ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US

Product Test: Novak Pulse ESC with X-Drive

ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US

Mike Garrison

0 Feb. 11, 2013, 6:34 a.m.

Main Photo: Product Test: Novak Pulse ESC with X-Drive

2/11/2013

By Mike Garrison

LiveRC.com

There is no doubt that electric offroad racing has made a "comeback" on many levels of popularity over the past decade. LiPo batteries, brushless motors, and advancing technology in ESC's has made electric racing much less frustrating and easier for bashers, entry level racers, and pros alike.

Years ago an ESC was either on the gas or on the brakes, there was no such thing as timing mode, boost, dynamic adjustments, and programmable profiles. Today, ESC manufacturers are in a constant battle to offer their customers the latest and greatest in ESC technology. We have got our hands on the latest and greatest from Team Novak for a LiveRC Product Test of the all-new Pulse ESC!

First Impression

Unboxing the new Pulse ESC we were pleasantly surprised to see pre-soldered wires to the ESC in all matching blue (as opposed to a rainbow of wires). The overall size of the Pulse is slightly larger than some on the market for 1:10 racing, however, upon further inspection we realized the Pulse is rated for BOTH 540 and 550 size motors running 2S LiPos. The ability to run swap one ESC from a 2wd buggy to a 4wd short course truck saves serious cash and is far more easy than purchasing and setting up a seperate 540 or 550 only ESC unit.

Build & Setup

Installing and setting up the Pulse ESC was a rather quick and easy process thanks to the pre-soldered wires, and easy to follow instructions that were written for an R/C racer...not a rocket scientist. For the test we mounted the Pulse in both a 2wd buggy (usually one of the harder vehicles to fit an ESC) and a 4wd short course (usually one of the most demanding vehicles on an ESC).

In the 2wd buggy the ESC was a little tight fitting, but with some fancy manuevers and wire routing, we were able to stuff it all in there. The capacitor that is pre-soldered onto the Pulse is designed to work flawlessly, however, it's size and short wires make finding a nice home for it somewhat difficult. In the 4wd short course, we had no issues what-so-ever finding a place for it, as the Pulse is considerably smaller than the 550/1:8 scale ESC's we are used to running in the truck. With plenty of room and a high demand on the ESC, we added a complimentary Novak fan to the Pulse to keep things cool.

Setup on the Pulse is done using the Novak light system. Calibration to the radio is simple and quick. Fine tuning your settings requires slightly more attention and can be a little time consuming, compared to others which offer a programming card or unit. We recommend making sure you know your basic colors and counting skills one through ten. We setup the Pulse using the recommended preset profiles for our application with only minor changes to settings such as drag brake, dead band, etc.

(Left - Matching blue motor wires are pre-soldered and look much cleaner than a rainbow of colors. Right - The Pulse is a neat and compact unit for what all it offers.)

Overall for Build & Setup, we rate the Novak Pulse a 4/5 on the beacon rating. The setup is easy to learn and follow, but in a fast paced world the Novak light system is time consuming.

On the Track

Our test grounds, seeing how it is winter time, is an indoor offroad facility with medium to high traction and a mixture of high speed and low speed sections.

Acceleration and Response - 5/5

Using the preset profile for our application, the Pulse delivered smooth and quick response to dart in and out of the tight and technical sections. We adjusted the Dead Band setting to as little as possible, giving an even quicker response to pulling the trigger. The X-Drive firmware makes for an instant response, yet smooth and controllable acceleration.

Top Speed - 4/5

Novak offers a very detailed range chart for properly setting your ESC timing, starting RPM, and ending RPM. Using the preset recommended range for our application we found the timing to kick in too little, too late. For our test track, we changed ranges and adjusted to a lower starting and ending RPM range to get the timing to kick in a little sooner. Finding the perfect mix for our test vehicles and testing grounds required us to step outside the "recommended zones" and some extra time fine tuning, but in the end we were happy with the results.

Braking - 5/5

Our brake testing was performed in the 4wd short course, where in the past we have encountered a "fading" brake feel due to the high demand on the ESC. After heading down the back straightaway, locking up the brakes, and performing a stoppie 25ft short of the corner...we decided the Novak Pulse has brakes. The NovaBrakes system isn't afraid to stop a car. We ultimately dialed back the brake EPA on our radio to 75% to compensate for the extreme stopping power.

Overall the Pulse ESC performed very well, stayed cool in both vehicles, and helped us run consistent lap times.

Victories and Flameouts

A new addition to the LiveRC Product Testing is the "Victories and Flameouts" section. Here we highlight key points that we really like in the "Victories" list, and highlight areas we feel could use improvement in the "Flameouts" list!

(A Novak Fan unit is included with the Pulse, which ensures cool running temps in the harshest of conditions.)

Novak Pulse LiveRC Victories:

540 and 550 motor capable allows you to use the same ESC for anything from 1:10 stock buggy to mod 4wd short course truck.
Designed to meet ROAR Sportsman Class Racing specs; includes non-timing racing blinking white LED.
Super Tuner allows for adjustments to timing, braking, dead band, and more.
Includes pre-soldered MATCHING colored wires for easy and clean looking setup.
Cooling fan unit included at no additional charge.
5 profiles that can be independently customized & saved for multiple set-ups.

Novak Pulse LiveRC Flameouts:

While the "light system" for tuning is easy to understand, we would like to see a quicker way for more advanced users to make last minute tweaks, such as a program card/box/software.
The pre-soldered capacitor works excellent, however, its size and short wires make it difficult to neatly mount it in more compact vehicles.
We feel that a bobble-head action figure of Charlie Suangka and Brent Newman should be included with all Pulse ESC's to display in Novak user pit spaces...(yeah we're struggling to find a third "flameout" for the Pulse).

(Suangka and Newman in bobblehead form.)

Conclusion

In conclusion of the LiveRC Product Test we have combined the high points and low points of the Pulse ESC to award it a 4/5 on the LiveRC Beacon Rating. Based solely on performance, the Pulse is a 5/5, however factoring in that we are impatient racers who don't like counting and are easily distracted by pretty colors, the tuning process using the light system is not as quick and simple as we might like.