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Old 06-16-2010, 09:39 AM
  #916  
artwork
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This is not directed at Mike...Just my experience with this product in general. I think it is great that the local LRP distributor and service provider is posting and providing feedback in the threads.

I purchased the MK3 version a few weeks back and have had nothing but issues with it.

The Speedo feels really great in the infield, nice consistent power, a good amount of rip on the low end and has great brakes. Now for the bad news...the speed control is at least 2 tenths slower then a Tekin. The cogging is a huge problems both with stock and with mod motors. It cogs when starting and also when the car gets to neutral throttle in the middle of a turn. I have tried to fix this in multiple ways by using different sensor harnesses, motors, different motor timings, and different settings on the speed control, but in the end the issues never went away.

After all of this and dealing with all of these issues, I attempted to turn it on and nothing happened. No lights, no flashing, no nothing. I have sent it in for service, but I am yet to hear back.

On the straight the speed control is slow, it just seems like it never really applies the timing advance and stays a constant speed everywhere.

Now, I know that the Tekin has a very different feel...I am not new to R/C and have owned probably over 50 speed controls in my time.

What happened to LRP? They used to be the best...I feel really let down that I dropped 240 dollars on something that clearly was not ready for prime time.

I really want the LRP to work because it has many of the features that I want/need, but at this point I am just not sure LRP understands the needs of the industry anymore and they do not seem to care what it costs its customers. Every time LRP release a new version of code to fix a problem with their programming it costs me yet another $240, that to me seems crazy. Unless LRP changes it's business model I will not be purchasing anything new from them. I am over buying products with a very high total cost of ownership and a very low return on investment.

Maybe, I got a bad one...maybe not. Either way it is money down the drain. People wonder why RC is so difficult to get new people and maintain them over time. It is stuff like this that drives people away from this great hobby. I know they are racing products, but these products even when used properly are unreliable and finicky. People simply cannot afford to keep buying products every 6 months to keep up at the local track. The speed control wars are hurting R/C in a major way. In this economy long term investment's should be part of the approach to keep people interested.

From my perspective buying LRP products is a bad business decision and has really nothing to do with my emotions. If I do a cost analysis of what LRP is asking me to do as a consumer then I would be silly to keep buying their products (no ability to update software). These companies and team drivers need to understand that most of us don't have access to the resources they have access to. I cannot just walk over to the service guy and ask for a new speed control, or the latest software build. I have to interrupt my racing schedule so that I can get a faulty product fixed and this impacts my life.

I don't want to make any enemies and I understand that what I am saying may sway people. I really hope that my situation is an isolated incident and does not affect the entire install base of the product.

I am not sure how else to communicate these issues to LRP, I am sure that some people will take exception to my approach, but if someone would have warned me about these issues I might have thought twice about the losing yet another 240 dollars to the black hole of R/C.

What can LRP do to earn my business?

1) Realize that the black box approach is over. It is time to embrace the 21st century and provide functionality that many of the competitors have been providing for a while now by allowing software updates free of charge.

2) Lower the price of their products, they are simply too expensive for what you get. Their speed controls are almost $100 more and provide less functionality.

3) Fix the design on the soldering tabs...this might be the worst design ever. Been this way for years and still no advances. These things are so hard to deal with and makes switching wires very unpleasant.

4) Consider smaller capacitors where possible, do you really need a capacitor the size of a dump truck to run a 17.5 motor?
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