Pongbot Nova S Pro owners' review and discussion thread

[inshane]

Used cannibalized parts from old projects e.g. chocolate tempering machine, carbon arrow cutter and a once used pail, and hamster tunnels. This is the CassyNova Lifter. My daughter's nick is Cassie.

The esp32 needs to wait. It has to work first using old parts. Right now this lifts pingpong balls at 90 balls per minute using an 28w ac motor with 10rpm and 30kg.cm torque.

I need a reliable one way valve.

 

[plunder]

I need a reliable one way valve.

the simplest solution should be a gate made of a left spring (and a right spring), similar to a ball picker:

 

[inshane]

the simplest solution should be a gate made of a left spring (and a right spring), similar to a ball picker:

Come to think of it there is a spring at the bottom of the nova hopper. Thanks @plunder . I'll post whatever works here.

 

[Dr. X]

Olanga, something happened to my macbook requiring hard reboot. When I restarted Google Chrome, all of my custom drills were gone. Any way I can recover them?

 

[inshane]

Olanga, something happened to my macbook requiring hard reboot. When I restarted Google Chrome, all of my custom drills were gone. Any way I can recover them?

Have you tried loading back the olanga tab from the history list?

 

[ger87]

Hi @olanga, I've been trying your app, can I ask what's the difference between setting a scatter value and having a variant for the same ball where I can change the drop point? is the variant of a single ball being selected randomly or sequently? And what I noticed is that the scatter value doesn't really work, especially when I have 2 balls and I set a scatter for each of those, it mostly puts the ball at the same drop point.
Then I'd have a question for the other guys who're using the bot and the app, did already some of you share some interesting drills? I'm attaching what I'm using, I've been creating some basic drills for example 1 forehand - 1 backhand but I believe I'm still far to have configured a close to real behavior of the balls. Can somebody help\share something on this?
Thanks!!!

 

[plunder]

i just ordered my second Nova (well, technically my third if you count the white one—oops 🤭) thanks to the spring sale (use promo code LUCKY30). Does that mean, directly or indirectly (according to your interpretation), that plunder endorses the product, its quality, or its build? I’ll leave that up to the reader. The point is: as long as both devices don’t break under normal use, I have no reason to badmouth the build quality. 🤷‍♀️

the second device could serve as a source of spare parts for me ((although I’ve checked and confirmed again… it’s pretty much “impossible” to replace internal components because, etc. 🙄 --- just open the device yourself, take a look at the design, and think about how “easy” it would be to replace, say, a burned-out motor or a broken plastic part, and then you’ll understand why I had to return the white device --- replacing parts for repairs is a nightmare with the Nova (robi1 is repair-friendly, the Nova isn’t!) ... better to just buy a new device, like I just did lol 😂))

I’ll post an update as soon as I receive the device. It’ll be interesting to have it as a reference, compared to my wheel-modded robi2.

I’m going to call it “robi3,” cheers!

EDIT:
ordered from pongbotsports.com website not amazon: 2026-04-01
dispatched from Germany warehouse: 2026-04-02
tracking: DHL non express
received: 2026-04-08

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

i just ordered my second Nova (well, technically my third if you count the white one—oops 🤭) thanks to the spring sale (use promo code LUCKY30). Does that mean, directly or indirectly (according to your interpretation), that plunder endorses the product, its quality, or its build? I’ll leave that up to the reader. The point is: as long as both devices don’t break under normal use, I have no reason to badmouth the build quality. 🤷‍♀️

the second device could serve as a source of spare parts for me ((although I’ve checked and confirmed again… it’s pretty much “impossible” to replace internal components because, etc. 🙄 --- just open the device yourself, take a look at the design, and think about how “easy” it would be to replace, say, a burned-out motor or a broken plastic part, and then you’ll understand why I had to return the white device --- replacing parts for repairs is a nightmare with the Nova (robi1 is repair-friendly, the Nova isn’t!) ... better to just buy a new device, like I just did lol 😂))

I’ll post an update as soon as I receive the device. It’ll be interesting to have it as a reference, compared to my wheel-modded robi2.

I’m going to call it “robi3,” cheers!

Do you know how long the spring sale would last? I want to do some research before buying. Your reviews are very valuable! But this might take me a few days to go through everything. My purpose is just to correct some bad habits, improve my consistency, and have some multi-ball to get some footwork practice. It seems it's checking all the boxes and is probably the best choice in this price range.

 

[plunder]

Do you know how long the spring sale would last?

April 11 (PST)

The table tennis community has all the smart people! The web app sounds fantastic! Many thanks in advance, especially to plunder, smee0815, and olanga.

I have a few questions.
1. for home use, does the power chord have reasonable length? Do you think I should buy the power bank also?
2. Anyone who has owned this for months or more, do you notice any deterioration? Any drop in performance? If the deterioration only happens in the rubber, plunder's rubber mod can prolong its life.
3. what is the white model? is it different than the standard one?

ChatGPT - Nova S Pro Questions

Shared via ChatGPT

chatgpt.com

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

The table tennis community has all the smart people! The web app sounds fantastic! Many thanks in advance, especially to plunder, smee0815, and olanga.

I have a few questions.
1. for home use, does the power chord have reasonable length? Do you think I should buy the power bank also?
2. Anyone who has owned this for months or more, do you notice any deterioration? Any drop in performance? If the deterioration only happens in the rubber, plunder's rubber mod can prolong its life.
3. what is the white model? is it different than the standard one?

 

[Pongbotnoob]

I want to thank you for that much Information and the alternate to the official limited App. I have my Nova few days and still try to see what works for me. I want to practice as realistic as possible. At the moment my focus is on topspin on underspin. I wonder where I can find your files to see if they work for me? Thanks in advance from Germany

 

[pongbot68]

I want to thank you for that much Information and the alternate to the official limited App. I have my Nova few days and still try to see what works for me. I want to practice as realistic as possible. At the moment my focus is on topspin on underspin. I wonder where I can find your files to see if they work for me? Thanks in advance from Germany

Nova Drill Control

 

[Pongbotnoob]

Nova Drill Control

That's what I already found in this thread. But is there a way to download the custom ones? With which Code is it possible?

 

[plunder]

But is there a way to download the custom ones? With which Code is it possible?

afaik a particular code is for 1 single 1 custom drill.
afaik nobody has shared a collection of codes so far (just copy paste the code, no actual download needed).

 

[Pongbotnoob]

afaik a particular code is for 1 single 1 custom drill.
afaik nobody has shared a collection of codes so far (just copy paste the code, no actual download needed).

Thanks for the answer. I think it's hard to go through the 21 Page to find all the drills 🤪. And some noobs like me dont know how to work with the copied stuff 🤣. Maybe it's a good way to have a fixed post where we can collect all the drills that the people want to share? I would be happy to help with this when needed. And for the future work in the Web App maybe bring a multidownload Option? I know that the drills are specific for every robo and balls and we need to change some Routine afterwards. But maybe better than everyone build almost same drills by thereselve 🏓

 

[pongbot68]

in my opinion it is best to create your own drills, especially for your needs. It is easy! just do it.

 

[Pongbotnoob]

Yesterday I was able to work a few hours to make some drills for the webclient. When you understand the logic to make an csv it's really easy. Maybe it helpes some of you that are not able to make fast new drills. So I want to share them with you. But when I press attach files in this forum I can only upload pictures 😅. How to upload it to the webserver and generate the sharing Code for the Webserver ?

 

[Sedat]

You could, maybe, upload it to dropbox and share the download link with us ?

 

[Pongbotnoob]

I made a zip. That works. Maybe helpful drills for some of you. Not all finally tested but should work.

Edit: now tested and all balls go on the table.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

Sorry if this is discussed already. I must missed it or forgot about the details - this post is so long.

For all the pre-set drills, I must place the robot at a certain location with a certain orientation right? How do I know where to put it. Or how should I calibrate it?