kwkenuf 184 Posted January 19, 2017 I know virtually nothing about servos. It looks like if I want to use my buggies I will need to update my radios, and with that the servos also What would you recommend for a good budget steering servo for a Hornet and a Frog? These will be driven by my kids (4-7 years old). I am not going to spend big $$ for top of the line, but I don't want bottom of the barrel junk either. I am thinking lower-middle-road, if you know what I mean. Also help educate me here. By that I mean don't just tell me what to get, tell me WHY to get it. Thanks guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mongoose1983 3335 Posted January 19, 2017 Anything Futaba will do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GregM 1109 Posted January 19, 2017 I suggest a Futaba as well. A Futaba S3003 is fine for a budget from my experience, just stay away from the numerous fakes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zomboided 374 Posted January 19, 2017 I think this too...good price, not junk, fast enough, strong enough for a buggy and if it breaks it's cheap enough not to care. You spend more you get metal gears, digital, faster speeds, more torque, stronger construction, waterproof. But it's a Hornet and Frog, not a sooper sweet drift car or a monster truck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terz1 745 Posted January 19, 2017 I've got quite a few futaba in my rc's. Got one in each of my hornets and one thats been in a clod for over 25 years. They aren't metal geared, hi torque or waterproof but they've been fantastic. I'm most impressed with the clod one turning those 4 huge wheels. I'd definitely go with the durrent futaba line up if I bought some more. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwkenuf 184 Posted January 19, 2017 Thanks guys! I have been thinking about this at work today and realized the ones that are in these buggies are the original ones put in about 25 years ago. They went through many years of hard use and were fine. They are just plastic geared analog standard servos. I was looking at the Futaba 3003 as suggested. I think they are $12 a piece. That's not bad IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terz1 745 Posted January 19, 2017 Just checked the one I've got in my clod. It's the futaba FP-S148. I can't believe its still available to buy! That's the one installed in my clod Christmas 1990! http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXH318 Here's the futaba S3003. Just read the description for this. It mentions it's the replacement for the S148 that I've got. It also produces more torque than mine and is cheaper. It's win, win. I might have to get one too. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXH288&P=8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwkenuf 184 Posted January 19, 2017 I just checked mine. They are all S28. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnipJF 9192 Posted January 19, 2017 Assuming they still work, why not just keep them then? All you need to plug them into a modern receiver is an adapter like this: (Female Futaba G to male Futaba J adapter) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwkenuf 184 Posted January 20, 2017 34 minutes ago, TurnipJF said: Assuming they still work, why not just keep them then? All you need to plug them into a modern receiver is an adapter like this: (Female Futaba G to male Futaba J adapter) Did not know there was such a thing! Thanks for pointing that out. Are these readily available most places? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnipJF 9192 Posted January 20, 2017 I found the one pictured on this site: http://www.radicalrc.com/category/Adapters-53 I'm guessing that there are plenty of other places that sell them too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwkenuf 184 Posted January 20, 2017 Ha! I just found that site. They are actually harder to find than I thought they would be. Or my interweb skills are diminishing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnipJF 9192 Posted January 20, 2017 Assuming you are capable of using a soldering iron, perhaps a neater solution would be to get some of these: https://www.modelsport.co.uk/etronix-22awg-futaba-twisted-servo-wire-15cm/rc-car-products/39306 Then you could simply unsolder the old leads from your servos and replace them with new ones. If you feel uncomfortable soldering directly to the servo PCB, you could cut the old plugs off and solder to the remaining wire. Perhaps not quite as neat as replacing the whole lead, but if you pop some heat shrink tubing over the joins, it won't look bad either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAD RACER 566 Posted January 20, 2017 I have used H/K standard servo's with no problems at $3.50 I order 5 at a time Spend a little more and get ball raced version too at https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingtm-hk15138-standard-analog-servo-4-3kg-0-17sec-38g.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwkenuf 184 Posted January 21, 2017 Went to my LHS yesterday. Figured they would have some 3003 or 3004 servos in stock. Nope! They did have a nice Arrma servo they wanted to sell me... for $35! No thanks... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GregM 1109 Posted January 21, 2017 wow, 35 bucks is pretty overkill for your buggies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jason1145 3986 Posted March 8, 2017 On 19/01/2017 at 11:53 AM, GregM said: I suggest a Futaba as well. A Futaba S3003 is fine for a budget from my experience, just stay away from the numerous fakes. Awesome - this verifies my two Futaba S3003's are fakes by the white output shafts instead of black and the open mount holes not enclosed! Atleastcitvrxplsins ehy they performed rubbish on the bench and will remain in my spares box till I can bear to throw them out! Pity I bought them many months ago for spares so no recourse back to the seller. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathon Gillham 4606 Posted March 9, 2017 Just checked mine even though they came from LHS with a set of radio gear, so no reason to suspect fakes. Hopefully the 2 I have just ordered from rcmart are real though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prescient 671 Posted March 9, 2017 On 20/01/2017 at 1:11 AM, MAD RACER said: I have used H/K standard servo's with no problems at $3.50 I order 5 at a time Spend a little more and get ball raced version too at https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingtm-hk15138-standard-analog-servo-4-3kg-0-17sec-38g.html I use the higher torque metal gear version which is c£5 in my bashers. They work well in a clod too. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingtm-hk15288a-analog-servo-bb-mg-9kg-0-20sec-51g.html Not broken one yet and I take the view at £5, I can buy 4 for the price of the competitor and still be better off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAD RACER 566 Posted March 9, 2017 Yep great value servo's. A lot of Boondal guys are using them too. That track is really rough at times and we all run fast motors too. So they are tough enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEXKYRIAK 1046 Posted March 17, 2017 Hi, has anyone used a Savox SC-1251MG Low-Profile Digital-Servo? Is this is a good servo for the likes of Hotshot, Monster Beetle, Egress, etc.? It's (quite a bit) more expensive than the Futaba s3003 mentioned above. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercoolnothing 721 Posted March 18, 2017 I run the low profile savox 1251 in my T.O.P. Photon touring car it's a great bit of kit for race cars where space is at a premium. It'd be great in a hotshot or egress but I'd say it's total overkill for a monster beetle you'd be much better off with a savox 0252 and a kimbrough heavy duty servo saver which is the same setup I run in my MB and it works brilliantly. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ALEXKYRIAK 1046 Posted March 18, 2017 Thanks SCN. Will check it out. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darat76 265 Posted March 25, 2017 just keep in mind, savox servo's can be power hungry little blighters, so it may cause a brown out on your esc if the bec amp's are to low, admittedly it is a more common occurrence in dual servo setups, than single ones, but has happened often enough in single servo setups to be note worthy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercoolnothing 721 Posted March 25, 2017 1 hour ago, Darat76 said: just keep in mind, savox servo's can be power hungry little blighters, so it may cause a brown out on your esc if the bec amp's are to low, admittedly it is a more common occurrence in dual servo setups, than single ones, but has happened often enough in single servo setups to be note worthy. In my experience this tends to happen more with spektrum receivers than any other brand. It's easily fixed by adding in a capacitor like the one I've linked below to a spare channel on the receiver. https://www.rccarshop.co.uk/radio-servo/ebr0002-futaba-rx-capacitor-1800uf-p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites