The Electronic Speed Controller or ESC for short, is designed to send power to the motor as well as the receiver (RX). These units generally come pre-soldered with motor and battery wires, but you may still need to solder on battery connectors along with soldering the three motor wires to your chosen motor with the A,B, and C wires connecting to the corresponding motor terminals. The ESC should also come pre-soldered with a capacitor. The capacitor not only helps with delivering smooth power to the motor, but also helps to stop the possibility of a short if you accidentally connect the + and – terminals of the battery the wrong way. Be very careful when connecting the battery, as it will at the very least blow the capacitor and at the most could trigger a battery fire, which none of us want to see.
Each manufacturer has different ESC setup instructions, so read their manuals carefully and you should be up and running in no time.
You can also purchase an ESC program box which connects to the ESC via a cable. You can then change such settings as Boost – for more or less acceleration, and Turbo – for more or less top end speed. If you are feeling particularly fancy, there are also Over The Air ESC’s and plug in modules that allow you to adjust the settings of the ESC via an APP on your smart phone or tablet.
