Novak Voltage Booster
 

Ok, so I finally got my 1s car all together last night, and have run into a few questions around my novak voltage booster.

First, the manual says that once hooked up, you will no longer use the on/off switch on the ESC... and to just leave it off. You then only use the on/off switch on the booster. Well, it doesn't seem to work that way. If I turn off the ESC switch, EVERYthing is off (like you'd expect). Both switches have to be on in order for a) power to be on the esc and the rest of the car and b) lights to be on the booster.

Second, I hooked up 3 different sources of power to my reciever, and the speed and power of my servo didn't seem to change even in the sligtest bit. First I tried a 4 AA reciever pack that came with an old radio, and the servo was powerful and zippy. Next I hooked up just the 1s lipo... servo was just as powerful and zippy. Next I hooked up the 1s lipo AND the voltage booster, and once again.. power to the servo didn't change in the slightest.

So what is actually going on here? I thought that just the 1s woudn't be enough to power the receiver/servo/amb, etc.... I must be missing something.

Thanks for the help fellas!

Cpt.

If you need technical assistance, you can email [email protected]

What kind of ESC do you have?

I've tested the Novak Booster on 4 different ESC's, with the ESC switch off, and they work fine. The Booster should light up with its switch being on, regardless of the ESC state.

It sounds like you do not have the Novak Booster wired in correctly. The positive and negative of the Novak Booster go DIRECTLY to the positive and negative of the ESC, which is also where the Positive and Negative of the Battery are connected.

Also, the 1s is has enough voltage to power all the equipment, you just run into various little issues. Some ESC's have been found to not provide correct power throughput to the motor when the 1s battery's voltage starts getting below 4.0v. Servo's may seem powerful enough on a fully charged battery, but down at 3.8v, they are a little sluggish, which is more noticeable on the track over the bench. Also, the low voltage does not supply enough power to the AMB Transponder to insure that it counts 100% of the time, also some radio's range and responsiveness may be impacted.

These are the reasons people have decided to run the Boosters or Receiver batteries.

Tekin RS.

The light on my booster does the same... but the ESC and all other things related to car power is off. The manual states that you simply leave the ESC power switch off, all the time.

So let me correct what I think i goofed in my original post. With the ESC switch off, but booster switch on, the booster DOES light up. But the car itself doesn't get any power as the ESC is then getting no power... even though the book tells you that this is how you will run the car.


Yep... soldered directly to the + and - posts.

I see.. thanks for the tips there, much appreciated.

I plan on getting a booster soon instead of running a receiver pack. However I thought some of your statements were interesting...

I use a Tekin RS also. With just the 1S lipo and no pack or booster I wasn't able to get the car to work. I could get steering...but it was sluggish and there was no motor function. With a receiver pack steering was much better.

Also with the latest Tekin RS software you can run a booster or receiver pack and have the ESC switch on if you have the 1S lipo box checked. This activates the lipo voltage cutoff function. ;)

True, but there is no reason to activate the Tekin 1s cut-off if you are using the Novak Booster, as the Booster cuts power to the motor when the LiPo dips below 3.3v. If you are using a receiver pack, it would be wise to use the Tekin RS Cutoff.

http://www.teamnovak.com/products/sm...ost/index.html

I am running the Novak Booster on my 17.5 and 13.5 1/12th cars, both using the Tekin RS ESC w/o issue, software version 194. I leave the ESC switch off all the time.

Oh nice...even better. I was thinking about getting the Novak or the TQ booster. But I like the extra features of the Novak and the on/off switch. Thanks!

Well, I haven't yet updated my Tekin with my hotwire yet (havent even yet wired up the motor), but when I flick the ESC power switch to off, the ESC shuts off just like you'de expect, regardless of whether the booster is powered on or off.

I'm sure you'll get it working just fine. Let us know what problems you encounter as you get further into hooking all of it up.

Hmmm, you mention not having the motor wired up, so I'll ask this (and please forgive me if this sounds like a dumb question), do you have the ESC plugged into the receiver yet?

If not, there is no way for the power output from the Booster to feed back into the receiver to power it, as the ESC, Servo, and Transponder all get power through the receiver after the Booster is plugged into receiver.

Yes.. every single thing is wired, soldered, twisted, and zip tied, EXEPT for my ABC wires. I think my 16 awg wire will be in my mailbox tonight when I get home from work. I got yellow :weird:

When you plug the 4AA pack into your receiver with the ESC switch off, does the ESC power on? It should.

VERY Strange... I just tested it again, and now it is behaving like the directions say. I have 3 Tekin RS's in 3 different cars, and it behaves properly now. ESC Switch off + juice (battery or 4aa) + booster switch on = everything lights up. Last night it was NOT working this way.... but I haven't touched a thing! strange :weird:

So this may be a dumb question but Im new to this lipo in 1/12 scale. If the speedcontrol is never actually turned on can you change settings without having to disconnect the booster. wow this lipo stuff is confusing:eek:

So the quick answer, Yes, mostly.... BUT that is entirely ESC dependent.

For example:

LRP SPX, Sphere, TC, SXX:
- Can be fully adjusted when the booster circuit is on, ESC switch OFF or ON using button's on the ESC.
Tekin RS/RS Pro:
- Can be adjusted the same as the LRP within its pre-programmed settings accessible via the buttons on the ESC, though it cannot be adjusted/setup with a PC via the Hotwire PC Interface, as this requires unplugging the ESC from the receiver and plugging it into the Hotwire PC Interface. This effectively disconnects the ESC from the Novak Booster.
SpeedPassion GT:
- While normally plugged in and ready to use, there are limited settings accessible via the buttons on the ESC, BUT to access the rest of the features on the ESC requires the handheld programmer, which again requires you to unplug the ESC from the receiver, BUT to actually power and use the programmer, you have to turn the ESC power switch ON to activate the programmer, otherwise the ESC will not power the handheld programmer.

Has anyone found any differences in power/laptimes when using the Booster instead of a receiver pack?

Skiddins