Mgm comp pro controllers
 

Ok so I am now living in Prague, Czech Republic, and I have written to MGM to see if I could meet with them to discuss some of the issues that keep a lot of people from purchasing their controllers. This is the first response I received yesterday.

Dear Jerry,

thank you for your e-mail and sorry for not answering you sooner :-)

Also thank you for all nice that you wrote about our electronics. All of that is the reason why MGM compro is known between most demanding modellers as #1. I am not sure if I understand correctly how you mean this sentence "Most ESC companies have a warranty servicing department that keep re-manufactured/refurbished controllers on hand for immediate turn around shipping when another one is sent in for repair." If it is meant that there will be a MGM center in USA which will keep controllers for "exchange" in case that customer want to send his controller for repair then this is really a problem. We are much different then other producers and our products can be ordered in tens various types for each model of controller. So you can have for example TMM 28026-3 X-SERIES with options for boats and these options are different than for cars. You know how I mean it, every controller can be made in tens various types. What more it is always needed to find first what caused the "problem". In most cases (99.999%) the damage is caused by customer by for example changing polarity, using with defective motor, overloading, using with non-suitable connectors, etc., so if we will provide him for time of repair another piece then nobody can guarantee to us that he will not damage another controller. It is very fine electronics and that is the reason why it is not cheap. We are not Chinese producer that can (and have to) exchange one controller for another for free and we also do not want to do this. We know what we produce, all the parts are tested with the full load before leaving company. This is why our name is so known for its quality. Did I understand the sentence right or you meant it differently? :-)

(On the other hand I have to say that whole process of sending back and repair is very fast in fact. The spedition companies and also our service is very fast so it does not take so long :-) )

I have to say that I am also happy that you are here in Czech Republic and you can see how beautiful country it is. Mostly the Prague. I will be happy to welcome you here in MGM compro factory. It will be nice to meet you here in my office and I am looking forward to it. Unfortunately we cannot make the "tour" through the company. This is because we also produce industrial parts for other companies and we are bounded by secrecy agreements. I hope that you understand.

I hope to meet you soon too. Have a nice day here in Czech Republic and I am looking forward to you anwer.

Very Best Regards,
Martin Dvorsky, MGM compro :-)

Hope
 

It is my hope to maybe resolve a few of the more pressing issues and make it a bit easier for people in the USA to deal with getting warranty problems resolved a little bit faster. No promises, but I figured it was worth a shot. It will be a few weeks until I actually visit their shop, because it is quite far from where we live in Prague. From all accounts MGM is about 300 kilometers from Prague city center, which equates to about 150miles. So once our personal vehicle arrives in Europe we will be able to make the two hour journey to their site and we can do a little troubleshooting discusions.

While there I hope to get a little one on one instruction for setting up the MGM controllers so that I understand them better, and can get through the more technical side of setups for certain types of vehicles. All-in-all I am hoping this will be a very rewarding experience. Stay tuned.

Respectfully, Jerry Hill in Prague.

oh man, he sounds so foreign in his email :) Not making fun of him, I applaud everyone that is multi-lingual! This is one skill that I am very poor at. I just enjoy reading english from non-native speakers :) Sounds like a very nice fellow though, and I'm sure you're trip to visit will be at least fun!

Both points he makes about the exchange and repair policy seem pretty valid to me.

I mean, with Castle an MMM is an MMM, a Sidewinder is a Sidewinder. But with MGM there are so many customization options it's not practical for them to have every possible ESC with every possible combo of features standing by for an exchange.

And I think it's perfectly reasonable for MGM to want to inspect a controller to decide if it failed by a product defect or if it was user error before sending a replacement. We have to remember Castle does tend to spoil us when it comes to warranty and repair. Often times they'll replace something no questions asked when it could very well be user error (not us, we're all perfect, it's the guys on those other forums :wink:).

I would really love to try one of the X-series, but at this point in time I can't justify the cost.

Correct
 

Yea you are correct on all accounts, but I just thought that maybe after sharing some conversation with them, that there may be some middle ground or compromise that can be made to help speed things up just a little bit. I to have been on the fence for purchasing one or two of the newer "X" series controllers, because yes they are somewhat expensive, but they are the golden egg of ESC's with all sorts of bells and whistles. I do have two of the older versions that I hope to use at some point for one of my trucks. At least I should be able to have some fun learning a few things directly from the two brothers who own this business and control every aspect of how these toys are made and setup for vehicle use. I am excited just for the adventure and being able to say that I have been here. I am sure that it will be all good. I am a lucky man.

Hey Jerry,
You are in Europe, you can make it to MGM in an hour.. LOL
Definitely keep us posted on how the trip goes.

I'd like to see how this turns out as well,they sound pretty reasonable.
And jerry,you realize your living the RC'ers dream right? What I'd give to be that close to one of the best esc manufacturers out there!

I'd rather be in Kansas next to Castle lol.

Or Idaho next to Tekin....:mdr:

Gotta say, Love the MGM controllers.. my 24160 has been treating me very well ever since I've had them... I like Castle too, but I wish an ESC like the Mamba XL was out 4 years ago.. Maybe Allen Bradley should start making ESCs for us.. :)

Differences
 

I am not here to bash or put down any of the ESC manufacturers. They all have + & - about them and getting to use each of them is a great experience for any of us. I have MMM's, I have Schulze, I have Novak's, and I plan to own some Tekin RX8 combos as well. The MGM comp pro's have their own appeal as well, and I feel lucky to have an opportunity to be here and get the chance to spend time where they are made and sold. I get to share conversation directly from the hourses mouth so to speak and learn more about them. Tell me any of you would not do the same if you were here? Yes I am living a dream for myself and hopefully I may be able to help others in doing so. I am not trying to take anything away from anyone else, just merely sharing info about my experiences overseas, because I know that a lot of others will never get to reach out in the same way to acquire the info we would all like to have about this matter first hand and face to face. I would not mind paying a visit to Schulze, or even Plettenberg as well one of these days to do the same thing if I can manage to travel into their neighborhood.

I went with a friend last night to a local hardware store just for the sake of checking them out and comparing them to what we are used to in the states. When we walked in the fornt door it was like walking into a Home Depot back home. It was as if someone had visited Home Depot with a video camera and then came back to Prague and said build this for me here. Even the orange and white coloring was a mirror image. BUT not only do they have lumber, hardware, and garden stuff, but they also carry birds, fish, rats, snakes, hamsters and such, plu they also carry all of the caging, tanks & feed for them as well. They even sell wimming pools. All-in-all it was quite impressive to see. Their pricing was also very reasonable. I am sure that I will spend some time there over the next few years.

Unfortunately not
 

Unfortunately not. I finally got around to inputting MGM CompPro's address into our new TomTom GPS and according to the map/stats it is about 190 miles from Prague, and a three hour drive on the freeway. So the wife and I agree that we will take a weekend trip to Zlin and spend the night so we can really enjoy the trip. Once we have our van we will make arrangements with The Dvorski brothers to meet and setup over night accomodations. I have already told wifey that I would more than likely want to spend several hours at the plant/shop with Martin Dvorski and that she may want to find some shopping in the area while I get educated on their ESC's and business. Then we can spend the following day enjoying the countryside and tourist points of interest before heading back to Prague. I finally picked up a new local cell phone and will have services setup on it Monday. Now I have to get some social/buiness cards made up for my travels around the European theatre so I can keep in touch as I make contacts throughout the region. I have to come up with ideas for graphics and such for my cards. Something very business like, but also social in nature since I am not yet employed by anyone. I never considered any kind of inport/export buisness, but who knows? I wouldn't mind doing something that might help others overcome dealing with overseas customs issues and things like warranty issues with European buisnesses.

If anyone has ideas or graphics assistance to help me find a good design for an exciting sort of buisness card that would be most helpful. I would kind of like to involve my retired US Navy status as well as my R/C interests. I have to say that I am most excited about our adventure so far, and even more so for the things we may get to do over the next three years while we are here in Europe. I spent time in many parts of Europe during my US Navy career, but that was directly related to work, and not for the fun of it. Now I get to see things from a completely different perspective, and can also spend more time enjoying our surroundings instead of being focused on work related issues.

I'm jealous Jerry.

That would be awesome Jerry. I don't think you are bashing any ESC manufacturer.. This is a discussion, and that's what is for. We all have different preferences, and many of us have owned our fair share of different ESCs.

Really???
 

Really??? Ah come on, Huston is a nice place to be. he he he he he he. Yea thanks man. I know how lucky I am just to be here, and to be here as a dependant is even better. I get to do just about anything that I want, but do hope to be employed once we get the house settled in a couple of months, and my shop setup in teh garage. We feel that after suffering for so many years putting up with crap from bosses, and EX's that we deserve the life that we have. We are not rich by any means, but I sure feel rich today with the life that we have together. My wife just keeps looking at me with a smile on her face, and I could not ask for anything more.

Our new master suite is very much like a Vegas hotel suite with a huge sitting area, walk-in closet, and a pretty normal shower/restroom area. We feel like we are staying in a hotel suite every night. Very cool. Please don't be jealous, just live your dreams. One day in the not so distant future (2017 ? maybe) we will be settled in the USA, but for now, WOW the world is our oyster.