Digital servos - are they worth it?

[Leet TC3]

Digital servos offer a couple of advantages - they automatically return to neutral, and they have about half the response time than normal servos (quicker response to any signal). The downside is more power consumption. And they are about $40 more...

Anybody try them yet? Are they worth it? (Futaba 9450, etc.)

[negatv]

Digital servos are great.. Just barely more current draw than a regular servo - I tried a Futaba 9450, but it broke one me twice so far - I recommend the JR Z8450- I've been using one of these for awhile. Very fast, and doesnt break.

[Drayken D]

Hmm, I talked to my LHS, and he says that digitals are not much different than coreless,BB servos. I have the Hitec945, coreless,BB. I was thinking of getting it in digital, and he said it was not worth it. Having a radio that can control throw, and all the goodies is more worthwhile.

[SirSpeedy]

Like anything else in racing, it really depends on what you are doing.

I run a 2123 KO Digital in my sedan, and I will tell you, nothing centers, or is near as accurate in my opinion.

When you go for a pass, at speed, through a sweeper running mod with a 7 turn.....accuracy is kind of handy.....

[jeepinator]

Yes, a KO 2123 !

The MAD servo. I love mine.

Digital is like adding salt. It takes a good servo and makes it better. Soon all servos will be "digital". All the "digital" tag really means is "high frequency". Simply stated, the servo drive motor has a high freq ESC similar (in function) to what we use for our 540 motors.
The main functional difference is how much deflection, in rotational degrees, must occur before the torque spec is reached. Say you tell the servo (via your radio) to sit at a certain angle (just let go of the wheel would be easiest). Then force the servo to rotate with your finger. With a "normal" servo you have to rotate the servo like 10 degrees or more to reach it's rated torque (the more you twist the harder it fights you). With a digital servo the max torque is reached in like 1 degree. This characteristic is very beneficial to precision. It also is effectively "faster" because when you are turning back and forth it will respond quicker.

Wow, that is some seriously hard stuff to explain. I hope that made sense.

But, in a word, budget notwithstanding, YES it is worth it. And it will become the norm. Right now it is a "feature" so that the companies can charge a premium for that word "digital". But it will soon trickle down and the next big break through will allow them to charge a premium for the servos with that new feature. Standard marketing stuff.

[ronb]

How does the KO PROPO 2143 compare with the 2123? I believe the 2143 is 6volts instead of 7.2, is this good or not? What voltage does the average reveiver output? Is the 2123 faster? Are they both coreless? I'm asking because I can't seem to find specs on them anywhere.

[b3buggydude05]

i think that d. servos are kinda a waiste of money if your not gonna race or anything but if your just doin stuff for fun then all you need is a standard servo. :D

[mikedude]

Hitec 5925, way cool, way fast, no problems.... makes a noise almost constantly, Mike at Hitec said "that is the sound of perfection."

[SirSpeedy]

RonB-
www.kopropo.com (http://www.kopropo.com)

The 2123 has to be hooked up to the small power wire coming out of your speed control to receive the full 7.2v. The 2143 is 6v.

Receivers don't put out voltage, they consume it. The voltage comes from your ESC, and most supply 6v for BEC.

[ronb]

SirSpeedy,
So I suppose with the extra power the 2123 would be faster than the 2143? I'll check for specs at the site you gave me. I tried that exact address (just guessing) last night and got an error, their site must have been down.
Yes I knew that the receiver "passed" the power. I guess it would have been clearer if I asked what is the standard power to the receiver? Thanks.

[jeepinator]

Ron, try this site: http://www.kopropo.co.uk

I'll even do the research for you ;)

2123:
Speed / 0.06s / 60°
Torque / 9.5kg-cm

2143:
Speed / 0.08s / 60°
Torque / 8.0kg-cm

[grandmasterofpool]

Digital servos also have more holding power which will help to eliminate bump steer. That's especially handy if you race offroad.

The reason they have better holding power is because the the power band of the digitals is broader.

[Leet TC3]

Digital servos are about $10-$20 more than their corresponding high-end analogue servo. So the difference is not profound, and the litany of -experienced- racers who claim that upgrading to digital GAINED them LAPS is quite large.

And I hope you are not denegrating the usefullness of a good, high-end steering servo. 'Cuz if you are, I have a boat load of cheapo servos from Hitec and Airtronics that I will happily sell you. Good luck trying to go straight :LOL

Once again, Howie holds forth the "Fort of Dissent", staffed by himself and nobody else...

[SirSpeedy]

You know, you are right Howie.

If you just want to "drive around the track", a standard servo will be just dandy.

But I really don't know when the last time I just drove my car around a track. I race, and do so on a very competitive level.

In my area, I race with some of the fastest guys in the nation. So yes, you can tell the difference, and they are worth the money if you race on a high level.

[ronb]

jeepinator and SirSpeedy,

Just to let you know, I'm not lazy. I've been trying the kopropo site for days, and I get a "Under Construction" page. So that's why I'm bugging you guys.
Thanks for the info!!!! ;)

[jeepinator]

You did not try my link then. I offered a different one. It is definately not under construction.

Once again ...
http://www.kopropo.co.uk

Godd luck.

[jeepinator]

The KO I mentioned is like nothing I have used before (except maybe my other KO FET bosted servos I have had). It is very fast and precise.
Another great use of servos that a have a high torque rating (especially true of "digital" servos) is the ability to get off a tube. Weak servos do not have enough torque to "unstick" you from some type of tubes. Many times I have been able to wiggle my way of a tube (even pushing the entire car sideways in the process) when practicing. Very convenient !
Error correction ability is an another advantage of ultra quick servos.
To say that servos are expensive is reasonable, to say that there is no added benefit to buying the premium (very expensive) servos is just ignorant.

[HowieStern]

remeber the thread we had a while back about "keeping it real"....

a thread that basically said "you can use the cheap stuff and still do just fine"....

then we had ALL these people saying... "oh yea.... i'm not into telling people to spend money on the expensive stuff, when the cheap stuff works just as well".... and "people who pop for the super expensive stuff are just wasting money"...

i have used digital servo's... they are not worth it to me... not at all.... and you gotta be kidding me if you say you can tell a difference when using one on a 1/10th ST or Buggy....

if you drive 1/8th gas or monster truck... maybe, just maybe their extra holding power may help... but then i bet you have problems finding a servo saver that keeps up with a good high torque digital servo...

jeep says he loves his super high buck digital servos.. but i highly doubt he can tell the difference from a non-digital when driving...

save your money... the extra money you pay does not relate to any great improvement of driving on the track....

peace out... :)

[T3_Racer]

HOWIE,
What do you do, follow jeep around! You are so cynical! All you want to do is pick little fights with Jeep just because it make you feel better. Well STOP! WE ARE TIRED OF IT! I think the Admins of this board should talk to this guy about the stuff he trys to pull. He gets every single thread off topic and laughs about it when he is done. Something has to be done so this person learns some manners and stops being such an *EDITED*. :mad: