The fall of old Tekin...

[Bormac]

Personally I like Novak gear. Actually I like all the old manufacturers right down to the old Kitt esc's. No doubt some performed better than others but I have collected an assortment of the old electric gear which has been and will be added to my vintage shelf cars and even some of the cars I wish to drive. Regardless of the Tekin history I know that there were some great performing models out there which were at the pointy end of competition.

[kink]

If I decide to fit a vintage ESC it will definately be a Novak!

I don't understand the link...

Well my perspective is this... with old period correct ESCs you mainly have a choice between Tekin and Novak, as the memorable major vintage players. Since reading this story I lost any respect I once had for Tekin (of old). In terms of business practices, lack of quality control and the man behind the operation, all tarnish the appeal - for me personally.

Not that it makes much odds as I went for a slightly more modern LRP anyway.

[Lonestar]

Well my perspective is this... with old period correct ESCs you mainly have a choice between Tekin and Novak, as the memorable major vintage players. Since reading this story I lost any respect I once had for Tekin (of old). In terms of business practices, lack of quality control and the man behind the operation, all tarnish the appeal - for me personally.

the amazing 410K, the unbelievable G9, the incredibly pretty G10 (although I've owned a few and they are utterly reliable!)... just because you read something on an internet forum hinting at the fact that the genius behind them was a bit different, suddenly all the appeal is gone???

To all : if suddenly after reading this you feel like your collection of NiB Tekin speedos is worth nothing any more, then please let me buy them from you at a ridiculously low price...

I mean come on... They are still superb pieces of engineering that performed fantastic on the track and look killer on a chassis with the black and gold... If all it takes is a few lines on the internet to make them loose all their sexiness, this is worrying...

People still love VW beetles...

Paul

[kink]

Well I am only talking for myself of course. I am sure most people would not care how the company was run. But to know designers were ripped off, other products copied but made to inferior standards, items sent out without proper product quality control for use in actual racing etc all takes the edge off - FOR ME. I am sure some of their kit has been great. But clearly some had issues. Not that it matters now, as it is so long ago.

[Lowgear]

Well like the saying goes: There are two sides to every story and then there's the truth.

[isobarik]

Still run them and loving it ....

410k
G11
G9

mvh Isobarik

[naushad]

I prefer the look of Novak but Tekin for performance

[R/Cat]

Wow...fascinating read! Kevin sounded like a really sick #$%. Sounds like he got what he deserved in the end with Tekin going under for him but I guess he didn't care. Fortunately, I never used any Tekin products as I became a loyal Novak fan back in the 80's and have been with them ever since. I never had an ounce of trouble with any of their products either -- no wonder Kevin stole their ideas.

[R/Cat]

Well I am only talking for myself of course. I am sure most people would not care how the company was run. But to know designers were ripped off, other products copied but made to inferior standards, items sent out without proper product quality control for use in actual racing etc all takes the edge off - FOR ME. I am sure some of their kit has been great. But clearly some had issues. Not that it matters now, as it is so long ago.

Exactly, it speaks volumes about the kind of business man Kevin was. Pathetic.

[kaiser]

i never used tekin ecs's back in the day but i did use their charges, reflex and linear. bad ass chargers for back then.

i love the new tekin stuff, i use the rs, rspro and the rx8 along with their motors and some other brand motors as well.

[Lonestar]

Well like the saying goes: There are two sides to every story and then there's the truth.

can we digest the wise saying above a bit more... please?

[littleVETTE]

i still can't get enough of this story. the man sure was off his meds, but man can he build a speed control, motor, charger, or receiver. novaks were great speedos, but sensitive to the way you ran them. tekins were just beast. the reason why i started to run tekins. i never had one fail on me, much less ever sent one in for service. ironically i think that's why novak made the similar move to make their speed controls with the one step setup.

[aip47-2008]

i still can't get enough of this story. the man sure was off his meds, but man can he build a speed control, motor, charger, or receiver. novaks were great speedos, but sensitive to the way you ran them. tekins were just beast. the reason why i started to run tekins. i never had one fail on me, much less ever sent one in for service. ironically i think that's why novak made the similar move to make their speed controls with the one step setup.

X2

I had the worst luck with Novak.............not that they were bad or anything. Tekin never failed me.

[MrBreeze]

Very interesting read. The first ESC I owned was a Speed Star,
ran it in my Trinity S-Spec 10 during my carpet oval days.
Ran a G10 that I got used in my RC10L30. Had no problems with either.

[AzSonicSnake]

What an amazing read. I've always been a fan of Tekin products and will continue to be. This explained a lot and really made me feel for the guy. Sure, there were some bad decisions made, but some great products that always treated me well. I'll never forget the day I met Jim Campbell at the cactus classic and his talk of bringing back one of the greatest names in electronics. I was on cloud nine, and getting to race for them in their return was really cool.