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[Yanbanshee]

I am getting up to speed on electric drive technology and (naively) wondering if AM (27Mg) receivers can be used with brushless motor controllers.?

[JimG]

To put it simply YES. The servo output signals are the same on all frequencies, 27MHz, 35MHz. 40MHz and 2.4GHz. Since the ESC is using the standard servo signal it doesn't care about the Tx frequency.
Jim

[Yanbanshee]

Thanks Jim, sounds encouraging for my aging 27Mz Futaba, however, although servo outputs are similar, isn't there a potential problem with signalling from TX to Rx regarding set up parameters for brushless speed controllers ? As a mariner of old returning to the 'sport' it all seems somewhat confusing.

[JimG]

You should be able to do the setup with your Futaba. Normally the initial setup has the Tx at full power with the trim fully forward. You must have the motor connected to the ESC as it acts as a speaker during setup. When you switch on the Rx (or plug in the battery if there is no arming switch) the motor shouldn't turn and after a few seconds you will get a series of short beeps. At the end move the throttle stick to the motor off position. (If you have a reversible ESC this will in the middle of the stick movement) If the motor runs when you power up the ESC you may have to reverse the throttle movement on the Tx. This may give problems if your Tx does not have reversing switches. One way round this is to manually reverse the two outer wires on the throttle pot inside the Tx, not something you want to do if you don't have the experience working inside electronics.For any further programming best to get an ESC with a programming card otherwise it's a case of working your way through a set of beep sequences until you reach the function you need to change.
Jim

[Yanbanshee]

Wow, ok Jim that sounds positive but complex. So, as long as its possible with my aging kit I can cope. Many thanks for your help.

[chas]

I've used a truly ancient 27 MHz futuba set and  modern 2.4 gig sets with viper and and cheapy chino ESC s. No problems with either. The set up procedure sorts itself out for whatever they are connected to. Re a tx having no servo reverse, I just swapped round the brushed motor leads,  much easier than changing the pot connections. Brushless motors may be different, I haven't used them yet.
Chas

[JimG]

The servo reverse is for the initial programming of the end points on a brushless ESC. The Tx needs to be at full forward throttle when the ESC is powered up to learn the maximum power setting.If the Tx has the throttle reversed compared to the standard the ESC sees this as either full reverse or stopped and won't start the setup. Futaba is known as having their throttles reversed compared to other makes. Reversing motor direction is done either by programming the ESC or swapping two of the motor leads over.
Jim