Does anyone use the Novak data logger in their electric/nitro cars? If so is it really that helpfull and how much are they? I dare say it would be aimed more at the seasoned pro as i wouldn't know how to tune around the results i might get, but it still might give some insight to those in the know into what's really happening in those little things while they do 80km/h around a track.

Any thoughts ??????

Well, I have one, but only got it a few weeks ago, & I'm still learning how to interpret the data, but so far I'm liking it. I just got the basic version(for $130 at Stormer Hobbies), & aside from the current sensor, I think it's all I need(in fact, I really only need one of the temp sensors, though it comes with 3 & has capability for 4 more, I run brushless & LiPo, so really only the motor gets very warm). I will say I REALLY love the real-time playback feature, lets me see what I'm doing, as well as what the car's doing, & can show me the real difference a gear change makes, both on speed & on how well the battery holds up, & with the current sensor, I'm hoping I'll learn even more). I think it'll take awhile to truly get the most out of it, but so far I'm enjoying it, think it's money well spent....

That's great, for some reason i see it being more usefull for the electric guy's than what it would be for the nitro guy's. I run nitro what benefits can you see from it for me and every other nitro driver out there?

I'm assuming that you have seen the Novak page on the Sentry and all of the various sensors that we offer. But, if not, here is the link:

THE DAWN OF A NEW SENTRY

Yeah i have. I actually first seen it in Xrc magazine on page 15 in the july '08' issue and it caught my eye. Does anyone else make a data logger like this one or is Novak the first company to bring out such a thing?

Thanks for the link i just checked it out. It looks like there would be a lot of wires flying around especially when you have a few of them on at once.

Nah, it's not too bad with some creative bundling, I think I got my wiring pretty clean, though it may not look it(but I don't have wires flying around)....

Eagle Tree had something similar, but it didn't come with the G force sensors. I know it was originally for airplanes..who knows..

Edit: Sorry, I didn't know this thread was so old. ahem Anyway

I have the pro system for my X-ray 007. I am running a brushless/Lipo indoor carpet (rubber tire) setup. I have heat sensors on the motor and the ESC. I have the current, throttle, and RPM sensor installed as well.

I got the system when I was at the IIC Las Vegas. Installation was rough for me because I wasn't such a pro at getting wires straight.

After that, It was easy. Push button start and stop with the optional remote start. Data logging time from as little as 5 minutes to up to 1.5 hours continuous (I think). Not much extra weight or current draw from the battery.

The readings I look at the most are Motor and ESC temp (to adjust gearing). I am trying to get used to the Accelerometer so I can better tune the car. I want to try as many brushless motors as I can to check if there is a true difference in RPM or anything else. Right now I have the Orion 17.5, Speed Passion 17.5, Novak 13.5 and 17.5 and a Trinity DUO 13.5 on the way.

As far as battery testing, I have two Lipo batteries now. The LiPro 4600 and the Orion 2400. I haven't had a chance to check for differences with those batteries.

Using the real time playback of my run, I am able to study my throttle input. It is my goal to be smoother on the throttle so I can better control the car. Looking at the data from the IIC, I am kinda all over the place when it comes to turning and only being consistent on the back straight.

I think that their are so many possibilities with this system if more than a few people use it and post results here on RCTech. I was thinking of making a thread myself and start uploading my results in PDF or XLS format. (did i forget you can convert your data and look at it outside the Novak system?)

Anyway, If I missed anything or if you want to share ideas, post here or PM me. also check my blog () for some of my results as well. I will post them as soon as I get the software installed back on my computer. A recent HD crash left me in bad shape.

I'm really excited about this!!

I use it in my e8ight -- the data is quite usable for me. My only complaint is that they should've bluetooth enabled the unit so that realtime data could be viewed on a lap top.

Hint hint -- nudge nudge Novak.

Oh, and recompile the software using the Microsoft .Net Compact Framework so that PDAs can use the software. Doesn't look like to many 3rd party controls were used in the software, so it should be an easy port to Windows mobile...give me the source code -- I'll do it for free!

Get on it! HAHA!

Later,

hello fellow geek programmer glad to see another one of us playing with toys. Can you give me an idea of what you are doing with the data? do you have some magic going on in excel or streamed the xml into another program? Are you keeping track of your results somehow? Please let me know. I am stuck wondering what I can do with all this info. I race onroad touring car on carpet with rubber tire (fyi)

Hey.

For now, I plan on correlating the data against setup sheets that I store in a client server app I wrote. In addition to setups, I track the race results as well as parts that I have broken etc. This way when I come back to a track, I can come quite well prepared by basing my initial setup off of last years notes.

In electric 1/8, the data is quite important for finding the correct gear ratio; The total current draw and motor/esc temps are the crucial pieces of data. I also think the g-force would be pretty handy to us in ascertaining which tire combination works best. The RPM/Speed is really just icing on the cake.

IF novak would make this thing wireless or come out with a "virtual" USB wire using a USB transciever or sorts or even a USB to bluetooth transmitter, my pit guy could watch my stats from our pit table using the realtime mode on the Sentry software. Once my voltage reaches 12.8ish he could wander over to the pits and call me in for the battery swap. This would sure take the guessing work out of the equasion. granted, I could just run the spektrum unit for this, but then I would have to use their 2.4 system. And I as a store owner hate HORIZON HOBBIES politics (hey Mr. Sweeny, go self copulate buddy)!

Sorry - ranting -- HAHAH. I prefer the KO system as there in no lag etc. This would allow users to use whatever 2.4 system they want and have true real-time wireless data.

Later,

Hmm, Never thought about changing my setup and testing (duh). I will be changing my setup once a month so that I can take that months data and compare it to the other.

Not sure about the changes that you are talking about. let this product be a little more accepted then we'll talk "wireless" and "real time"

my b-day is coming up... been thinking of one of these. I know in 2wheel scale road racing....Telimitry like this for a superbike is over 10k$!!!..but includes realtime data... I never made to that level.

I'm thinking since you're not actually in the car to 'feel' what is going on it has to help w/ confirming or denying setup changes helped. I hope this thread picks up..

..and realtime data might be something that would help sells this to more racers.

I just wanna know if that has helped anyone go faster? My goal is to be better at setups and those tenth of second tweaks....

If it tells you information about your rig in a couple laps, it'll help your tuning

But wireless real time monitoring would be awesome... Bluetooth probably won't have the range for it, but there's always something they could use...