HW Wifi vs. Bluetooth programmers
 

Has anyone used both the HW Wifi Express and the new Bluetooth OTA programmers? Does the new BT programmer connect faster then the old Wifi programmer? I currently have the Wifi programmer and it takes forever to connect, and when you are running multiple classes on a club race, every second counts between heats! If the BT programmer connects faster, it may be worth it for me to change to it.

TIA!

I am curious as to what you are doing with a programer between every heat.

We race on Friday evenings, so there is very little time for practice, so a lot of time, you are changing gearing and setup even into the heats, so I use the programmer sometimes to check the data record to see rpm and temps (I am using a HW motor as well, so it gives me motor temp in the data record). Because we don't have time to just make one change at a time, its hard to know if your gearing change or suspension setup changes are the reason for your change in lap times. At least looking at the data record, I can see if gearing or timing changes had the desired effect. May not be the best way to go about it, but it's the reason I was wanting something faster.

I was also thinking of using it to make drag brake changes quickly while still on the track. Plug in the unit and strap it down, make a run, pull close to the drivers stand, connect, make a change, disconnect and test again, etc...

Yeah I'm also wondering about the BT version. I have heard that the wifi one sucks as people can't even connect. I think with a lot of other people having wifi devices now a days it causes issues.

I use a WiFi one. No problems and quite quick. Just just have to tell your phone to prioritize it over other WiFi connections.

It isn't mega quick, but I'm not waiting for it.

I barely change anything on it, but I can see perhaps changing settings for different tracks.

I'm new to the hobby, but I can't see how you can see the difference between ESC settings and your mechanical setup...suspension etc

Have you tried putting the WIFI module into bluetooth mode to see if that helps?

The WiFi module doesn't have a Bluetooth mode.

I'm not convinced the RPM data is useful in race conditions. If you clip a single curb or get a little bit of air for any reason it'll record a much higher number than normal. As for temperature, it's much faster to use an IR gun on the motor and ESC.

In order to record and view recorded data, you need a HW ESC that is capable of doing so, correct? One does not automatically get recorded data just because they use an OTA programmer, either by the WiFi or Bluetooth version. Folks reading this, who may not be 100% familiar with the products, should take note of this.

I have the Xerun XR8 SCT (so no data logging), and I am torn between whether or not I want to spend $60 on the OTA programmer vs. $30 on the LCD multi-function box. To me, I just want to be able to change BEC voltage from 6.0V to 7.4V, maybe change the brake force, maybe change the cutoff voltage from 3.4V to 3.7V, and definitely want to adjust the Start Punch from Level 5 to a lower amount. To me, most of these are "set-and-forget" type of adjustments, and the OTA seems to lose its purpose other than Smartphone convenience. Maybe I answered my own question/dilemma! :lol: I just think that I'm missing out on something BIG with the OTA device.

Technically, the LCD Multi Function box can connect to a PC via USB, and therefore it should be able to check data-logged information as well, if applicable to the ESC in use.

For compatible ESCs, the OTA unit is supposed to add more telemetry features while installed in the car during the run. The ESC can only store min/max values of a couple of parameters, but the OTA is supposed to be able to store a historical log.

Interesting....but, I'm not getting my hopes up. Maybe somebody can chime in on this, with their own experience, as to the effective datalogging of the OTA device paired to a a DATA-LOGGING-COMPATIBLE ESC. The HW website is not clear on what exactly the OTA can do other than perform communications.

Based on the XR8 Pro's webpage, with the OTA connected, given that the vehicle remains in Bluetooth range (5 meters). Per the HW website, the OTA can "check Throttle, Voltage, Current, Temperature, RPM and other data in real-time operational status of the ESC and motor."

This seems to be just a real-time function of these elements where raw data is sent to the Smarphone, and the app records/presents it. So if you want to record data while driving has fast as you can, like you're racing, but keep the vehicle no more than 16.5 feet away from you, be my guest! :lol:

Otherwise, per another ESC's manual, the Xerun XR10 Pro, for example, it mentions only that the ESC itself records 1) max ESC temp, 2) max motor temp, 3) max battery voltage--like, who cares?, and 4) max motor speed. Only mention in the manual is to retrieve the max values by the LCD program box.

I can't comment on the implementation with the OTA device, but I've used the R1 Wurks equivalent. In that case the ESC does send real time data to the attached wireless module like you said. However, that module will save that data until you connect to it and download it, so you don't need your phone actively connected during the whole run to get the data.

blue tooth connects without problem than wifi

So I just bought the Bluetooth OTA as I was curious. Despite the website claiming that the XR10 Pro G2 will support real time data logging, it doesn't work. It's also really slow to read the parameters from the ESC, about a minute or so. I emailed Hobbywing support, and they told me the ESC doesn't support the logging feature after all, and that it's slow to read data because the ESC is too old to support the new protocol. Which is messed up because it's their latest top end ESC...

Oh and the connection is unreliable. It often takes multiple attempts to program the ESC as it'll just randomly disconnect. The WiFi module was faster and more reliable once connected.

I've just found out the hard way by purchasing the Bluetooth OTA module, assuming the real-time logging would work for my XR10 Pro G2 (the manual does specify real-time logging). I contacted Hobbywing support, they confirmed my ESC does NOT support this feature. Currently the only two that do are the XR8 Pro G2 and the XD10 Pro.

The programming is also very slow with the OTA module. Their support email told me this is because my ESC is too old to support the new protocol that the OTA uses so it falls back to the older slow protocol. How is their newest top of the line model ESC too old to work properly with this module?