Spektrum rc3000 problem

[moo900]

When installing the receiver, the only way it gets power to the receiver is if I connect an external battery box. The esc (Novak XBR) is not powering the receiver. When powered by battery box, all functions of receiver work fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Maxx-Damage]

U do have the esc plugged into the correct channel right? Have u refered to the manual?

[moo900]

U do have the esc plugged into the correct channel right? Have u refered to the manual?


I have the esc plugged into the channel marked THR. The Spektrum manual does not have a trouble shooting section.

[AreCee]

Check your ESC, it may not be working. SIlly question, did you turn on the switch? See if the power is going to the Rx from the ESC.

Not that it matters but you could plug the ECS into any of the Rx ports and it will still receive power as long as the ESC is delivering it. The Spektrum Rx works like any other receiver in that respect.

[moo900]

I talked with tech support at Horizon. The XBR is not compatible with spectrum. That would have been nice to know before I purchased this combo. The options: 1) New radio and receiver or 2) New ESC.

[AreCee]

That is so lame. My ten year old Tekins work perfectly with the Spektrum as does my Orion Flash, AE XPS and Mamba 25.

Now I'm glad I never bought any Novak ESCs since 1989.

[InspGadgt]

I talked with tech support at Horizon. The XBR is not compatible with spectrum. That would have been nice to know before I purchased this combo. The options: 1) New radio and receiver or 2) New ESC.

That makes no sense at all. I would contact tech support at Novak not Horizon. www.teamnovak.com

[InspGadgt]

I would guess either your wiring harness is wired wrong or one of the pins isn't pushed fully in. If there was some major incompatibility with it and Spektrum I'd expect to see that in the instructions or on their website and it's not.

[moo900]

The Support tech at Horizon (Spektrum) indicated that just a couple of ESC's are incompatible. The XBR and the ESC that comes in the RTR 1/18 associated cars are among them. As InspGadgt says, "I'd expect to see that in the instructions or on their website and it's not." I wish they would too. Now I have to jump through 20 hoops to return this esc and get an upgrade.

[Grizzbob]

Indeed, you really should get in touch with Novak about this, they should be able to help you out.....:cool:

[chewie]

i dont get that.. power coming out of the esc is power... it isnt reciver specific .. unless its like old airtronics servos back in the day where the red and black wires were switched. so they were only compatable with airtronics recivers.

sounds like a heap of bullcrap.
id contact novak

[GSMnow]

I could understand a calibration issue with the ESC not getting the correct pulses at turn on due to the Spektrum being in fail safe until it binds, but even then, the steering servo should come to life as soon as there is BEC power coming from the ESC. Try pluggin the ESC into the BAT, STR, or AUX positions and see if it will run a servo plugged in any other channel. If you have a volt meter, jus measure if you have power between the black and red wires of the ESC plug with a battery connected and the switch on. It should be 6.0 volts on Novak stuff. With my Mamba Max on the Spektrum, it is interesting, it will not give the arming tome until the RX binds to the TX. The steering goes to fail safe, and the throttle goes coast instead of braking. Once I turn on the TX, then the arming tone plays and all is well. If I them kil the TX, the ESC goes into 1/2 brake, where I set the failsafe. Doing the cal on the Spektrum was a bit odd due to the turn on delay, but it did still work. TX has to be on first, with throttle held full on. Then when the RX binds to it, the ESC goes into setup. It happened fast enough for the Mamba to work, but I can see it being an issue with other auto cal systems. Even with that, the steering servo always works fine and the ESC/RX compatibility should not be an issue as long as the 3 lead wires are in the right holes so it puts V+ and COM on the right pins.

[moo900]

The Novak tech support email response indicated that I may have it plugged it in wrong, and that they were unaware of any issue with the XBR and Spektrum SR3000.

I plugged the external battery box into the throttle port on rx and unit powered fine. I tested the wire from esc to rx with multimeter and got 6 volts. I called Horizon tech back to verify incompatibilty, and they reaffirmed the incompatibility.

I dont know enough about electronics to hazzard a guess as to why the XBR/SR3000 combo doesn't work.

I suppose the point is moot now though. I have a GTB/SS13.5 combo on the way. The XBR is going back to the hobby shop.

Thanks to all for the help!

[rccardude04]

The BEC is probably too weak. You need a certain amount of power output from a BEC to run a spektrum receiver, and a few ESCs don't have enough punch to power the spektrum rx. It makes sense on the RC18T esc, but I would think that all the 1/10 escs would be okay. I guess not.
-Eric

[InspGadgt]

Different symptoms from a weak BEC though with Spektrum. And Novak is not known to have weak BECs like LRP does. Typically that happens with 4 cell anyway.

[InspGadgt]

I still would trust Novak over Horizon...I had asked some questions on Spektrum systems and their answers contradicted their own FAQ.

[moo900]

I shipped off the XBR to Novak yesterday. They are going to send me a factory sealed version of same to exchange at my hobby shop. In the mean time, I received my shiny new GTB/SS13.5 combo from the hobby shop today. Driving home, I think, "This will surely work. It's a better ESC. Horizon assured me of the compatability. I can finally finish my truck build and get to the track this weekend"

Well, you guessed it, I'm having the same problem with the receiver when hooked up to the GTB. The ESC is not powering the receiver. The receiver works fine when powered by the external battery box in both THRT and BATT channels. If "power is power", why isn't the 6v from the ESC's BEC powering the receiver the same as the 6v is from the battery box?

I guess the next step is to take the receiver to the track and hook it up to another ESC, and ESC to another reciever. My guess is that the problem lies in the receiver. I'm not looking forward to dropping $80 on a new SR3000. I suppose that is what I get for "throwing parts" at the problem.

[Grizzbob]

I shipped off the XBR to Novak yesterday. They are going to send me a factory sealed version of same to exchange at my hobby shop. In the mean time, I received my shiny new GTB/SS13.5 combo from the hobby shop today. Driving home, I think, "This will surely work. It's a better ESC. Horizon assured me of the compatability. I can finally finish my truck build and get to the track this weekend"

Well, you guessed it, I'm having the same problem with the receiver when hooked up to the GTB. The ESC is not powering the receiver. The receiver works fine when powered by the external battery box in both THRT and BATT channels. If "power is power", why isn't the 6v from the ESC's BEC powering the receiver the same as the 6v is from the battery box?

I guess the next step is to take the receiver to the track and hook it up to another ESC, and ESC to another reciever. My guess is that the problem lies in the receiver. I'm not looking forward to dropping $80 on a new SR3000. I suppose that is what I get for "throwing parts" at the problem.
That is starting to sound like a receiver issue. And I'm certain that what you have should work, because that's EXACTLY what I race with every weekend(GTB/13.5Pro combo with Spektrum's SR3000 & 3500 receivers), & they've never given me any trouble(had the Sprktrum for some 2 1/2 years & the GTB & 13.5 Pro for almost 9 months, used with both bonded & sintered rotors)....:cool:

[moo900]

I have a friend that used to work in customer support for numerous household electric products. Her first question was always, "Is your unit plugged in?" Seems simple enough, but many customers would answer, "oh....now it is."

Well, I put a multimeter on my 6 cell battery pack tonight to do some more troubleshooting, and it read 1.18v. Swapped with charged pack and low and behold, all is working as it should now. I could have sworn the battery I was using was charged. I am somewhat ashamed, but I'm sure this feeling will pass in time.

As I look back through the posts, I see that no one, including Novak and Horizon support, offered this suggestion. Being new to the sport, I was not aware that the esc could be powered by low volts, and at the same time, the receiver would not be powered. But now I see this makes perfect sense from a safety standpoint. With this in mind, I am inclined to recant my comment about the xbr compatability issue, since I was using the "dead" battery.

I extend a sincere thank you to all who offered their assistance, and hope that my ignorance will be excused.

[AreCee]

I think I suggested that you check the power output of the ESC which would have revealed your "low" battery power in an instant.

Oh well, you solved the "Did you plug it in and turn it on" problem.

[Ball Racing]

Another thing to check in the future for such a case is to be sure the Spectrum receiver is Binded correctly..
If not, and you turn it on go ito failsafe, and will not alway let functions happen...