Good Cheap 38mm Wide Servos?

[morrisey0]

I am looking to start running the further forward / narrower steering servo holes on my RC10 aluminum pans, as opposed the wider stance holes used for standard 40mm base width servos. By doing this, I can print battery mounts that allow for longer batteries. If I were making this change on one car that I raced, I would have no issues with a $60+ servo, but this is going to be a universal change across 6-8 vehicles, so I am looking for that $20-25 servo.

I have an old JR NES-507 in front of me that looks like it will line up close enough width wise, and the base width (no ears) of it is 38.4mm. Its standard depth means that I will need to make some servo mounts, which I don't mind doing, but a low profile servo would possible fit with standard mounts.

Just wondering if anyone else has been through this previously and found the perfect size / cheap servo.

Thanks

[juicedcoupe]

A Futaba S132H fits perfect, if you can find them. They pop up on eBay fairly regularly. Futaba had some others in that size but I don't remember the numbers.

If you are willing to drill a new hole, a Hitec 225MG fits and offers even more room. The Hobbico servo in the gold pan is a rebranded 225.

[juicedcoupe]

They aren't $25, but a Savox 1250 looks close.

The measurements aren't exactly the same as the chassis but are about as close as the 132, within a couple mm.

[radioactivity]

Might try an Onyx S25, S19.99.
Plastic gear and bushings.
Never tried one but cheap.

Onyx.JPG (22.23 KiB) Viewed 1402 times

Onyx.JPG (22.23 KiB) Viewed 1402 times

Chuck

[Coelacanth]

I bought this one for a build I'm working on; digital metal gear, waterproof, 20 kg, but 40 mm wide: DS3218 for as low as $15.99 on Amazon.com. Would a 40 mm servo fit?

https://www.amazon.com/WEISE-Control-Waterproof-Mechanical-Fittings/dp/B073M3X86S

Amazon Canada:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07Q3YF2NB

[morrisey0]

Thanks guys!

With a bit more measuring last night, I concluded that I could maybe run a semi-standard low profile servo, and build an adapter plate to move it forward some, just enough to clear the long battery mount. I am very anti-drilling into pans these days, so whatever I can print to avoid that I will. I found a $20 digital, metal gear, BB servo with next day shipping. I printed an adapter plate that I like, and am good overall with the steering set up, outside of breaking the stock servo saver in the process. So now I need to see what is out there to replace that, and maybe go with an upgraded unit and just run a saver on the servo. I also printed out the new battery mount, which I am okay with, but I don't like how close the wires get to the servo horn, so I may adjust that design some to direct the wires out the side.

[juicedcoupe]

Following this up, I decided to try the Onyx servo.

I can confirm that it can be used with the original mini servo holes in the RC10 chassis. It isn't perfect but fits if you install it with the posts loose initially.

The RPM posts aren't the ones that will be used, they were just the only ones I have right now.

The servo itself is a little noisy for my taste but most newer ones are. I guess older Futaba and Airtronics servos spoiled me.

[juicedcoupe]

It seems that the Onyx S25 has gotten hard to find, so I went in search of something else.

Every time I searched Ebay for mini servos, these old Royal Titans kept showing up. I vaguely remember them in RCM adds, but they seemed more common in planes.

Doing a little research, I noticed that the specs and sizing are almost the same as the Futaba S132.

So I found this lot of new servos for a decent price and decided to try them.

As the ad listed, they are indeed the same size. They also have a cool vintage look. They are also 25T and were available with multiple different connectors.

Not that I'd use them in a serious runner, but they should be fine for a shelf car or one that sees mild use.

[GoMachV]

I’d definitely keep them for the shelf. The gears were really bad, and their centering (or lack there of) was horrendous. I can only imagine how the gears have aged. Be gentle