Rebranded ESC vs knockoff?

[Bogda89]

A lot of YouTubers when they make a review of some Chinese cars they claim that ESC is a rebranded hobby wing.

I believe because of so many fake claims, that some escs are genuine but rebranded hobbywing, a lot people started to believe in those claims.

There is a huge difference between rebranded and knockoff
If hobbywing makes some products for a different brand for example spectrum that can be called rebranded, but in reality it's not identical product, it's made to the spec and price point that buyer, in this case spectrum requires.

If something is made to look kind a like hobbywing but it's built by other manufacturer it's not rebranded hobbywing, it's knockoff, or counterfeit product
If some Chinese brand of rc car used genuine hobbywing product, they would not hide it. For example years ago I bought hobao that came with hobbywing sc8 ESC and savox servo, not rebranded, they were proud os those 2 brands. Even Traxxas when was using castle and Novak made escs, they were not hiding it.

 

[bill_delong]

Many years ago there used to be a company called Brushless Hobbies which "rebranded" a discontinued HobbyWing ESC that was manufactured from the same OEM that distributes for HobbyWing but used lower quality components to reduce costs. Hard to call it a "knock off" when it comes from the same OEM. There are other high end brands which are more expensive than HobbyWing which use higher quality components also made from the same OEM but sold for much higher pricing, nobody calls them "knock offs".

Unfortunately that's just how business operates in China where there are no IP laws or any enforcement.

 

[nino]

GoolRC

 

[Bogda89]

Many years ago there used to be a company called Brushless Hobbies which "rebranded" a discontinued HobbyWing ESC that was manufactured from the same OEM that distributes for HobbyWing but used lower quality components to reduce costs. Hard to call it a "knock off" when it comes from the same OEM. There are other high end brands which are more expensive than HobbyWing which use higher quality components also made from the same OEM but sold for much higher pricing, nobody calls them "knock offs".

Unfortunately that's just how business operates in China where there are no IP laws or any enforcement.

Yes, that's true. Even if some company makes identical copy of another product many times it will not be up to spec as original because actual parts MOSFETs, and controllers are not genuine but fake.

I remember I have seen in an article that one company from Florida was supplying fake chips for f35 plane If I remember. So sometimes the actual manufacturer would get scammed by the supplier. I believe that biggest manufacturers like hobbywing, castle, Traxxas but parts and bulk directly so less chance of fake parts, compared to small scale no name brands that source cheaper parts from third party supplier. I remember long time ago someone made a teardown of an airplane ESC 200amp. All 3 had identical design but different components.

When it comes to no name ebay and Amazon escs, I had at least 5 and either they don't work at all, don't work properly, or die within 5 packs.

With hobbyking escs it is hit or miss, some work perfect, some not so much.

Traxxas is ok, reliable, but I don't like throttle and brake response, but nothing wrong.

Castle, reliable, at least in low power applications that I used them, very linear throttle and brakes, premium product with premium price.

Hobbywing reasonable price, reliable, a lot of options from quick run 60amp for around 38$ all the way to 200$+.

I like cheap stuff. And I had good luck with cheap generic brushless motors. But for esc I always go for either quick run 60 for light cars, quick run 120 for more demanding applications, max10 if I need waterproof ESC, and xr10 just stock for racing. I pay a little higher but they last forever if used properly.

 

[RustyUs]

If you do venture into the ultra low budget knockoff stuff like the 120A ESC mentioned in OP... make sure the ON/OFF switch also includes SETUP button, or SETUP button is on the ESC body itself. If no setup button is shown on ESC, then better read small print to see if throttle calibration can be done via fan port.

The self calibrating type ESCs have proven to me to be just worthless.

The following is just one example of what knock off/copy cat manufacturers of speed controls strive for... Hobbywing XeRun 120A v2.1 ESC that was extremely popular at building the brand has been discontinued long ago.

Flooded online market of wannabees...

If you want the real deal, Hobbywing has repackaged the old XeRun 120A ESC in different colors; renamed it (QUICRUN 10BL120), and at half the XeRun old price tag...

No fancy turbo timing parameters/features like today's ESCs. Just "old school" tech at more reasonable prices.

 

[bill_delong]

With hobbyking escs it is hit or miss, some work perfect, some not so much.

Hobbywing reasonable price, reliable, a lot of options from quick run 60amp for around 38$ all the way to 200$+.

I have only been buying 1/8 race grade electronics for the past 5 years and prior to COVID, I would only buy HobbyWing which used to make a superior product. Ever since the pandemic their quality went to crap and they lost me as a customer because of it. I have since moved on to Trinity where they also provide a high quality servo that has also stood the test of time for me as well.

It's possible that HobbyWing may clean up their act and start producing high quality products again someday but I've already found my suitable replacement for now

Best part with Trinity is that they sell replacement sensor boards, stators and rotors separately where HobbyWing sensor boards and rotors are known to fail fairly often on their 1/8 motors making their motors disposable where Trinity motors can be serviced.

Average lifespan of HobbyWing was anywhere between 7-15 race days between failures and I have already logged 22 race days without a single failure since I switched to Trinity.

 

[RustyUs]

I have only been buying 1/8 race grade electronics for the past 5 years and prior to COVID, I would only buy HobbyWing which used to make a superior product. Ever since the pandemic their quality went to crap and they lost me as a customer because of it. I have since moved on to Trinity where they also provide a high quality servo that has also stood the test of time for me as well.

It's possible that HobbyWing may clean up their act and start producing high quality products again someday but I've already found my suitable replacement for now

Best part with Trinity is that they sell replacement sensor boards, stators and rotors separately where HobbyWing sensor boards and rotors are known to fail fairly often on their 1/8 motors making their motors disposable where Trinity motors can be serviced.

Average lifespan of HobbyWing was anywhere between 7-15 race days between failures and I have already logged 22 race days without a single failure since I switched to Trinity.

Interesting. I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open next time I'm in the market for some goodies. That being said, I haven't owned any "top shelf" racing gear in a long time. I tend to buy the "middle of road" type gear for my needs and don't push things to extreme limits.

 

[Bogda89]

I have only been buying 1/8 race grade electronics for the past 5 years and prior to COVID, I would only buy HobbyWing which used to make a superior product. Ever since the pandemic their quality went to crap and they lost me as a customer because of it. I have since moved on to Trinity where they also provide a high quality servo that has also stood the test of time for me as well.

It's possible that HobbyWing may clean up their act and start producing high quality products again someday but I've already found my suitable replacement for now

Best part with Trinity is that they sell replacement sensor boards, stators and rotors separately where HobbyWing sensor boards and rotors are known to fail fairly often on their 1/8 motors making their motors disposable where Trinity motors can be serviced.

Average lifespan of HobbyWing was anywhere between 7-15 race days between failures and I have already logged 22 race days without a single failure since I switched to Trinity.

Trinity motors are my favorite. I have old 24k, now retired, monster horsepower, drag master and 2 x factors.

I never used their electronics. Are their escs made by ztw?

 

[bill_delong]

Trinity motors are my favorite. I have old 24k, now retired, monster horsepower, drag master and 2 x factors.

I never used their electronics. Are their escs made by ztw?

No idea who is the OEM for Trinity ESC's, but their program card is suspiciously similar to HobbWing's card which makes me think they may be using the same OEM for HobbyWing but a completely different design.

I have heard that many big brands in RC also use the same OEM but the specs are changed to suit each respective brand reqs for synthetic fiber blends, etc.

 

[DavidB1126]

No idea who is the OEM for Trinity ESC's, but their program card is suspiciously similar to HobbWing's card which makes me think they may be using the same OEM for HobbyWing but a completely different design.

I have heard that many big brands in RC also use the same OEM but the specs are changed to suit each respective brand reqs for synthetic fiber blends, etc.

I think everyone copied HW on the Program card part. Spektrum and Trinity program cards look identical. The maclan card looks a bit different and their own design. Tekin doesn't even have a card, they just use the "Hotwire" or the Bluetooth programmer (similar to HWs OTA Bluetooth programmer?)