ESC Rebrand Conversion Guide

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slick2500 said:
Nope.

Hobbywing was started and is based out of Shenzhen China. Hobbywing USA is based out of California somewhere.

Castle Creations was created by Patrick Del Castillo and is run from Olathe Kansas.



Also found this nice tidbit on the Hobbywing website

"HOBBYWING technology has been helping more than 500 RC companies launch their brands worldwide. Every project is unique so that we practice a strict role-based on ISO 9001 protocol. ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). HOBBYWING technology uses that standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements."


"RTR / RTF products are not HOBBYWING branded products although products may look alike, and often identical in some cases. Most, if not all of the RTR brands have price point topics to address. This happens by removing features. The products HOBBYWING support staff is familiar with does not include any of the OEM, RTR, or "Private Label" products. The details on all of that is kept under extremely confidential agreements between HOBBYWING technology and the companies. There are no RTR or OEM ESC's that this support staff is able to assist with."
Click to expand...
Those brands was used just as an example. But yes you have proven your point. 🤙
 
N.Mango said:
Those brands was used just as an example. But yes you have proven your point. 🤙
Click to expand...
I also found when digging around that Hobbywing makes escs and motors for motorized skateboards too. Castle makes stuff for Nascar and NASA.
 
slick2500 said:
Also found this nice tidbit on the Hobbywing website

"HOBBYWING technology has been helping more than 500 RC companies launch their brands worldwide. Every project is unique so that we practice a strict role-based on ISO 9001 protocol. ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). HOBBYWING technology uses that standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements."


"RTR / RTF products are not HOBBYWING branded products although products may look alike, and often identical in some cases. Most, if not all of the RTR brands have price point topics to address. This happens by removing features. The products HOBBYWING support staff is familiar with does not include any of the OEM, RTR, or "Private Label" products. The details on all of that is kept under extremely confidential agreements between HOBBYWING technology and the companies. There are no RTR or OEM ESC's that this support staff is able to assist with."
Click to expand...
I have almost pulled the pin more than once on the hobbywing rtr esc's on aliexpress. Almost did it a couple weeks ago, then thought I'd wait until black friday deals showed up. The last max6 I bought was during black Friday/cyber Monday a year or so ago for $125 on amazon. This year though, they didn't have that price. On a whim, I logged into hobbywing direct and found that they were offering the deal there, so I nabbed up a max6 for $128 shipped! Glad I checked!
 
DoNoHarm said:
If anyone has any others, please chip in. Anything with nothing next to it means it is completely identical other than exterior features. For the abbreviations I used:
MMM= Mamba Monster Original
MM2= Mamba Monster 2
MMP= Mamba Max Pro
F310C= Castle Mamba Monster series made before 2013
F360C= Castle Mamba Monster series made from 2013 and up, not including the Mamba Monster X.
  • Traxxas MXL-6s= Castle MM2 (F360C)
  • Traxxas ET-3s= Castle MMP (WITH ONLY 3S LIPO CAPABILITY UNTIL HACKED, THEN YOU CAN USE 6S)
  • HPI Blur=Castle MMM (WITH LIMITED PROGRAMMABILITY) (F310/F360C)
  • HPI ELC-6s= Castle MM2 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING) (F360C)
  • HPI Rage= Hobbywing 8BL-120
  • HPI ELH-6s= Hobbywing 8BL-150
  • HPI Q-Base= Castle MMP (LIMITED PROGRAMMING, RESTRICTED TO 4S, INTERNAL CAPICITORS MODIFIED, CANNOT TAKE 6S)
  • Axial AE= Castle Sidewinder
  • Axial AE-2= Castle Sidewinder 2
  • Axial AE-3= Castle Sidewinder 3
  • Axial AE-4= Castle Sidewinder 8th
  • Arrma BLX-200= Hobbywing Max8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-185= Hobbywing 8BL-150 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-120= Hobbywing Max10 SCT(LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-100= Hobbywing Max10 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly HEX 8= Hobbywing Max8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly Hex6= Hobbywing Max6 (SOME LIMITED TO 6S MAX, BOTH VERSIONS LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly Hex10= Hobbywing Max10 SCT (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Dynamite Fuze-150A= Hobbywing 8BL-150 (PROGRAM VIA DYNAMITE CARD)
  • Dynamite Fuze 160A= Hobbywing Max6 (PROGRAM LIMITED VIA DYNAMITE CARD, EXTREME HV BEC)
  • Dynamite Fuze 130A= Hobbywing SC8 (PROGRAM VIA DYNAMITE CARD)
  • Dynamite Fuze 90A= Castle Sidewinder 8th
  • Thunder Tiger BLC-150C= Hobbywing EzRun 150a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Thunder Tiger BLC- 80C= Hobbywing EzRun 80a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Ace 150a= Hobbywing EzRun 150a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC300-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun 16BL30. (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC600-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun 10BL60 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC800-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun WPBL80 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC1000-BL= Hobbywing SC8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Leopard BL5= Hobbywing Max5 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Leopard BL6= Hobbywing Max6 (Limited PROGRAMMING, ALL BL6 UNITS LIMITED TO 6S LIPO MAX)
  • HoBao 89421= Hobbywing Quicrun 8BL-150 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • HoBao 89341= Hobbywing Quicrun 8BL-100
  • Spektrum Firma 80a = Hobbywing Max10 with smart features(limited to 3s.)
  • Spektrum Firma 100a = Hobbywing Max10 with smart features(limited to 3s.)
  • Spektrum Firma 120a = Hobbywing Max10 SCT with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 130a = Hobbywing Max10 SCT with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 150a = Hobbywing 8BL150 with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 160a = Hobbywing Max6 with smart features.
  • Team Corally Torox 185 = Hobbywing Max8.
  • WP-6BL160 = Hobbywing Max6(COMES IN 6S AND 8S VERSIONS. SIMILAR TO THE HEX6)
EVERY CASTLE CREATIONS ESC REBRAND HAS ACCESS TO CASTLE LINK, THOSE WITH LIMITED PROGRAMMING MAY BE LIMITED TO CERTAIN FIRMWARE, LIKE HOW HPI MUST APPROVE CERTAIN FIRMWARE FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD, BUT THEY CAN ALWAYS BE HACKED AND REFLASHED TO MODERN FIRMWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

DUE TO HOBBYWING'S PROGRAMMING METHOD, NONE OF THEIR REBRAND ESC'S CAN BE HACKED.

Any other labelings are appreciated. This took awhile, hopefully it’s a point of reference for people. The arrma esc’s also seem to be detuned along with the program limitation but the detune is most likely part of how they changed the programming, therefore will not be mentioned. Arrma, Traxxas and Dynamite are the only ones who actually changed the programming, the others just don’t have access to some minor features.

None of the castle systems have any modified programming, those with limited may not let you download certain firmware versions.

"HOBBYWING technology has been helping more than 500 RC companies launch their brands worldwide. Every project is unique so that we practice a strict role-based on ISO 9001 protocol. ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). HOBBYWING technology uses that standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements."


"RTR / RTF products are not HOBBYWING branded products although products may look alike, and often identical in some cases. Most, if not all of the RTR brands have price point topics to address. This happens by removing features. The products HOBBYWING support staff is familiar with does not include any of the OEM, RTR, or "Private Label" products. The details on all of that is kept under extremely confidential agreements between HOBBYWING technology and the companies. There are no RTR or OEM ESC's that this support staff is able to assist with."
Click to expand...
There you have it. Two manufacturers for the whole industry. :
 
moush said:
There you have it. Two manufacturers for the whole industry. :
Click to expand...
There are a few others they make mostly escs for planes and helis though.
Most of the eBay and Amazon cheapos, GoolRc, Surpass, Rocket ect were reverse engineered from Hobbywing ecs, some are just bad clones and hell some of them like the Tsky 120a esc you can update with Hobbywing firmware.
 
moush said:
There you have it. Two manufacturers for the whole industry. :
Click to expand...
Two mfgr in that list, but this is not a comprehensive list of all ESC's on the market. This only covers some of the mid-level OEM / RTR ESC's, and none of the low end HobbyKing / Toro / Other 'Store brands', and it does not cover higher end ESC's - most of which are independent, but even a few of the high end ESC's are rebrands...
 
That's why they not selling as it should be. There should have open new markets . Other countries. Is it mainly a U.S. Market. Basicly not as many customers as there should have been since last time I was into the hobby. For same reason why I got out of the hobby. Spend to much down time and money. Take spektrum for example. Everything I have with that brand has failed. In very short period of time. Less then a year. Yes they will replace it but I would have to buy again if it is past 1 year. If I'm lucky to go that long. 100% fail rate and it's not due to quality. It's fail modes in design. .
 
Just wondering who makes the VXL-8s for Traxxas?

Also a question about the Spektrum 160a esc. I assume most settings can be unlocked with the programming card.

Thanks in advance.
 
AllTheWay007 said:
Just wondering who makes the VXL-8s for Traxxas?

Also a question about the Spektrum 160a esc. I assume most settings can be unlocked with the programming card.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Traxxas makes all of their own electronics.

No you will only have the settings that it shows in the manual. The program card doesn't unlock or open any features that might be missing from the Spektrum escs vs the Hobbywing.
 
jkflow said:
Confirmed, there is nothing to unlock with a programming card. All settings are in the manual.































































Hi guys, Merry Christmas to you all.































Hoping someone can help, I tried searching but....







Is there a difference with the mamba monster X with yhr
Click to expand...

DoNoHarm said:
If anyone has any others, please chip in. Anything with nothing next to it means it is completely identical other than exterior features. For the abbreviations I used:
MMM= Mamba Monster Original
MM2= Mamba Monster 2
MMP= Mamba Max Pro
F310C= Castle Mamba Monster series made before 2013
F360C= Castle Mamba Monster series made from 2013 and up, not including the Mamba Monster X.
  • Traxxas MXL-6s= Castle MM2 (F360C)
  • Traxxas ET-3s= Castle MMP (WITH ONLY 3S LIPO CAPABILITY UNTIL HACKED, THEN YOU CAN USE 6S)
  • HPI Blur=Castle MMM (WITH LIMITED PROGRAMMABILITY) (F310/F360C)
  • HPI ELC-6s= Castle MM2 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING) (F360C)
  • HPI Rage= Hobbywing 8BL-120
  • HPI ELH-6s= Hobbywing 8BL-150
  • HPI Q-Base= Castle MMP (LIMITED PROGRAMMING, RESTRICTED TO 4S, INTERNAL CAPICITORS MODIFIED, CANNOT TAKE 6S)
  • Axial AE= Castle Sidewinder
  • Axial AE-2= Castle Sidewinder 2
  • Axial AE-3= Castle Sidewinder 3
  • Axial AE-4= Castle Sidewinder 8th
  • Arrma BLX-200= Hobbywing Max8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-185= Hobbywing 8BL-150 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-120= Hobbywing Max10 SCT(LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Arrma BLX-100= Hobbywing Max10 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly HEX 8= Hobbywing Max8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly Hex6= Hobbywing Max6 (SOME LIMITED TO 6S MAX, BOTH VERSIONS LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Hexfly Hex10= Hobbywing Max10 SCT (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Dynamite Fuze-150A= Hobbywing 8BL-150 (PROGRAM VIA DYNAMITE CARD)
  • Dynamite Fuze 160A= Hobbywing Max6 (PROGRAM LIMITED VIA DYNAMITE CARD, EXTREME HV BEC)
  • Dynamite Fuze 130A= Hobbywing SC8 (PROGRAM VIA DYNAMITE CARD)
  • Dynamite Fuze 90A= Castle Sidewinder 8th
  • Thunder Tiger BLC-150C= Hobbywing EzRun 150a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Thunder Tiger BLC- 80C= Hobbywing EzRun 80a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Ace 150a= Hobbywing EzRun 150a (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC300-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun 16BL30. (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC600-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun 10BL60 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC800-BL= Hobbywing Quicrun WPBL80 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Reedy SC1000-BL= Hobbywing SC8 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Leopard BL5= Hobbywing Max5 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • Leopard BL6= Hobbywing Max6 (Limited PROGRAMMING, ALL BL6 UNITS LIMITED TO 6S LIPO MAX)
  • HoBao 89421= Hobbywing Quicrun 8BL-150 (LIMITED PROGRAMMING)
  • HoBao 89341= Hobbywing Quicrun 8BL-100
  • Spektrum Firma 80a = Hobbywing Max10 with smart features(limited to 3s.)
  • Spektrum Firma 100a = Hobbywing Max10 with smart features(limited to 3s.)
  • Spektrum Firma 120a = Hobbywing Max10 SCT with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 130a = Hobbywing Max10 SCT with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 150a = Hobbywing 8BL150 with smart features.
  • Spektrum Firma 160a = Hobbywing Max6 with smart features.
  • Team Corally Torox 185 = Hobbywing Max8.
  • WP-6BL160 = Hobbywing Max6(COMES IN 6S AND 8S VERSIONS. SIMILAR TO THE HEX6)
EVERY CASTLE CREATIONS ESC REBRAND HAS ACCESS TO CASTLE LINK, THOSE WITH LIMITED PROGRAMMING MAY BE LIMITED TO CERTAIN FIRMWARE, LIKE HOW HPI MUST APPROVE CERTAIN FIRMWARE FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD, BUT THEY CAN ALWAYS BE HACKED AND REFLASHED TO MODERN FIRMWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

DUE TO HOBBYWING'S PROGRAMMING METHOD, NONE OF THEIR REBRAND ESC'S CAN BE HACKED.

Any other labelings are appreciated. This took awhile, hopefully it’s a point of reference for people. The arrma esc’s also seem to be detuned along with the program limitation but the detune is most likely part of how they changed the programming, therefore will not be mentioned. Arrma, Traxxas and Dynamite are the only ones who actually changed the programming, the others just don’t have access to some minor features.

None of the castle systems have any modified programming, those with limited may not let you download certain firmware versions.

"HOBBYWING technology has been helping more than 500 RC companies launch their brands worldwide. Every project is unique so that we practice a strict role-based on ISO 9001 protocol. ISO 9001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS). HOBBYWING technology uses that standard to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements."


"RTR / RTF products are not HOBBYWING branded products although products may look alike, and often identical in some cases. Most, if not all of the RTR brands have price point topics to address. This happens by removing features. The products HOBBYWING support staff is familiar with does not include any of the OEM, RTR, or "Private Label" products. The details on all of that is kept under extremely confidential agreements between HOBBYWING technology and the companies. There are no RTR or OEM ESC's that this support staff is able to assist with."
Click to expand...
Hi guys, Merry Christmas to all!
Hoping someone can help, I've tried searching but no luck
Is there a difference with the Mamba Monster X 6s esc with all silver X, vs all red X, vs silver X with red border?
 
SilentSassin said:
Hi guys, Merry Christmas to all!
Hoping someone can help, I've tried searching but no luck
Is there a difference with the Mamba Monster X 6s esc with all silver X, vs all red X, vs silver X with red border?
Click to expand...

Probably just a rolling change in the case for looks.
 
I just got back into the hobby after a 10-20 year lay off ( one quick 6mo stint in ebuggy 10 years ago). I've always raced Associated so I started researching all the Reedy products because they're the top of the industry. I started noticing the batteries, chargers, esc etc all looked extremely similar to other brands and had identical prices. It never occurred to me that RC companies did this. It was always logical, to me, that if you offered a motor then you made that motor and it represented your technology and competency as a company. I was taken aback that one of the industries leading companies had rebrands as 90% of the product lineup. Maybe even 100%? Strange.
 
Lil Dylan said:
I just got back into the hobby after a 10-20 year lay off ( one quick 6mo stint in ebuggy 10 years ago). I've always raced Associated so I started researching all the Reedy products because they're the top of the industry. I started noticing the batteries, chargers, esc etc all looked extremely similar to other brands and had identical prices. It never occurred to me that RC companies did this. It was always logical, to me, that if you offered a motor then you made that motor and it represented your technology and competency as a company. I was taken aback that one of the industries leading companies had rebrands as 90% of the product lineup. Maybe even 100%? Strange.
Click to expand...
You would be surprised to learn the amount of products that are just repurposed from other industries with a huge markup on them. Team Associated Green Slime is literally just Noleen SF3 shock grease that costs like 10x as much.
 
slick2500 said:
You would be surprised to learn the amount of products that are just repurposed from other industries with a huge markup on them. Team Associated Green Slime is literally just Noleen SF3 shock grease that costs like 10x as much.
Click to expand...
Hell, their two monster trucks mt10 and mt8 are made by other companies. In what world what would such a prestigious RC company not be able to make their own......RC cars? It's just strange to me.
 
Lil Dylan said:
Hell, their two monster trucks mt10 and mt8 are made by other companies. In what world what would such a prestigious RC company not be able to make their own......RC cars? It's just strange to me.
Click to expand...
None of the top rc brands make their own cars except for XRay, Mugen and I think Tamiya. Everyone else outsources their cars to China or Taiwan manufacturing facilities.
 
slick2500 said:
None of the top rc brands make their own cars except for XRay, Mugen and I think Tamiya. Everyone else outsources their cars to China or Taiwan manufacturing facilities.
Click to expand...
But most cars are at least designed by the seller right? AE didn't even design the monster trucks. Maybe I'm being naïve.
 
How am I only seeing this thread for the first time today? Great information @DoNoHarm and thank you!
 
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Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
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