Best steering servos and radio options for vintage RC10.

[kink]

I vote for a Futaba servo of some kind. Mike

Great story of reliability! I must admit back int he day Futaba was the automatic choice here in the UK. Most hobby shops said they were about as good as it gets. Obviously I know things move on and new brands appear. But I think for the sake of old times I will try and get a Futaba servo. I wish to use my BASIC old Sanwa Dash R2 transmitter (no end point adjustments or any other tricks!) with my old Futaba mini 27Mhz receiver. Specific Futaba servo recommendations are welcome. I am happy to pay more for something decent!

Unless you are using a radio that has "end point adjustments", FORGET about using digital servos.

I am now using a Futaba S9551 and S9452 servos.

Just keep in mind that unless your ESC has a 6Volt/3Amp BEC, you are not going to get the most from any servo... If you have an ESC with a 5V/1A BEC, then fitting an external 6 Volt, 5A - 10Amp BEC may be a smart option if you plan to get the maximum performance from a (digital) servo.

So.... I just did a search and the Futaba S9551 and S9452 servos are digital. So are they not suitable with my radio and receiver? If not what analogue Futaba are as good or close?

Thanks again

[Lonestar]

I have this one in my crawler, love it in there

http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php/ls-50d-bb-mg-high-torque-servo-digital.html

I just picked up this one for my new 2wd buggy, let you know after I hit the track, it may end up in my crawler and put the servo above in my buggy, depending upon my "feeling" with this one.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php/hobby-people-hp-d66mhv-power-ht-7-4v-mg-bb-digital-servo.html

Those units both have nice specs, right in the ranges I'm looking for, and the price is right, too. Let me know how that second one works out. Thanks!

- "unknown" brand
- not lo-pro...

[Lonestar]

Paul,

controlling a $90 top-of-the-line servo with an entry-level radio from 20 years ago isn't the most reasonable thing to do... it's like dropping in a hot mod motor in a car that isn't ballraced...

Paul

[kink]

Ok thanks, always learning!

So it seems I may need a new radio after all. Which means I may as well look at 2.4...

[Lonestar]

Ok thanks, always learning!

So it seems I may need a new radio after all. Which means I may as well look at 2.4...

not necessarily 2.4 (although it would be weird not to go this route) but something both fast enough and adjustable to leverage a top-line servo's response.

I can sense a new thread coming And I will not advise this time anymore to not offend anyone...

Paul

[askbob]

Just out of curiosity, are there any of the older(mintage ) higher end servos that will compare speed wise with say a new Futaba 9551 or similar?

[RC104ever]

any modern mid-to-high range "low profile" servo will deliver the performance you are after. Try for instance a savox 1251, it's about 7kg.cm, 0.1s-ish/60deg, metal geared, digital, and $50. Sanwa and futaba have comparable products, a bit more expensive though but still affordable.

Paul

+1 for the Savox 1251, I tried one on a whim and haven't looked back. Now I have them in almost all my runners.

[kink]

Just out of curiosity, are there any of the older(mintage ) higher end servos that will compare speed wise with say a new Futaba 9551 or similar?

Interesting thought! Ideas welcome...





If I go 2.4....

I want a stick radio. Futaba are stupidly expensive now. How is it a 6 or 8 channel radio is way cheaper than a 2 channel car radio. 'Kin rip off or what!!!

So that leaves Sanwa Gemini as the only choice. Job done:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310595842344?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Lonestar]

yes, 9551 is 0.14s/60deg @ 6V, any $100 (from bitd) competition servo from the late 80's would do that.

Now, it pumps out 10kg.cm at the same time... which means it can go fast under significant load.

you could only see this kind of performance in the mid 90's I would say, probably the later KO 1000 series and some of the 2000's. Later, the first Sanwa ERG's played in that ballpark. I am not knowledgeable enough about futaba, which is a quality brand, granted, but that I always found overpriced vs. KO and sanwa.

what's impressive is that the 9551 does it in a lo-pro frame... which means smaller motor than usual.

Paul

[RC10th]

Anything around .10 - .13 and around 150 oz/in. is a pretty good servo, not too fast, not too slow and reasonable torque for most cars (monster trucks aside).

Most servos that are high speed lack slightly in the torque department and high torque servos tend to lack speed, it's a trade off (unless you go with HV servos but they cost). The specs I posted above is a good all round rating.

Digital servos tend to have a higher resolution, smoother and better holding power. Analog is a bit slower and less precise but is fine for a budget servo.

Definately stick to a quality name brand servo, stay away from the cheap-n-nasty servos though.

[JK Racing]

- "unknown" brand
- not lo-pro...

They are both "local" brands since the Hobby People stores are here in SoCal. No doubt both of them are straight from china with a different sticker on them. Neither are low-profile, both are full size, but smaller than my Airtronics 94258, even if just by a smidge.

I picked up an Align servo the other day for a steal, put it in my gold pan...um, its TOO fast for my old reflexes. Poor car never hit more pipes in its life

[Lonestar]

- "unknown" brand
- not lo-pro...

They are both "local" brands since the Hobby People stores are here in SoCal. No doubt both of them are straight from china with a different sticker on them. Neither are low-profile, both are full size, but smaller than my Airtronics 94258, even if just by a smidge.

I picked up an Align servo the other day for a steal, put it in my gold pan...um, its TOO fast for my old reflexes. Poor car never hit more pipes in its life

Align = orion = savox

[Coelacanth]

yes, 9551 is 0.14s/60deg @ 6V, any $100 (from bitd) competition servo from the late 80's would do that.

Now, it pumps out 10kg.cm at the same time... which means it can go fast under significant load.

you could only see this kind of performance in the mid 90's I would say, probably the later KO 1000 series and some of the 2000's. Later, the first Sanwa ERG's played in that ballpark. I am not knowledgeable enough about futaba, which is a quality brand, granted, but that I always found overpriced vs. KO and sanwa.

what's impressive is that the 9551 does it in a lo-pro frame... which means smaller motor than usual.

Paul

Paul, now you're advising, which is always helpful & appreciated. Before you were saying "research this yourselves".

[Lonestar]

Paul, now you're advising, which is always helpful & appreciated. Before you were saying "research this yourselves".

I think the question was still not right to be asked, but hey, let's move on... still trying to help as you can see

[Bormac]

I have been using the blue case Bluebird servos for a few years with a lot of success. I will check the model number when I get home from work tonight.