Which brand servo should I run?

[Chris Zautner]

Alright so I have a new tekno nt48 2.0 on it way to me. And I'm currently needing to decide which servos I want to run. I always ran with savox. But I have seen alot of Protek servos. Is there any pros or cons with protek, How's their customer service? Anyone with experience please feel free to jump in and let us know!

Thank you,
Chris Zautner

 

[DavidB1126]

Both Savox and ProTek are known and good servo brands.
Don't know about pros and cons as I don't have a 8th scale nor I don't own those brand servos.
Well, I do own savox, but I use one of their micro servos for my mini b. Thinking about getting a protek servo for my 4wd buggy to replace what I have now (option to run higher voltage)

 

[J’sCrawler]

Nsdrc all the way
Or…. On a cheaper scale, maybe the jx servo brand. I use some other amazon special in my crawlers that is crazy strong but for the price and if it’s just a nitro you might be happy with the jx stuff

 

[Chris Zautner]

Nsdrc all the way
Or…. On a cheaper scale, maybe the jx servo brand. I use some other amazon special in my crawlers that is crazy strong but for the price and if it’s just a nitro you might be happy with the jx stuff

Thanks, I don't mind what the price is.

 

[J’sCrawler]

The nsdrc is mostly direct power, they have a low pro servo for about $100 I'm looking to pick up for my Tekno sct410.3
i just purchased 2 jx servos for my Xtm nitro buggy that are rated for “20kg” @6V but should be fine for throttle and steering. They probably aren’t fast but are cheap.
Savox for me has been hit n miss. Never tried protek. Reefs is good but overpriced, nsdrc is great, flash hobby on amazon is great too.

 

[Chris Zautner]

The nsdrc is mostly direct power, they have a low pro servo for about $100 I'm looking to pick up for my Tekno sct410.3
i just purchased 2 jx servos for my Xtm nitro buggy that are rated for “20kg” @6V but should be fine for throttle and steering. They probably aren’t fast but are cheap.

If you could choose what nsdrc servo would you choose for your throttle and one for your steering?

 

[J’sCrawler]

What is your battery voltage?
The budget servo is probably slow on anything under 8.4 volts. The rs400 is probably the only choice for a typical 6 volt rx battery, but @ $100 each, there are more economical alternatives.

 

[bill_delong]

Savox gears tend to strip too frequently for my liking. I haven't ran any ProTek but I hear mixed reviews from other drivers in my area.

JX servos also strip gears but their replacement gear sets are half the price of Savox.

Arguably the best warranty in the industry is NitroPro where I've got a CT2 that is close to 2 years old without any issues. I also have a SRT servo from DialedHobbies that is over a year old without any problems.

 

[WickedFog]

Tekin makes some awesome servos. Pricey, but awesome. NSDRC also makes some nice stuff, for sure. I've never had a Savox go bad, but I don't race either. Protek I am pretty sure is owned by Amain, and if so, Amain customer service is pretty damned amazing. When you call them, you actually speak to someone who speaks English, and generally has some RC knowledge.

 

[Greywolf74]

If I wasn't going to use Savox, Id use either Tekin or Hitec.

 

[RustyUs]

I love servo threads. They always get things going in my head on which direction I should go when shopping for servos. OEM manufacturers rebranding their products for someone else... The best this, and the best that... Thanks to the input of everyone over the years in the forums, many rabbit holes have been opened up and explored by me. Before the internet/www thing, there was only a handful of servo manufacturers that I knew about. Nowadays, it's so crazy the amount of servos that are out there for the pickin'.

I was going to go with (most awesome) ProModeler servos (DS505BLHV) for my new builds, but I'm a sucker for those "middle of the road" type servos that may turn out to be gems for me, and my RC needs. As long as I can find replacement gear sets for a specific servo, I'm more willing to take a chance on lesser known brands. I have certain speed & torque requirements for my RC usage. I'm happy with 0.09~0.14 sec/60° speeds. Having a radio that allows a person to slow down a super fast servo is always nice. In general, 200 oz-in is the minimum torque for my 1/10 scale RC platforms. For 1/8 scale RC servos... just go overboard. YMMV.

That being said, I missed out on a servo that I've had on wish list for awhile now. I literally sat an alarm for this morning's sale from servo manufacturer. Downsizing my RC fleet, and repurposing my older favorite servos, I'm hoping the two AGFRC A73BHLW servos that I just bought will be the last servos that I buy for the next decade, or longer. For $52/servo, I'm willing to take the plunge.

Edit: If I were trying to keep up with the Joneses around an 1/8 scale track; had the money, and wanted a gear warranty... NitroPro
The FK-N500FST has been on my wish list simply because of the gear warranty and best fits my budget/torque/speed requirements. I'm not trying persuade anyone in any direction. I just shop around too much trying to get the most for my money. Just don't go super cheap on electronics and you'll be fine. "You get what you pay for", and "buy once/cry once" does have some truth to it, but there is great gear out there to be had a great prices as well.

 

[Chris Zautner]

Thanks everyone I decided with nitro pro I went with their 700 and the 500. I sent an email with a couple questions left a phone number. And literally received a phone call 15 minutes later and mind you this is after business hours. Super pleased, can't wait!

 

[J’sCrawler]

Thanks everyone I decided with nitro pro I went with their 700 and the 500. I sent an email with a couple questions left a phone number. And literally received a phone call 15 minutes later and mind you this is after business hours. Super pleased, can't wait!

I’ll have to look at this brand. Thanks @bill_delong for throwing that one out there.

 

[Greywolf74]

Thanks everyone I decided with nitro pro I went with their 700 and the 500. I sent an email with a couple questions left a phone number. And literally received a phone call 15 minutes later and mind you this is after business hours. Super pleased, can't wait!

I'm not familiar with that brand, but it looks bada$$. (I want one of their Tee shirts!) The one thing that concerns me is that their servos use stainless steel gears.

 

[WickedFog]

I'm not familiar with that brand, but it looks bada$$. (I want one of their Tee shirts!) The one thing that concerns me is that their servos use stainless steel gears.

Yeah, that would be a big concern for me. Stainless is not meant for mechanical uses typically since it is a softer metal.

 

[Chris Zautner]

Yeah, that would be a big concern for me. Stainless is not meant for mechanical uses typically since it is a softer metal.

I'm not familiar with that brand, but it looks bada$$. (I want one of their Tee shirts!) The one thing that concerns me is that their servos use stainless steel gears.

304 and 316 is good stainless very strong. I wouldn't worry. 316 is high in nickel with a percentage of 10-12% and a chromium of 16-18% Lifetime warranty on the gear set Drew said. And Drew Singer goes "I want you to try and break these servo's man!"
A little of my background is I'm a full time machinist. Which is great to be in for this hobby!

 

[WickedFog]

304 and 316 is good stainless very strong. I wouldn't worry. 316 is high in nickel with a percentage of 10-12% and a chromium of 16-18% Lifetime warranty on the gear set Drew said. And Drew Singer goes "I want you to try and break these servo's man!"
A little of my background is I'm a full time machinist. Which is great to be in for this hobby!

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I spent 25 years machining in Aerospace, Nascar, and Indycar I would not make gears out of stainless. It's soft, and bends very easily. It's not nickel that makes material hard. It's carbon. Stainless has a low carbon content. Tensile strength and hardness are two very different properties. Due to the lack of carbon, stainless steel cannot be hardened like steel can. There is a reason gearing is made from hardened steel. It is far more wear resistant. Stainless is not.

Ever put 200+ reverse counterbores in a piece of 718 Inconel? Lots of fun This is a spit casing, like your pics, but just a bit more complicated part. I made this one my second year machining. $800k part.

Oh, and your toe clamps in the last pic aren't setup properly. You want the distance from the heel of the clamp to the stud to be farther away than the clamp location to the stud. You're basically putting more pressure on your heel than you are your part. Basic machining practices man. I've seen people do the same thing and chuck a part through the door of a Mazak lathe

 

[Ramp addict]

Tekno 48, my recommendation is a Reefs raw 400. Waterproof, stout, and faster than hell.

 

[Chris Zautner]

I spent 25 years machining in Aerospace, Nascar, and Indycar I would not make gears out of stainless. It's soft, and bends very easily. It's not nickel that makes material hard. It's carbon. Stainless has a low carbon content. Tensile strength and hardness are two very different properties. Due to the lack of carbon, stainless steel cannot be hardened like steel can. There is a reason gearing is made from hardened steel. It is far more wear resistant. Stainless is not.
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Ever put 200+ reverse counterbores in a piece of 718 Inconel? Lots of fun This is a spit casing, like your pics, but just a bit more complicated part. I made this one my second year machining. $800k part.
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Oh, and your toe clamps in the last pic aren't setup properly. You want the distance from the heel of the clamp to the stud to be farther away than the clamp location to the stud. You're basically putting more pressure on your heel than you are your part. Basic machining practices man. I've seen people do the same thing and chuck a part through the door of a Mazak lathe

Fair enough. That part isn't going anywhere those clamps were fine for that application. The part was in a pocket on the plate

 

[WickedFog]

Fair enough. That part isn't going anywhere those clamps were fine. The part was in a pocket on the plate

That's understandable. It is a bad habit to get into for other situations though. That was just one of the things I always pointed out when training new guys. It's good to see young guys are still taking up machining as a trade. It can be super rewarding.

What kinda stuff do you run? Lathes, mills, ? Any particular industry?

Most of the Aerospace shops I worked in was prototype development, and some test rig parts were as big as a 32' box truck. Those big ass parts... you didn't really even need to clamp them, but you did anyway One mill I ran had 100' of travel in X-axis. We could machine a semi with trailer on it damn near it. I really miss machining