[ngcontrols]

That's an interesting tidbit... I wonder what's really going on over there.

I apologize to those that have waited longer than what was originally quoted. We've had some supplier changes and long machine shop lead times. There were several enhancements added over the summer that ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated. Things were moving along at a moderate clip at that point, but then orders came flying in. We are moving steadily towards whittling away that 8-10 weeks to stock on the shelf.

We've got a large production run that will be finishing soon, allowing us to ship out faster than what we've been telling dealers. So hopefully, those that were quoted mid November will be receiving product early November.

 

[ngcontrols]

he mentioned that they had a building backlog because Ryan was soldering the boards by hand - that's certainly a plausible reason to me.

Always good to not spread rumors

I've certainly done some soldering by hand, but only on prototypes. Assembly has been a different story. Fortunately, our contract manufacturer will be taking that over completely again soon.

We may be competitors but we aren't enemies.

Exactly. One thing I've enjoyed working in the EV business is that there seems to be a healthy respect between competitors. Competition is good, but when it comes with fairness. If it ever came to competitor product bashing, I wouldn't be joining in. I happen to have a lot of respect for the EVNetics people and their products and support.

Sure, asking for a refund is a perfectly reasonable response after being *lied to* about when the OP would be getting his controller. Six weeks? Eight weeks? Ten weeks? Never? People are understandably nervous about waiting a long time, then longer still, for their expensive components, especially after the EVComponents debacle...

"*lied* to" is not the best words to use here. "Lie: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood". There was no deliberate intent to mislead dealers/customers on delivery times. We just haven't perfected our production scheduling. And yes, asking for a refund is perfectly within reason, although we'd hate to see anyone go.

 

[ngcontrols]

Just set reasonable max current, voltage and power so you don't blow the motor, that's all. However, in most cases the problem is to figure those values out...

The beauty of series wound motors ... the ability to mix and match.

So you mentioned setting reasonable settings to avoid destroying the motors. I think there actually is some degree of "matching" motors and controllers. A running tally of 7 to 0 for motors destroyed by Soliton1's doesn't seem like a match made in heaven to me!

Now hold on there ... that statement's not intended to start a flame war. I think that running tally has to be taken in context, that there have been many a controller brand that have died an early death with the current offering of motors. In that context, this running tally proves a point - that you're Soliton1 isn't going to die.

But, there comes the important question of economics that can explain how motors and controllers can be "matched".

An Alltrax controller with a WarP 9 will work fine, but you won't get out of the motor what it can take.

A Zilla has shown for years that it's a good match for WarP motors. A Zilla claims a continuous current rating in the 300's of amps. This is in the same league as what the WarP motors can take. In my several years selling Zillas, I don't think I've ever heard of a Zilla *or* a motor destroyed. They just work well together. I would call that "matched".

The WarP-Drives were designed to fill the void that was left in the market by the Zillas disappearing. I think they do that very well. They have very similar continuous current ratings, and require about the same volume of installation space, weigh about the same, and all for about the same price as a Zilla was.

So there's two situations - a controller that can't full utilize a particular motor, and a controller that can fully utilize it, and will go into thermal cutback before it can destroy the motor. On the other end of the spectrum, there's the Soliton1. It's highly respectable 1000A continuous rating is more than double what any motor I know of will take (you have to consider the batteries too, but we'll keep it simple here). If you want that much extra headroom, then this is definitely the controller for you ... *but*, keep in mind, you have to pay for that over-construction!

I was a bit surprised by a thread somewhere earlier this year stating that the Soliton1's hadn't been used in any racing applications to date. I think this is a good fit for them. Racing is all about finding the weak link!

 

[ngcontrols]

So while waiting for your EV parts try to keep in mind that it is unlikely the suppliers have not shipped because they are on a ski trip in Vail, sailing on their yachts, or golfing with politicians.

Wow, you can say that again! It's been a long, vacationless last couple of years!

But when you hear about someone getting their EV on the road with that EV Grin from ear to ear, saying it's their favorite car ever, that makes it all worth it!

Thanks Chris for your nice words. You guys work miracles!

 

[ngcontrols]

But is there an answer as to why the long wait time?

First off, understand that what EVNetics (The "Soliton Guys" as we call them ), are pulling off is a real feat. They have a solid high power, high voltage controller, good support, and it ships fast. This (especially the last point) is unprecedented in the high power controller market. Due to the lead times, I have referred more than one sale to them, even though they are a "competitor".

Lead times over the years for such a product have been anywhere from 4 to 10 months. Why? Because volumes are relatively low, you don't buy the parts to build them at Wal-Mart, and it's a beastly complicated product to do "right". Our goal at NetGain Controls is to have the units in stock. It's not going to happen overnight, but we'll hopefully be there by early spring. Please note that the highest priority is and will always be given to quality and safety. We could definitely whittle lead times down if there wasn't so much emphasis on these points (not suggesting in any way that others have done this).

 

[ngcontrols]

Are the warp-drive controllers now shipping? Or is the Solitron1 the only high current high voltage controller available now?

Oh yeah, we're shipping. In fact, we will actually have some (limited) stock on our shelves by about the end of next week (assuming orders don't come in and snatch it all by then, which is likely). We should be able to keep things within a few weeks from here out.