Speed controller is a device that regulates the amount of power that goes to the electric motor.

The electronic speed controller also known as ESC interprets signals from the receiver and works to provide variation in motor speed and direction and may act as a braking mechanism. There are electronic speed controls for brushed and brushless motors.

If your RC is not equipped with an electronic speed controller and you want to add one, the general considerations are:

* Brushed or Brushless depending on your motor.
* Current rating that is higher than what your motor can pull (to avoid overheating).
* Voltage rating that is at least equal to or higher than the voltage of your battery.
* Low Voltage Cutoff is a feature on some electronic speed controllers that prevents damage to your battery pack by shutting down the ESC if the battery voltage drops too low.

here is a picture of a brushless ESC electric speed control
The red blue and black wires connect to your brushless motor, the red and black wires with the Deans connector on the tip connect to your battery, and the connector terminal wire plugs into your receiver.

  • Brushed motor
With a brushed motor, the speed is controlled simply by restricting the amount of power delivered to the motor. The easiest way for the speed controller to do this is to supply the power is short pulses, many times a second. The longer the pulses, the more power, and the faster the motor turns. Brushed motors connect to the speed controller via two wires; to reverse the direction of the motor, the wires are swapped.
  • Brushless motor
With a brushless motor, power is controlled in the same way, but the speed controller must electronically select between the multiple sets of windings in the motor to make it turn. Most modern brushless speed controllers are known as sensorless controllers and make use of the voltage generated (Back EMF) in the momentarily unpowered windings to determine the position of the motor. Virtually all brushless motors and controllers used in model helicopters have three wires; to reverse the direction of the motor, swap the connections of any two wires.
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