[QUOTE=Cain;14405657]I just don't like that the ESC doesn't have a handheld programmer similar to what HW and Viper and others have and I don't have a cell phone here.[QUOTE]

Funny...that's one of the things I hated about other ESCs. With the Tekin as long as I have the Hotwire I can connect to my laptop, tablet, or phone, whichever is handy to program the ESC.

Different people like different things.

-W

Its probably your mileage will vary kind of deal and i think it also ties in with how many issues you have to report. For me, it was basically 2, and a lot of communication for discussing things in general. For those issues, they were taken care of promptly.

Ironically the best customer service I got was from speed passion back in the day when the Silver Arrow V1 was around. It decided to catching fire was a feature after 5 minutes of running and took out a lot of stuff. Speed Passion actually replaced (with there equivalent items) as much as they could. I think the esc was on a recall list but I don't know for sure.

Viper for me probably would be next, though the cause of my warranty issue was because of a certain Xpert Servo that caused the ESC to fail when used. Xpert however never replaced the ESC that originally failed because of there servo. Got vids of it killing I think at least 3 ESCs I got back from Viper, it was crazy. Hence why I am still leary to buy another xpert servo, or at least, use it with an ESC that is out of warranty. I am looking forward to seeing what Maclan does.

But in general, I don't like companies that like to pass the buck on issues to users by default. Not saying a user can't cause an issue, but it seems like some like to run with that by default, and then in turn put conditions on your replacement item. I never got that impression from my dealing with Viper in particular, they were great.

All my rigs are HW equipped, so I have some experience with support.

Had 2x v3.1 replaced - one got bricked by firmware update; the other blew a capacitor which was my falt... kind of. Throughout the process, communication was great (email), and once the RMA was finalized, product shipped quick. Have an out of warranty ESC I am considering replacing. I was told I would be eligible for a discount on a new one. Happy with support.

That said, the HW v3.1 are awesome. Have my original one (out of the 3x v3.1 I own) for almost 2 years in my SCT. Ran on borrowed Orion for couple months. Granted I didn't tune it much, it felt very similar to HW.

I would assume that the majority of contacts the companies get are bogus , BS , user error etc. Probably in the neighborhood of 90% or more. I just had a guy on the phone at tekin speaking with me about specs and timing set ups for a motor they quit building years ago. He had all the answers and spent at least 15 minutes answering my questions. Randy pike , Tekin prez , and most of the tekin reps are on these forums every day . That says a lot to me. BUT

I hate when companies refuse to listen to what I am telling them . I have 3 , $100 plus savox servos burned up , and they had no interest in even talking with me about them. Castle did the same thing to me , told me my problems were ripple voltage from china batteries . 3 warranty replacements later , " Oh , we had bad boards". It seems to depend on who is on the phone that day . The best companies make sure the best people are answering the phones on a regular basis , and it looks like it takes some time to get rid of the bad ones.

Yeah as I don't have a cell phone, that part makes no diff to me. I would just want a Hotwire that is a programmer like other companies, those can hook up to laptops, tablets, etc. from what I am seeing and I bet they could hook it to a phone too. To me, just need the option of a handle held programmer from the company.

yeah I know that feeling unfortunately too from my recent experience.

Some companies (and maybe just more so the reps) do it better than others, and who knows, it can just be luck of the draw who you get.

One company lost me long ago when I had a warranty question on a charger (mind you no issues, just a question on if I needed to send it in for the recall and how to tell) and the rep was quite rude. Having worked a call center with irate customers, I know how that can be stressful, but you have to still be professional if you want to keep them as, well, customers. After that fiasco, when it came time for another charger, I went another way, and I had no complaints on the performance of the charger in question ironically.

Or, you can get great experiences on minor things that endear you to the company. Jconcepts did that recently when I had a question about a broken body.

Now, I was more curious if temperature could play a roll in the durability issue I saw and if they suggested maybe a different body, they responded quickly, lots of good info, and threw in a discount coupon just the heck of it I guess.

Guess who is getting considered first for more bodies, and now equipping my other vehicles for tires too?

Its amazing how just having that little bit extra of good customer service (or even just common sense customer service) can add up to a whole lot of payoff on the back end. I think sometimes companies miss that.

You got a point. I might ive the trackstar another chance. It does have 5 star reviews. I like that when it did burned, I contacted HK, send them a short clip and right away they said they would ship another one or if I wanted a refund. I asked for a replacement esc tho. But if I remember correctly for example I have a Hitec X4 charger that blew a capacitor when I opened the charger, the circuit card says "SKYRC". Few weeks later I opened a HobbyKing charger and to my surpeise the card inside says "SKYRC". Probably made at the same place but sold with different brands. Same might happens to ESC's...

News Flash!!!
Hobbywing OEM's ESC's for Speed Passion and Orion. The programmers and sometimes software work between all those brands because they are all HW.

Really for Mod you just need an ESC that can handle the current draw, and has the adjustability to make the power delivery and brakes feel how you want. After that it comes down to the stuff like customer service, size/weight, cost, programming interface and such. I myself run Tekin, but have had stuff from pretty much all the major brands. I don't care for Novak or LRP. I ran Speed Passion stuff (so HW) as far back as 2007. Back then their top of the line ESC was a good $120 cheaper than most any other brands similarly adjustable ESC. Now because everyone ran to SP/HW their stuff is nearly as expensive as all the other stuff. I have not run the Orion stuff; there is no way I'm gonna pay that much for re-branded HW. I have not tried the Reedy stuff, and based on the actions/attitude of a Reedy sponsored driver, I will never give Reedy any of my money. Shame too, because some of their stuff looks pretty nice. I have a Track Power ESC that I use as a backup. I think its pretty much the same as the SMC and a couple others. It works well, but I can't get the computer interface to work, and my efforts to get ahold of them about it have been fruitless.

Cain, I use a $50 Android tablet to run my Hotwire. So for the cost of what most companies charge for a programmer, I have a programmer, and a tablet. I think some of the HW/SP stuff can connect through Bluetooth or WiFi.

Im with you on the customer service. If I call a company and they treat me well, ill keep coming back to them. for me was AKA. I contacted them and ask for military discount (truggy tires are ridiculously expensive... JEEEZZZ) and they give me a heck of a deal. Guess who runs AKA tires on all the cars, Uses AKA tools (the ones they sell) and has shirts and hoddies? This Guy right here. LOL.


On the subject of this thread... Have anyone here own or owned one of the current models of Novak ESC's? ie. Pulse? I bought a Novak ESC back in 2009 I think it was a GTB and went bad within a week or so. But because I was in Afghanistan I never contacted them or anything. When I came back I heard that their stuff was garbage but apparently they have improved their quality. Any input on the Novak Pulse?

yeah, I've heard that too, but I like the small $20 progammers I got. And it doesn't encourage my littlest to want daddies new tablet lol.

Now, if they connect to say a Kindle Fire that my wife had to have that does a great job of sitting in the shelf, may be worth a look.

I have both a pulse and sc pro . The pulse is very nice with tons of features and onboard programming. I don't like the feel of it , and I don't like the programming steps you have to go through to run boost and turbo timing . Its a lot of button holding and light counting . The newest has a programmer. The esc was used when I got it , in 1 stadium truck , 2 2wd buggies , and 2 4wd buggies before I sold it to a guy who has a season on it in his 2wd with no issues.

The sc pro has been in a stadium truck , a 4wd buggy , and currently lives in a axial wraith. I keep for a back up for my current 4wd buggy. Its fine , no issues and its also used. Both of the novaks have a larger foot print than advertised because of the huge external cap and the overhang on the esc board itself. I also hate the separate switch , and fan plug BS. Good esc if you have the space and don't make changes etc... but every other esc I own is smoother and easier to own .

Go to the local cell store , and tell em you want a old droid phone that doesn't really make calls anymore .... They will hook you up .

Speed Passion parted ways with Hobbywing sometime in 2013-sh and produced the Reventon series ESC's themselves, in-house. My Hobbywing box does not work with my Reventon Pros or R ESC and the SP Box won't work with any of my Hobbywing ESC's. Not the 3.1, nor the 2 Justock or the new XR10.

Not sure which brands are still being produced by Hobbywing but I'm sure there are still plenty.

Is this true only for the Pro and Pro 1.1, or can it be done with the Reventon S and R as well? Is the LED programming box required to swap between firmwares?

the SP esc i had was a reventon pro and if i loaded the strock0 firmware into the card it wouldnt let you run timing or reverse (ROAR blinky mode). I had to load a mod1 or mod2 firmware into the card and once that firmware was uploaded you had no more "blinky" mode.

My question is, can you load multiple firmwares onto the card at once, and then switch between them without having to connect to a pc? Is is possible to switch between blinky and modified with the card only (either led or lcd)?