Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Darnell Evans photo
1 Level
813 Review
57 Karma

Review on Efficient Control & Performance: RioRand 6 60V Brushless Electric Controller by Darnell Evans

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Good controller, with some flaws

This controller worked great for me right out of the box. It effortlessly drove a 24V 6A motor, no heat problem and high torque. If you are using PWM mode for speed control, make sure you remove the jumper next to the speed potentiometer on the control board. Without a few comments I would give 5 stars. Note: The controllers will turn off after a few seconds in PWM mode when connected to a +5V power supply and then not turn back on. It looks like the PWM channel is very sensitive to noise and therefore something is causing the controller to turn off. I was able to "wake it up" by wiggling a wire connected to the controller's +5V power supply. If you are using an Arduino, instead of connecting the 5V terminals of the controller to a +5V supply, connect it to one of the Arduino's digital pins. These pins are at TTL logic levels (+5V) and source enough current to power the control logic. You can then toggle the contact on and off to turn the controller on and off. When the motor is stopped or you want to stop the motor, pull the contact LOW to free the controller from any internal trigger mechanisms. If the motor needs to move, set the contact HIGH and the control logic will turn on and keep running. A brake is not really a brake. It simply cuts power to the motor and has no holding torque. There is no energy to stop the motor's momentum, so the motor stops by itself due to friction. It's a lot cheaper than a lot of controllers and I think it's a great opportunity to prototype mechanical setups without having to spend a lot of money!

Pros
  • Industrial Electrical
Cons
  • Crumpled packaging