Servo Woes

gertman · #1 09-26-2002, 01:36 AM

First of all I would like to say I have solved the problem But I would now like to take you all through my magical journey:

Here is the LONG drawn out story.....

I first choose the Hitec HS-50 as my servo. It was a pretty translucent blue, VERY light, fast, and most importantly very small and compact. The other electronics used were a Novak Spy and Mini-X receiver. Everything was as small and fit on the opposit side of the battary. Also everything mounted directly to the chassis side by side. It was VERY tight, no gap between any of the electronics.

gertman · #2 09-26-2002, 01:38 AM

At the time I had no body. Did this stop me from trying out my car on my duct tape track? NO.... On the first lap, the turn right after the straight away, I dinked it in the wall.........BUSTED GEAR SET # 1!!

Ok, so I figure, I'll wait for my body to come in.........(I also ordered two more sets of sero gears at the same time.) A few days later it arrives..........I ordered 2 bodies, the Toyota GT-1 and this semi-cool looking Skyline R32 GTP body. Well, I settled on the Skyline body becaus eit has more room, so I masked it and started painting.

OK, so the paint is drying and I have the new gears installed.......what do you want me to do wait???

So, try again, this time, I break the servo in the same EXACT spot on the track.........I was floored, I couldn't believe it!!!

Well, what to do now? I install the 3rd set of gears (the 1st being the one's that the servo originally came with) I come up with this semi brilliant plan, I tape an antenna straw underneath the front bumper. Well, this sort of worked for a few laps, then a bad crash and I was back in broken gear city!!!

The next day I decided to go back to the hobby shop where I bought the servo........they had two more sets of gears, Hey what luck!

Now, before I ran the car again, I added some foam to the front understide of my newly painted body. I used foam that came in the package with my Novak Spy. Anyway, this foam was probably too soft. The car ran pretty good, handled fairly well.......I must have got in 10 or 12 laps....Then of course, one of my front wheels hit a wall in just the right way and boom another broken set of gears.

So, now I was down to my last set of gears. This time I hollowed out a spot in the foam glued to the underside of the front of the body and glued an antenna tube there. It streched all the way accross the front of the body. My thoughts were this would support the font bumper, directly in front of the wheels. This lasted a little longer STILL.....but in the end, another broken set of gears.

I know what you are all saying, why not get a stronger servo or a servo saver, right?

gertman · #3 09-26-2002, 01:42 AM

The picture below shows how nicely everything fit in the chassis.

Anyway lets continue the saga:

The blue servo pictured is the HiTech HS 50 feather servo. It was fast, small, and light. Also, I was able to mount all the electronics low, directly on the chassis. Remember, this car already has a high center of gravity with the motor being mounted so high up above the drive shaft!

OK, so what were some of my viable options:

1. made my own servo saver
2. ensure the front wheels would not get knocked.
3. thrown in the towel on this "perfect" little sevo and make room for a bigger one.

Well, lets go through them one by one. Number one I had an idea on but no parts, not many tools to use (also, I am not a very good fabricator). This choice was probably the most difficult.

Number 2, well, I had a thought about a metal half circle around each front tire. BUT this would have made the whole car wider not to mention look like hell :lol:

I settled on number 3…..give up on what I was convinced was the miracle servo!

So, I got on-line and did some research on SMALL servos. I settled on the servo the next size up, the Hitech HS 60. I ordered it, and a set of replacement gears for it

......

gertman · #4 09-26-2002, 01:45 AM

I really only had 2 choices for relocating the receiver. If the receiver was moved, the size of the servo could be increased significantly.

I could put it on top of the Novak Spy speed controller or on the upper deck. They way the spy was mounted, the one touch setup button would have been obstructed if anything was mounted on top of the ESC. I probably could have repositioned the ESC but I didn't feel like it....I direct soldered the motor so the wires may have not been long enough if the ESC was rotated. Also room for re-routing the wires may have been a problem.

So, I decided to go with the upper deck choice. I know this is not the greatest because it increase the height of my CG (center of gravity) and increase my chance for interference. You see, back to that body again, I had already drilled a hole for my antenna tube so I did not want to relocate it on the chassis. This left the receiver being close to the end-bell of the motor and all that motor noise. Well, so far so good, with no interference.

Here is a picture of how it turned out.

gertman · #5 09-26-2002, 01:49 AM

I just couldn't take it. With the receiver on the upper deck, the car just handled horrible. So.....it has been moved. If one looks closely, I did have to rotate my speed controller so my one-touch-setup button stayed accessible. You'ed be surprised how much of a difference a lower CG made.

gertman · #6 09-26-2002, 01:52 AM

BUT,

even with the beefier HS-60 I was still breaking gears, just not as often

............

So I finially decided on the Hitech HS-81mg metal gear servo. It is larger and weights more BUT it hasn't broken yet!!!

usagi · #7 09-26-2002, 03:19 AM

gertman, I don`t like that brand of servos for this small of a r/c car. Its better just to get alittle bigger servo to provent gears breaking. I am using micro servos, but you need to watch the makers and the pulling weight of the servo.

Namuna · #8 09-26-2002, 09:25 AM

HELLLLLLO!!!!

I keep readin about all the gears you're going through...Well here's a CRAZY idea!...

How's about using BETTER BARRIERS on your track? Hell, for all the money you spend on Servos/Gears...Line your ENTIRE track with a thick wall of foam!

usagi · #9 09-26-2002, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Namuna
HELLLLLLO!!!!

I keep readin about all the gears you're going through...Well here's a CRAZY idea!...

How's about using BETTER BARRIERS on your track? Hell, for all the money you spend on Servos/Gears...Line your ENTIRE track with a thick wall of foam!

HAHHAHAHA good one!
But the smaller the servo the more chance the gears will break. Thats the facts about , plastic or metal.

#10 09-26-2002, 10:14 AM

Try increasing the width of your bumper to provide some protection for the front wheels.

usagi · #11 09-26-2002, 11:39 AM

better yet, put a complete circle bumper to protect the car.........ONLY Joking

tinyrc · #12 09-26-2002, 07:30 PM

gertman, hope the 81 continues to hold up for you! I've got them on several cars and have never had any problems.