers are for use by adults only. accessed using the Castle Link USB adapter (coupon for free Castle Link
USB adapter is included with the Talon ESC) and Castle Link User Interface
• Always remove the propeller or pinion when working on a power software available at no charge at castlecreations.com/downloads.
system with the battery connected.
• Please observe all local laws regarding the flying of remote control TALON ESC STICK PROGRAMMING
aircraft.
You may change the following settings using your transmitter and receiver.
• Never fly over others or near crowds. Low Voltage Cutoff Value
• An RC vehicle crash or a power system malfunction may result in ESC optionally stops or ramps down the motor power when the input battery
fire. Never operate RC vehicles in a flammable environment, such voltage drops to the programmed cutoff voltage per cell. Values include, 3.0,
as around dry vegetation. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 volts per cell or NONE.

Brake
ESC optionally stops rotation of the motor when the throttle signal is moved
HOW TO CONNECT YOUR TALON
to the lowest position. Values include soft delayed brake, hard delayed brake,
1. Add Your Battery Connector soft immediate brake, hard immediate brake, and brake disabled.
You must solder a quality battery connector of your choice to the red (+) and Low Voltage Cutoff Type
black (-) power wires. Solder the battery connector to the wires. ENSURE Select the method of cutoff employed by the Talon when the low voltage
THAT THE POLARITY IS CORRECT (red wire to battery red wire, black set in #1 is reached. Options are hard cutoff, soft cutoff, RPM decrease, and
wire to battery black wire). Follow the instructions provided with the pulsing RPM.
battery connector. PWM Settings
2. Connect The Motor To Your ESC
Choose a PWM rate that best suits your motor. Options are 8 kHz, 12 kHz, or
Solder Castle male bullet connectors to the motor and Castle female 16 kHz.
connectors (barrel) to the motor leads attached to the ESC. Connect the
motor to the ESC by pushing the bullet connectors into the barrels, swap any
two connections to reverse the rotation of the motor. MANUALLY CHANGING PROGRAMMABLE SETTINGS
3. Connect The ESC To Your Receiver The Talon ESC software is designed to make it difficult to accidentally
Connect the receiver lead to the throttle channel on your receiver. enter programming mode. Once in programming mode, the Talon ESC “asks”
Note to users with external receiver/radio power supply: Always disconnect questions by beeping and flashing the setting number, followed by the
the red power wire on the throttle lead if an external BEC or battery is number for each of the setting values. You must answer “yes” or “no” by
employed in the radio/servo circuit. moving the throttle stick on your transmitter to each of the setting values as
Note to users with a Futaba transmitter: You must reverse the throttle the Talon ESC presents them. The values are always presented in sequence.
channel signal on your transmitter. Please refer to your Futaba instructions This method does NOT “tell you” what any of the settings are currently
and exercise extreme caution when first powering your ESC. programmed for.

The current setting and setting value are “flashed” out by the LED. (For
OPERATION example if you are on setting #3 and value #2, there will be 3 beeps/flashes,
then 2 beeps/flashes repeating until you answer). Answering “no” to a
The Castle Talon ESC will not provide power to the motor when first powered
setting value will cause the Talon ESC to ask for the next value in sequence.
up. The ESC must receive a low throttle signal to arm.
Answering “yes” to a setting value will store that setting in the permanent
Follow this initialization sequence to operate the motor.
memory, and skip to the next setting.
1. Turn your transmitter ON and set the throttle stick to mid throttle.
2. If you are using an external BEC or radio battery and your red power wire NOTE: If you answer “no” to all values for a particular setting, the ESC will
on the throttle lead is disconnected, power the radio receiver in the RC keep whatever value had been previously programmed. Only by answering
vehicle. “yes” to a value will the Talon ESC store/change any value.
3. Connect the main power battery to the speed controller. The ESC will
make a chime and then a sequence of beeps. Count the number of beeps You will need to move the transmitter stick to the “yes” (full throttle) position
and make sure it matches the number of LiPo cells that were plugged or the “no” (zero throttle) position to answer the question. When the Talon
into the unit.* The speed controller will remain disarmed and will not ESC has accepted your answer, it will flash the LED rapidly, and emit a
operate the motor until it receives the zero throttle command from the constant beeping. Move the throttle stick back to the middle position for the
receiver. next question.
4. When you are ready to fly, move the throttle stick to the lowest position After you have verified that the controller works properly, follow the steps
on your transmitter. below to change settings.
5. The Talon will play the arming tone through the motor to indicate that it
is armed. If you only wish to change some of the settings you do not need to continue
through the programming steps for the remaining settings. To exit stick Setting 3: Low Voltage Cutoff Type
programming mode at any point, disconnect battery power, re-connect
power, and arm the speed control as normal. Option Value Recommended Use
1 Hard Will shut the motor off when the programmed cutoff
Cutoff voltage is reached. The motor may be restarted
ENTER PROGRAMMING MODE by lowering the throttle to the brake position, and
1. The Talon ESC must be connected to a motor in order for you to hear the re-arming. For gliders and some parkflyers where
programming beeps. Turn your transmitter on, and leave the Talon ESC a “motor off” situation does not put the model in
unpowered. Move the transmitter stick to the top position (full throttle). danger.
2. Connect a motor battery to the Talon ESC and the ESC will sound its 2 Soft ESC ramps down the throttle to safely maintain the
initialization tones. After a short period of time the Talon ESC will sound Cutoff battery voltage at the programmed cutoff level. Very
another short tone and the LED will flash a short, single flash that useful for 3D flying, indoor flying, all helicopters,
repeats. NOTE: If the ESC flashes continuously it is not seeing a full and most any sport flying where you do not want
throttle position. Move your throttle trim to the top position or increase the motor to turn off when the low voltage cutoff is
your full throttle endpoint or ATV on your transmitter. reached. FACTORY setting.
3. Move your transmitter stick to the middle position. The ESC will sound 3 RPM ESC reduces RPM dramatically.
another short tone, and the LED will flash a short, double flash that decrease
repeats.
4 Pulsing ESC pulses throttle
4. Move your transmitter stick back to the top position again. After a short RPM
time, the ESC will sound a short tone, and the LED will flash a short, triple
flash that repeats. Note: Options 3 and 4 will give a warning that the battery pack is below
5. Move your transmitter stick back to the middle position again. The ESC the preset low voltage level. The ESC will allow the user to run the motor
will sound four short tones in a row, and the LED will start a repetitive without additional action. The user is responsible for stopping further
flash sequence consisting of a single flash, a pause, another single flash, discharge of the battery.
followed by another pause. Setting 4: PWM Switching Rate**

The ESC is now in programming mode and asking you if you would like to Option Value Recommended Use
set the first option (Low Voltage Cutoff) to the first value (3.0V). Enter your 1 8kHz Suggested for most Scorpion outrunners.
settings using the method described on the other side.
Setting 1: Auto-LiPo volts/cell cutoff* 2 12 kHz Recommended for most brushless motors.
FACTORY setting.
NOTE: When setting LiPo cutoff voltage, always follow your battery brand
recommendations. 3 16 kHz Recommended for low inductance motors. RARE.
Suggested for Kontronik Tango motors.
Option Value Recommended Use
1 3.0V per cell **Refer to motor manufacturer’s instructions for frequency settings.

2 3.1V per cell CONTACT AND WARRANTY INFO

3 3.2V per cell FACTORY setting Your Talon ESC is warranted for one year* from date of purchase to be
free from manufacturing and component defects. This warranty does not
4 3.3V per cell cover abuse, neglect, or damage due to incorrect wiring, over voltage, or
5 3.4V per cell overloading. If you have any questions, comments, or wish to return your ESC
for warranty or non-warranty repair or replacement, contact Castle Creations,
6 DISABLED Controller will NOT shut down motor at any Inc. at:
voltage.
Phone: (913) 390-6939
*Refer to cell vendor’s instructions for cutoff voltage. 540 North Rogers Road
Setting 2: Brake Type Olathe, Kansas 66062 USA
Option Value Recommended Use www.castlecreations.com

1 Soft Delayed General aircraft use, with fixed or folding prop.

Brake *You may have additional warranty rights under the laws of certain nations
2 Hard Direct drive applications where more braking or states.
Delayed power is required.
Brake NON-WARRANTY REPAIRS
3 Soft Brake – Competition use where a very short brake delay Never throw away a damaged Castle product! You may send it to Castle and
No Delay is required. take advantage of our flat price replacement offer. Please check our website
for specific pricing.
4 Hard Brake– Competition use where a very short brake delay
No Delay is required. Brake action may be very abrupt. Be
very cautious with high-powered setups.
5 Brake Helicopters, 3D airplanes, and by choice, on most
Disabled aerobatic airplanes. FACTORY setting.
TALON ESC OPERATIONAL TONES AND ERROR CODES
Tone Talon LED Meaning Description
Castle power Blinks out cell-counts Power up notice ESC plays Castle signature tone and beeps out the number of cells attached to controller.
tune with beeps with RED LED Note: when Auto-LiPo detect is disabled by the user, ESC will not beep the number of cells.
corresponding to
number of cells ESC will not run motor until it receives an arming signal from radio via the throttle lead.
Arming tune N/A ESC ready to run motor ESC plays the Castle arming tone once it receives a low throttle signal from the receiver.
Controller is ready to run the motor at this point.

• RED LED matches tones Powered ESC notice ESC beeps motor every 10 seconds to remind user that power is connected to the ESC. This
notice may be disabled in Castle Link.

•- RED LED matches tones Low voltage cutoff Main battery voltage dropped below the cutoff value. Default is Auto-LiPo which generates
a value using 3.2V times the detected cell count. Other settings may be entered in Castle
Link.

•- • RED LED matches tones Over temperature ESC reached an overtemp condition when operated under too high a load, operated
without proper cooling airflow, or when operated at partial throttle (40%-99%) with too
large a load.

•- - RED LED matches tones Excessive load ESC detected very high current spikes. Causes may include damaged wiring leading to or in
the motor, or the use of too large a motor for the controller.

•• RED LED matches tones Start fail ESC was unable to start motor

••- RED LED matches tones Radio glitch ESC detected unusual signals or loss of signal on throttle wire.

••• RED LED matches tones Motor anomaly ESC detected a sudden mechanical interruption of the motor’s rotation.

-• RED LED matches tones Over-current ESC detected operating currents that exceed the current rating of the ESC.

- •- Red LED matches tones BEC over temperature ESC has detected that the integrated BEC is overheating due to current draw above the
ratting of the BEC.

KEY •- = LONG TONE

None Flashing GREEN LED Locked head speed Governor mode has locked the head speed. = SHORT TONE
None SOLID RED Full throttle ESC is at full throttle.

© 2013 Castle Creations, Inc. Revision Date - 09/2013