Where is the Novak HV-Maxx?

[MacII]

Hello,

Does anyone know what the story about the Novak HV-Maxx brushless motor system for the E-Maxx is? I know it was announced months ago - maybe 6-7 months ago...anyway Tower had a date in their system but now it has come and gone.

I'm trying to hold out to use their system in my Race E-Maxx this year but the season is quickly approaching.

Any info, news, rumor, tips would be helpful.

MacII

[End Overend]

My guess is that they are making sure to work out all the kinks in the system. I know they have had a lot of small things go wrong with their SS5800 system which has resulted in a lot warranty returns.

By making sure it's ready for "prime time" before releasing they can save a lot of money in warranty repairs.

Your best bet is to send Novak an e-mail and see what the expected release date will be.

[Mr. Constructor]

If youn really wanna have some power in it, do not use the novak (OK, low end driveability is better but power is limited) as the esc will limit the possible power of around 600 W (12 - 14cells could deliver that much for a time) to around 400-450 W, OK , the system is really easy to drive but you cannot upgrade it in the future (the motor HAS to be a sensored one) and then it might not be that great solution, try to go to a Hacker B 40 L or a LMT 1920er series withz a good Schulze or LMT or Hacker ESC (the so far best ones are not available yet, as i do not know any kontronik sale in the us, in germany no problem, see details at:

www.kontronik.com
whenever you wanna power a Maxx really "Bad" then you should use the Not sensored systems, as they´re interchangeable (almost every Motor functions with every esc) and even if not the highest power is your wish, you could select from a real very wide array of motor and esc combos, there are low price ones too !!
see also: www.finedesignrc.com

[GA Maxx]

I've been looking for a brushless Combo for nearly 18 months now. I have yet to come across a reliable system. Many of the ESC's burn out. There have been a lot of problems with this on the traxxas forum . The warrenty service is great but i DO NOT want to send my brushless system back which will lead to more down time. So unless there is another VERY reliable set up which is same power for $309 im gonna get the novak.

[Mr. Constructor]

As far as i understood the theme in this thread, there should be only 1 system for 12 cells, that is not available from novak so far (who knows when or even IF it arrives??) then the next step are the esc´s and motors from Hacker,LMT,Kontronik,GM-Racing,maybe Motors also from HB, Plettenberg, Ikarus, Fei Gao to name a few (or go with LRK: Torcman, Flyware, to name the biggest)

The esc´s ARE reliable but the whole system has to be functional with the truck, there is not only the right gearing, the power to weight ratio must be OK and other factors are influencing the power (and the heat build up in these esc´s wich leads by 90% to a damage at these otherwise very good esc´s)

The builder should take more care of the system he puts in that specific Car, that is essential, my Esc´s NEVER failed, and I´m running BL for nearly 6 years now (the oldest is 6 years, and still running without any problems !!)

Take this thinking in account, then select one system and try it in your car with a low gearing (12:1 possibly is a good setup for almost EVERY Car (10th, 8th and even 6th if the Motors are correct, in a conversion (nitro to BL) take the Nitro power as a deadline, then go 20% up, and the Motor system is found relatively easy.

that is a general formula wich is proven during the past few years of building these Cars, try to take it as a basement !!

Good luck, and have fun with it, these systems are the really good stuff, even some nitros cannot compete with sonme BL Cars, the nitro domination is over, electrics CAN compete !!

[glassdoctor]

No offense, Mr. Constructor but check your posts.

Have you tested the Novak Maxx setup that's not available yet? So how can you critic it when you haven't seen it? You talk like you have one.

Also, you recomend a Hacker B40 for a Maxx? A C50 or B50 series is much better, as is a 1930 or 1940 over a 1920... as far as many experienced BL users would recomend.

And, the BL ESCs have proven to NOT be reliable in many cases. I have a Hacker that has not had a problem, btw. But if you have followed brushless forums for the last couple years, there have been countless cases of BL controller going up in smoke for no apparent reason, without being overgeared, run hard, etc. Some experienced users have had them meltdown before running long enough to even get warm. So far, mine is fine. But if it goes on the next run, it's not my fault and it's not because of my setup.

This problem is a big reason to take a close look at the new Novak system. My Novak SS5800 has been great... hopefully the Maxx setup is great too. Maybe two will be needed to match the power of a 1940 but two novaks is cheaper than one Lehner setup.

Gearing is totally specific to each car and application... the only way you can try to make a universal rule of "gearing" would be in roll-out, not gear ratios. And even that depends on the wind of the motor, the weight of the car, the type of track, 2speed or not, etc, etc....

[Mr. Constructor]

Yes, the Novak Setup is not available yet, but that doesn´t stop me to check some Features the Novak HP said, the system will def. be low end power compared to the others.The quality of the Novak ss system isn´t that great, many people in this and other forums have had many problems like the magnets coming apart, burned wires, killed esc´s, broken magnets (wich really is the worst thing that could happen, next to the loosening up of the magnets) so the Quality of the Novak System isn´t that big either. So, seen as a fortune looking, if Novak doesn´t totally change the setup in their Motors and/or change the stability of their circuits, these parts will fall and take the otherwise good idea from Novak down, then i really use a better proven more powerful system instead 1-2 systems of this quality, here in germany there comes on thing on top, many system had failed too, but the service is bad, in the US, this really sems to be no problem, as many told me OK point for Novak, but the system seems to be not free of some basic faults that should be the same than the HV system, as the basic construction rules are the same.

I did not say that any motor will withstand everything, but my system are up to 6 or 7 years old, and still in good shape (after plenty of running hours) so the better Quality is there, I have never melt down any ESC in my whole career (wich is noch over 18 years) so the burned down esc´s really do have to come from any failures (the industrial production failures OK, but whats with the rest??)

After all the B 40 L for the Maxx is a failure by myself, i meant the B 50 L (comparable to the 19xx series from lehner)

But the question isn´t power, it´s the knowledge of this new tecnology, the people DO have to understand it, to use it properly and long without any problems, in this case, we all have to learn enough !!

as for the Quality, it seems to be that the german systems (Hacker, Schulze, Plettenberg, Kontronik, GM Racing, Lehner a.s.o.) really DO have an advantage over the rest, the quality is better (but price tag is even very much higher, OK that´s the point, if treated right, the quality is there !!

Take a look to the Boat sector, there are many BL systems with cell counts a car driver is still watching at, and these high power systems really DO function very well seen over all (there are some bad and some better news as everwhere OK) !!

Sorry, but as it seems to be in the nowadays, the Novak System isn´t released BECAUSE all these Problems are inside it, that´s hard to take these Problems out, so Novak has to risk a (Very Good, my Novak never betrayed me) Brand Name so they should take care of their reputation and bring out a good product NOT only at a agressive low price but the package overall has to fit, and there´s a missing point for Novak: the Quality at all (the rest is OK, the System itself from the idea is OK, service,documentation, a.s.o. is OK, Power is low, OK it´s a WANTED feature because they do not wanna compete with strong other Manufacturers !!

[NitroBoy24]

I think the reason why people wont go out and get a nice schulze controller and hacker motors is because...They dont want to spend $300 on JUST the esc!! Then paying near or more then $200 for a motor!

Novak is making the bl system for the rc'er on a buget. If I had a ton of money I would go out and get a schulze controller and hacker motors better there is no way on gods green earth I can afford to do that and then buy battery packs. Sure they may not be the best esc and motor but they have a 4 month warranty and if you use the warranty it starts all over again if you get something replaced. Sounds great to me, and I have heard their customer service is very good.

This all why I want to buy the SS system, it will be a good starter and when I get a job and have some deeper pockets I will most likely be going on a nonsensored, insane cell capacity, warp speed esc/motor combo :D

[glassdoctor]

I can agree with most of what you say, excep that the novaks haven't been reliable, and that you know what the HV setup will be like to drive.

One big problem with the Schulze ESCs for U.S. customers is the price and the customer service. They cost us $300-600. That's very expensive in the r/c hobby world. Then, IF or WHEN there is a problem, the repair is also VERY expensive and difficult. I know some that have waited months for a repair and it cost almost as much as a new controller. So, it's almost like buying a $400 disposable controller. That's a big problem for us.

As for Novak, I would expect a few problems with a new product like a BL system. But I don't think there has been that many problems with them. There are a bunch of guys locally that have had great success... no failures, except one guy that shorted out the wires... not Novak's fault there. And, he had it repaired and back within a couple weeks. Broken magnets are likely the result of violent abuse. I think more kids here get the Novak and beat the crap out of it like they do all their other r/c stuff... But those who buy a $400-700 imported system have more respect for their things and treat it that way. Stupid kids don't get their hands on Lehners and Shulzes, but you can bet mom will buy them a Novak at the local hobby shop. It's the price Novak pays for being mainstream and relatively affordable.

Having dealt with Novak and their products for 15 years, I am very happy with them... I have some 10 and 15 year old controllers that still work fine, and they have been generous the 2 times I have had things repaired.

I wish i could say the same for my Hacker. I am afraid to run it because of all the horror stories about guys just turning it on, setting the truck down to run it and smoke rolls out. IF that were to happen, I am SOL... no help from Hacker. They are not repairing their ESCs and they don't have anything to replace it with. Let's just say I'm glad mine is working.

You are probably right about many failures being due to operator error, and if so, the same is true about Novak's stuff.

One cool thing about the Novak BL ESCs is that they are designed with the car guys in mind. They look and function like a "normal" high end esc we are used to. I hope this is adopted by other BL manufacturers.

One last thing... I would like to know the #s of Novak BL controllers in customers hands compared to Shulze and Hacker. My guess is that there is now many times more Novaks, at least in the U.S., and that's the reason for the # of issues reported. In my area, I am the only one I know with a non-Novak BL in a car or truck. But there are a bunch of Novaks already. I think this is common in the U.S.

Many thousands of Novaks vs. a handfull of expensive imported stuff.

We hope that Novak finally gives us an affordable alternative for big monster truck apps. And I would like to see a more powerful motor option for 1/10 racing buggies and trucks.

[glassdoctor]

Mr Constructor, I just saw some pics of your 1/8 project cars... they are pretty cool. Does one have the custom LRK motor? How does that run?

Are any of the buggies still 4wd... I didn't see any "drivetrain" left.

Also, where did you get the 1/6 scale? It looks like the Traxxas buggy.

[Mr. Constructor]

True words, the price IS (and the service too) the major factor for not buying imported stuff in the US, it´s the same ay around with US Stuff here in germany, the firms are not really global players as maybe panasonic, or sony is !!

Maybe this one might help you out, they DO repair it, the prices are good, the esc could be send in after almost 10 years (done with one old of mine) and they gave you a new one with a loss of 35% off the pricetag !!

watch at: www.kontronik.com

(the twist goes around 150? in germany and the Jazz 40-6-18 (wich is OK for a small and light sedan or 2wd buggy) is around the same her, so US prices may not be THAT high, maybe it is another thing to think of, my esc´s and motor´s really worked fine for almost 5-6 years now, that sounds good to me.

As for my Cars, wich one you actually mean, i´ve made several constructions with 8th cars (maybe 3 or 4 now) and the 6th buggy IS a traxxas, yes, that´s right, graupner germany imported this car some years ago, but the motor was a Mitsubishi 26ccm wich didn´t turn out as a very powerful motor , so i switched to a brushed motor, then to a brushless motor (wich is a Lehner 2240/13S and a warrior 7018/BEC with a coustom made cooling and holder thing.)

I think you mean the Titanium Car ??

The motor IS a LRK wich propells directly the center shaft (the shaft of the Motor goes directly into the back tranny, then an elongated (with a Titanium shaft) Shaft goes up front, maybe this pic will help you to better understand the drivetrain in this car!!

greetings from the "cold" Hamburg

[Mr. Constructor]

Here you can see the cars inner drivetrain a little better, imagine the motor in the Box, with the finned housing (better cooling) and then it might be clear what the heck is going on in this car !! ;-)

(if there are any other things you wanna know, ask them, i will try to get them solved !!)

[MacII]

Hello,

Back to the original reason for this thread, I contacted Novak. I rec'd a reply which basically said that the date for the HV Maxx has been scrapped and that the system is "Still In Development" which means it ain't baked yet. So much for my hopes it was being mass-produced and almost ready for release.

Oh well, looks like we will go back to the Titans for the start of this season, hopefully Novak learned some lessons making the smaller brushless systems and the HV Maxx isn't years away, just a few months.

MacII

[glassdoctor]

Thanks for the info. I take it they would not even give an estimate of the time frame?

[MacII]

Hello,

Yes, they said there is no date information available. From the message it sounded more like they are re-doing it than they are simply tweaking or having production problems. I suppose if it wears the Novak name, it had better be good and they just want to make sure it can live up to the brand ID.

MacII