Kraton Replaced Kraton 6s servo - weird behavior

[5mall5nail5]

Hi all - my servo went bad - well, that's what I figured out after getting "receive voltage low" warnings on my FlySky NB4 and the truck cutting out/off. I bought a new (stock, from Jennys) ESC and it did the same thing. Once I unplugged the servo all was normal. So, replaced the stock servo with a ANNIMOS 20KG Digital Servo High Torque DS3218MG unit but now the truck is not returning to center consistently and it seems to take like 5% input on the steering to steer lock to lock. Doesn't seem right.

Can anyone suggest if this servo is not a good candidate or am I missing something?

Thanks!

 

[SrC]

I would never upgrade any 6s rig servo with anything less than 35 kg.
That aside, you might have failed to center the servo arm onto the spline properly. The servo should still operate , no matter the Kg you are running. In your case 20kg. Maybe you used too long of a screw to mount the servo arm onto the spline shaft?? Seems to be what you are describing here. Double check this screw. Too long, it can bind up the servo and even Ruin the potentiometer directly below it . Assumming you did properly center the servo arm. Can always just be a defective servo. It happens. Been there. Some ideas.
Maybe return it if you can and get a 35kg DS3235SG servo, this time? AMZ ...Zoskay, Animos and other sellers have them. Like $32.00. Make sure the ESC BEC voltage setting is at 7.4v and this servo will be great.
Good luck.

 

[5mall5nail5]

I would never upgrade any 6s rig servo with anything less than 35 kg.
That aside, you might have failed to center the servo arm onto the spline properly. The servo should still operate , no matter the Kg you are running. In your case 20kg. Maybe you used too long of a screw to mount the servo arm onto the spline shaft?? Seems to be what you are describing here. Double check this screw. Too long, it can bind up the servo and even ruin teh potentiometer . Assumming you did properly center the servo arm. Can always just be a defective servo. It happens. Been there. Some ideas.
Maybe return it if you can and get a 35kg DS3235SG servo, this time? AMZ ...Zoskay, Animos and other sellers have them. Like $32.00. Make sure the ESC BEC voltage setting is at 7.4v and this servo will be great.
Good luck.

I think you may be on to something... I used the original screw from the Arrma servo - it seemed LONG. When it was all the way threaded in... the wheels moved electrically - not like it was mechanically moved, it pegged to one side or the other and I was like "Huh that's odd". Whoops! Will retry! The ESC BEC voltage is something I can calibrate on the stock ESC? Do I want a 270-deg or 180-deg DS3235SG?

 

[SrC]

Yeah, the Firma 6s ESC has 6v and and 7.4 volt BEC settings. Follow the Manual's ESC section in regards to setting this. I believe 7.4v might be the default. But need to check this first . Very important.
Remove the screw and arm, then check the servo's operation again.
Only center the arm onto the servo spline, with wheels straight when the Servo is powered ON and centered, radio Steering Trim needs to be at Neutral before doing this. Good luck.

 

[jkflow]

180/270 makes no difference but I'd take the 180, you will only use ~130 deg anyway.
Now, if you had the stock Spektrum servo you must change the servo horn as well. Stock is 23T while the rest of the world is 25T. Servo horn typically comes with a new servo, use that one.

 

[SrC]

I noticed that when my Steering endpoints are set, I barely even use 60-80 degrees of servo angle throw, if that, with my 6s rigs. ( at Maximum ST Dual rate)

 

[RedOctobyr]

Maybe return it if you can and get a 35kg DS3235SG servo, this time? AMZ ...Zoskay, Animos and other sellers have them. Like $32.00. Make sure the ESC BEC voltage setting is at 7.4v and this servo will be great.
Good luck.

I've seen this servo mentioned elsewhere as a 1:8 steering servo suggestion, so it has my attention. Can you replace the gears in these? Or is that not usually a concern with ground vehicles, due to having servo savers?

I've stripped (and replaced) gear sets when crashing my helicopters, but maybe that's not a problem with these. Or, alternately, are these considered cheap enough that people simply replace the whole servo, if they are damaged?

 

[Tex Koder]

I've seen this servo mentioned elsewhere as a 1:8 steering servo suggestion, so it has my attention. Can you replace the gears in these? Or is that not usually a concern with ground vehicles, due to having servo savers?

I've stripped gear sets when crashing my helicopters, but maybe that's not a problem with these. Or, alternately, are these considered cheap enough that people simply replace the whole servo, if they are damaged?

Simply replace the whole unit. Cheap enough they are..

They're considered consumable items ,if you intend to Bash your rig(S).

 

[RedOctobyr]

Interesting, thank you. Seems like it would be nice if they gave you the option to replace just $10 of gears, rather than an entire servo, but I guess it's still better than replacing an $80 servo.

If I upgraded my stock one proactively, it could sit on the shelf as a spare, if servo died in a crash. And people seem to like this unit, they sound like a nice blend of better performance, and reasonable price. For just playing around, a $130 servo, or similar, is a bit of a tough pill to swallow.

 

[SrC]

Most Higher end servos, like Savox, Futaba, Hitec and other brands do offer gear sets and replacement case parts. The ears of a plastic top case cover can often crack off. (my Crawlers)
I have yet to strip out the DS3235 Gears sets. They might develope minute slop to them as they get well used. But they keep on going. At $32.00 they are disposable IMHO. have 9 of these, some are 3+ years old now. Never broke one yet. I did get one that was DOA. That can happen with most any servo. Like with my last 2 $Savox$ 1210's out the box. Savox Warranty service sucked. Never again. I also broke the ears twice on the Sav. 1210's FWIW.
Are these AMZ servos the Best out there? No. But still impressive to me for hard bashing servos.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Much appreciated, thanks. These sound worth trying. I'm still waiting for my truck to arrive, and I want to see how it behaves with the stock one first. But these sound like a worthwhile, and affordable, upgrade.

I do see a DS3235 Pro version, for $40, which claims more torque and faster speed:
https://www.amazon.com/ZOSKAY-Coreless-Digital-Stainless-Robotic/dp/B09ZTY668R?th=1

Compared to the regular DS3235, for $30:
https://www.amazon.com/Beffkkip-Digital-Torque-Waterproof-Control/dp/B08KDW4757

Anyone know if the Pro is actually better/worth it?

 

[5mall5nail5]

Yeah, the Firma 6s ESC has 6v and and 7.4 volt BEC settings. Follow the Manual's ESC section in regards to setting this. I believe 7.4v might be the default. But need to check this first . Very important.
Remove the screw and arm, then check the servo's operation again.
Only center the arm onto the servo spline, with wheels straight when the Servo is powered ON and centered, radio Steering Trim needs to be at Neutral before doing this. Good luck.

Thanks for the help! I got the new DS3235SG servo and got to replacing it this evening. My son will be so pumped - it's working great again! This one is much smoother/quieter less gear noise than the stock one was. I made sure to only use a screw that is about 1/4" long. I also got a HotRacing aluminum servo mount which helps immensely with it torquing and moving around. I plugged the servo in uninstalled and turned the truck on - it zipped to center position, went from there. End points set, everything seems great! Thanks again - I never intended to use the 20kg one for long, just to get around for fun, this will be better.

 

[SrC]

You got this servo thing down.
You payed attention and did it all correctly.
Your rig wil drive/ Steer much better now. It makes such a big difference.