HYDRA 120 & HYDRA 240 OPERATION MANUAL Thank you for
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1. This is usually an indication of a motor that is drawing too much current for the batteries to handle Try using a smaller prop on the motor or using batteries with a higher rating Nothing seems to work receiver and servos are dead and the throttle is dead Check all connections to ensure that they are correct and that the polarity battery connections are correct If everything is correctly connected and the receiver and servos still do not work contact the dealer where you purchased your HYDRA or Contact Castle Creations directly 5 0 Intended Use The HYDRA is intended for exclusive use with boats only Use in any other vehicles or aircraft is not covered by warranty and will not be supported by Castle Creations Inc Page 3 of 5 Rev 8 date 10 25 07 This document HYDRA software and HYDRA PCB layout are all Copyright 2004 2007 by Castle Creations Inc SWTIRA WATER COOLED MARINE SPEED CONTROL 6 0 Water Cooling Tubing Your HYDRA is warranted for one 1 year from date of purchase to be free from Users must provide their own water cooling tubing manufacturing and component defects This warranty does not cover abuse neglect or damage due to incorrect wiring over voltage or overloading HYDRA 120 Attach the input and output tubes to one end of the controller Cut a section approximately 3 75 long and use it to connect the tubes at the opposite Each controller is tested for proper operation2. and HYDRA PCB layout are all Copyright 2004 2007 by Castle Creations Inc FSDAkA PROGRAMMABLE FEATURES NOTE Factory Defaults are indicated by asterisk Question alue Description 1 Brake Reverse Type 1 No Reverse 2 Forward to Reverse No reverse function This setting makes the boat operate freely in forward and reverse WATER COOLED MARINE SPEED CONTROL NOTE when stetting Lipo cutoff voltage follow your battery manufacturer s recommendations Question Value Description 3 Cutoff Voltage 1 minimal cutoff Nicad NiMH cells 2 5V cutoff Nicad NiMH cells 3 6V cutoff 2 cell Li Po 4 9V cutoff 3 cell Li Po 5 12Vcutoff 4 cell Li Po 2 Reverse Throttle Amount 1 12 5 This setting makes your maximum reverse speed lequal to 12 5 of full power 2 25 This setting makes your maximum reverse speed equal to 25 of full power 3 50 This setting makes your maximum reverse speed equal to 50 of full power 4 Timing Advance 1 Low Max efficiency runtime 2 Normal Balance power runtime 3 Race More power less runtime Use at your own risk 4 Extreme Max power Most smoke No warranty 5 Starting power 1 Low Increase the value of this 2 Normal setting if your model has i difficulty starting smoothly 3 High under low power 100 his setting makes your maxim
3. FSDAKA HYDRA 120 amp HYDRA 240 OPERATION MANUAL Thank you for purchasing the most technologically advanced brushless electronic speed controller in the world for RC boats Please take the time to read over these instructions to ensure you get the most from your HYDRA brushless speed control and enjoy years of trouble free operation 1 0 Features of the HYDRA Extremely Low Resistance 120 is 00043 ohms 240 is 00022 ohms Up to 120 or 240 Amps continuous current e Water cooled heat sinks see section 6 0 below e Massive 10 gauge wire on Hydra 120 and double 10 gauge wires on the Hydra 240 e 12 cells 3s lipo MAX with BEC Six to twenty cells or 2 to 6 cell Lithium Polymer packs BEC 3A provides power to receiver and servo eliminates separate receiver battery User Programmable Features Reverse Type Reverse Throttle Amount Low voltage cutoff LiPo safe Timing Advance Starting Power Safe power on arming program helps prevent motor from accidentally turning on Always use extreme care with high power systems e Auto shut down when signal is lost or radio interference becomes severe 2 0 Making Connections on your HYDRA speed control Tools required Wire cutters Wire stripper optional Soldering iron 30 40W 2 1 Adding a battery connector to your HYDRA Parts required Rosin core electrical solder Battery connector HYDRA 120 amp 240 User Guide WATER COOLED MARINE SPEE
4. is a simplified example demonstrating how to skip through a program section how to set a program option and how to terminate programming early In this example we will 1 skip e g do not change Reverse Type setting 2 change Reverse Throttle Amount to 12 5 and 3 terminate programming after this option 3 2 2 Entering Programming mode e Disconnect battery e Hold full throttle on your transmitter Connect battery HYDRA flashes LED and rings once e Wait 2 seconds HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating that it is ready for CALIBRATION mode e Continue to hold full throttle HYDRA flashes LED while beeping Wait 8 seconds HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times HYDRA flashes LED while beeping indicating that you are in PROGRAMMING mode e Let trigger go neutral center At this point the HYDRA will be flashing beeping the following sequence Beep Pause Beep and then Repeats This indicates that you are at Question 1 and it is asking to accept reject Value 1 3 2 3 Skipping Programming Sections No change required Looking at the table on the last page you can see that Question 1 is What reverse brake type do you want and that Value 1 is No Reverse We don t want to change the current value of this option so we will say no to each value thereby skipping the programming option Apply full brake for 1 second NO e HYDRA flashes RED LED and rings 4
5. D CONTROL The battery connector must be added to the power side of the controller black capacitors receiver connector and red and black wire side The red wire is the positive lead and must match up to the positive lead from your battery The black wire is the negative lead and must match up to the negative lead from your battery The polarity MUST BE CORRECT or the controller will be damaged from reversed polarity The Hydra 240 has two SETS of input and output wires We recommend using a separate connector for each connection to ensure maximum current capacity Make sure and connect the entire battery pack to both input wire sets of the Hydra 240 Do not connect half of the pack to one input this will lead to operating problems from potential voltage current imbalances Strip just enough insulation off of the battery wires to solder on your battery connector to the controller leads After the connector is soldered and insulated shrink tubing or electrical tape check it ONE MORE TIME to make sure the polarity is correct before you plug in a battery 2 2 Plugging in motor leads With a brushless system there is no polarity on the MOTOR side of the controller Simply solder the three leads to your motor recommended or solder your choice of connectors to the motor and controller leads After the throttle calibration routine below if the motor runs backwards with forward throttle simply swap any two of the motor controlle
6. DRA 5 0V is normally what you should use and anything else in the programming is up to your personal preference to change so you are ready to run IMPORTANT NOTE Lithium Polymer Users If you are using Lithium Polymer Li Po batteries DO NOT operate your boat with the factory default Cutoff Voltage You MUST change the Cutoff Voltage BEFORE running your boat 4 0 Troubleshooting Everything is hooked up correctly the BEC receiver and servo works but the throttle does not work The controller is not seeing the four seconds of neutral throttle and is not arming Try moving your throttle trigger slightly in each direction to arm the controller or follow the calibrating function Section 3 1 above You may also check to make sure that your endpoint adjustments on your radio if it has them are set all the way open both top and bottom are furthest from zero HYDRA 120 amp 240 User Guide WATER COOLED MARINE SPEED CONTROL Every time I throttle all the way up the controller cuts off after a few seconds even with fresh charged batteries The controller will automatically shut down the motor if the battery voltage falls below the programmed voltage cutoff factory preset at 5 0V for more than half a second This is to protect your boat from a loss of control caused by too low a voltage at the receiver If the cutoff is kicking in with fresh charged batteries it means that the voltage is dropping very quickly
7. before it leaves our shop end of the Hydra Make sure the flexible tubes curve gently with no tight bends Please see the diagram below for reference If you have any questions comments or wish to return your HYDRA for warranty or non warranty repair replacement contact Castle Creations at Castle Creations Inc 235 S Kansas Ave Olathe KS 66061 Tel 913 390 6939 Email support castlecreations com Fax 913 390 6164 Website http www castlecreations com HYDRA 240 There are 4 aluminum cooling tubes on the HYDRA 240 You must make three crossover sections of plastic or silicon tubing that are approximately 3 75 4 long Connect the input output tubes to the two aluminum tubes on the top of the controller closest to the CASTLE text motor wires Connect the bottom controller tubes on the motor side together with a 3 75 inch length of tubing Connect the top left tube on the battery side of the controller to the bottom right tube on the battery side with a 3 75 tube Now connect the remaining tubes on that side with a slightly longer tube The water should flow into the controller on the top board flow to the bottom board then to the other side of the top board down to the remaining side of the bottom board and then out of the controller Please see the diagram below for reference 7 0 Contact warranty information HYDRA 120 amp 240 User Guide Page 4 of 5 Rev 8 date 10 25 07 This document HYDRA software
8. nswering no to a Setting Value will cause the HYDRA to ask for the next Value Answering yes to a Setting Value will store that setting in the HYDRA s permanent memory After a setting is stored the HYDRA will automatically continue to the next setting until all settings have been stored NOTE If you answer no to all Setting Values for a particular Setting Number the HYDRA will keep whatever value had been previously programmed Only by answering yes to a Setting Value will the HYDRA store change that value When answering a question you will need to move the trigger to the yes full throttle position or the no full brake position and keep it there for about 5 seconds When the HYDRA has accepted your answer it will confirm your reply by flashing the LED and emitting a beeping tone Release the trigger allowing it to HYDRA 120 amp 240 User Guide WATER COOLED MARINE SPEED CONTROL go to Neutral to confirm that you are ready for the HYDRA to ask the next question You are not required to continue through all five programming options For example if you wish only to change the Reverse Type option 1 then after programming that setting you can disconnect power from the HYDRA and you re ready to run Disconnecting the controller in the middle of programming simply retains the values for the remaining programming options that were previously set up 1 Programming Example The following
9. r connections and it will reverse the rotation of the motor The Hydra 120 and 240 controllers are designed to control one motor Do not attempt to drive two motors with the Hydra 240 Connect the dual outputs of the 240 to a single motor s leads 2 3 Connecting to the receiver Connect the receiver lead the three color wires with a connector on the end to the throttle channel on your receiver usually channel 2 Do not connect a battery to the receiver as the HYDRA will supply power to the receiver and servo through the receiver connector If you are using more than 12 cells or 3s Lipo packs the BEC must be disabled on the controller Disable the BEC by removing the red wire from the receiver connector Use a separate battery pack or switching BEC like our CC BEC to power the servos and receiver after disabling the BEC 3 0 Calibrating the HYDRA to YOUR transmitter IMPORTANT NOTE Calibration is required for the very first use of the HYDRA after updating software using the Castle Link USB programmer or whenever used with a new different transmitter The HYDRA contains a throttle calibration feature that you ll want to use the first time you power it up with a new different transmitter Performing this exercise will Page 1 of 5 Rev 8 date 10 25 07 This document HYDRA software and HYDRA PCB layout are all Copyright 2004 2007 by Castle Creations Inc FSDRkA teach the controller how your transmitter wo
10. rks Disconnect battery Hold full throttle on your transmitter Connect battery HYDRA flashes LED and rings once Wait 2 seconds HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating full throttle measured HYDRA flashes LED while beeping indicating it s time to push full brake Push full brake Wait 1 second HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating full brake measured HYDRA flashes LED while beeping indicating its time for neutral Relax trigger to neutral center Wait 1 second HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating neutral measured Wait for 1 second HYDRA will flash LED and ring twice indicating that it is armed 3 1 Programming Mode Programming the HYDRA is as simple as answering a few questions The HYDRA asks questions by flashing a setting number followed by the possible setting values There are five settings that can be programmed in the HYDRA 1 Reverse Type 2 Reverse Throttle Amount 3 Cutoff Voltage 4 Timing Advance 5 Starting Power You must answer yes or no to the setting values as they are presented by the HYDRA When you enter programming mode the controller will emit a sequence of beeps and LED flashes that tell you which programming step you are in There are two parts to the beep sequence The first set of beeps indicates the Setting Number e g Cutoff voltage type and the second set of beeps indicates a Setting Value e g 2 cell LiPo A
11. times indicating that it has Page 2 of 5 Rev 8 date 10 25 07 This document HYDRA software and HYDRA PCB layout are all Copyright 2004 2007 by Castle Creations Inc FSDRKA accepted your answer HYDRA flashes beeps Beep Pause Beep Beep Question 1 Value 2 Apply full brake for 1 second NO HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating that it has accepted your answer At this point you will have answered no to both of the questions in Section 1 so the HYDRA will move on to Section 2 without modifying the currently stored value 3 2 4 Changing a Program Option HYDRA flashes beeps Beep Beep Pause Beep Question 2 Value 1 From the Table on the last page Question 2 is Reverse Throttle Amount and Value 1 is 12 5 This is the value we want to accept Apply full throttle for 1 second YES HYDRA flashes LED and rings 4 times indicating that it has accepted your answer Atthis point the HYDRA will move on to Setting Number 3 3 2 5 Terminating Programming Early In this example we do not need to change any of the remaining programming options therefore we can terminate the programming routine by disconnecting the battery from the HYDRA This leaves the remaining programming options at their previously stored values 3 2 6 A Word About Cutoff Voltages If you are running NiCad or NiMH cells the default cutoff voltage of the HY
12. um reverse speed equal to 100 of full power HYDRA 120 amp 240 User Guide Page 5 of 5 This document HYDRA software and HYDRA PCB layout are all Copyright 2004 2007 by Castle Creations Inc Rev 8 date 10 25 07
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