Author Topic: Anyone have any experience with TowerPro servos? (Read 12666 times)

S. Karim · « **on:** June 22, 2007, 10:10:34 PM »

They are offering a metal gear, digi coreless 0.13s/60 deg., BB/HS/HT at 208. oz/in torque (6V). This is 15 dollars. Anyone have any experience on their reliability?

ed1380 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 23, 2007, 12:53:32 AM »

seams too good to be true.
servos that strong are about $100

sotu · « **Reply #2 on:** June 23, 2007, 07:24:44 AM »

Where did you see this offer? Post the internet link (if it is on the web)

S. Karim · « **Reply #3 on:** June 23, 2007, 02:55:23 PM »

http://www.rcsmart.com/servomg995.html

reSpawn · « **Reply #4 on:** June 23, 2007, 03:49:32 PM »

They are cheap.... I found Servo SG-5010 BB Standard on a local shop(these shops in my country are usually very expensive!!) and they sell it for 10 $
Force: 6.5 kg-cm
Speed: (6V without load): 0.16 s / 60 grade

S. Karim · « **Reply #5 on:** June 23, 2007, 04:19:02 PM »

well whats your take on their durability??

sotu · « **Reply #6 on:** June 23, 2007, 04:22:59 PM »

Well there not that cheap, 30$

hazzer123 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 23, 2007, 05:38:25 PM »

For 2...

S. Karim · « **Reply #8 on:** June 23, 2007, 05:44:33 PM »

Quote from: sotu on June 23, 2007, 04:22:59 PM

Well there not that cheap, 30$

Yes they are cheap. Do you know the price HITEC and FUTABA charges you for ~200 oz/in of torque??? A hitec servo at 181 oz/in is $90 bucks. Towerpro charge $30 for 2. If it was $30 for 1 servo, it would still be cheap.

The MG995 in my link says "DIGI" on it...that wouldnt mean its digital by any means would it?

maverick monk · « **Reply #9 on:** June 23, 2007, 05:46:27 PM »

nice stats, but durability will probobly suffer, altho tower hobbies has a great distribution system, they should stop trying to make their own stuff, most tower hobbies products are bad ( had a very bad run in with one of there motors once, and their sorry attempt at a nitro rc was ... sorry)

buy nice or buy twice.

look at a 1/4 scale servo if you need that much torque, they will probobly be cheaper for the amount of torque

Admin · « **Reply #10 on:** June 23, 2007, 05:53:33 PM »

Quote

buy nice or buy twice.

at that price, all other things the same, you can buy 6 of them for the price of one $90 hitec . . .

even if durability is good, it could perhaps suffer in poor feedback control, or perhaps high susceptibility to noise . . . no way to really know . . .

S. Karim · « **Reply #11 on:** June 23, 2007, 07:21:21 PM »

i dont really mind noise as long as the servo is smooth and can be controlled easy and wont fail...

and geez its so hard to find high torque servos under 20 dollars that you can trust. seems like the only way to go is futaba or hitec but they are so damn expensive.

Quote from: maverick monk on June 23, 2007, 05:46:27 PM

nice stats, but durability will probobly suffer, altho tower hobbies has a great distribution system, they should stop trying to make their own stuff, most tower hobbies products are bad ( had a very bad run in with one of there motors once, and their sorry attempt at a nitro rc was ... sorry)

err...not to sound stupid, cause i dont know if they are the same but the servos are from TOWERPRO, not TOWER HOBBIES...unless they are the same, then sorry for the mistake.

sotu · « **Reply #12 on:** June 24, 2007, 04:56:41 AM »

Im going to buy a GWS SO3T servo at: http://www.pololu.com/products/servos.html
Sound pretty good: Torque - kg-cm/oz-in (6V) 8.00/111 for 12$, This is for my new robot and its not going to be so heavy (a walking robot) So i need more torque then speed. I also trust Pololu and im going to buy a USB to serial adapter and a microcontroller for them. Around 20$ for a microcontroller isen't expensive, and the USB to serial adapter, i cant really say much about the price couse i dont know what a USB to serial adapter usually cost.
(And i like to buy all on 1 internet store so i only have to pay for 1 shipping instead of buying different parts at different stores ending up with a BIG shipping price to pay.
Anyway can you give me some feedback on what u think about the servo, 8.00/111 means it can "carry" up to 8 kg right? Sry if that was a noob question i've never bought/used servos before, i have sticked to motors.

Admin · « **Reply #13 on:** June 24, 2007, 07:56:27 AM »

Quote

8.00/111 means it can "carry" up to 8 kg right?

Thats actually torque. So if the shaft of the servo has a stick coming out thats 1 cm long, then it stalls at 8kg. Or 2 cm and 4kg. Or .5 cm and 16 kg. Thats what 8kg*cm means.

Read over this:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/mechanics_statics.shtml

Quote

i dont really mind noise as long as the servo is smooth and can be controlled easy and wont fail...

Noise is what causes servo jitter - moving when you dont want it to.

Other 'features' that make a servo cheaper: much larger size, heavier . . .

S. Karim · « **Reply #14 on:** June 24, 2007, 12:17:19 PM »

Quote from: sotu on June 24, 2007, 04:56:41 AM

Im going to buy a GWS SO3T servo at: http://www.pololu.com/products/servos.html
Sound pretty good: Torque - kg-cm/oz-in (6V) 8.00/111 for 12$, This is for my new robot and its not going to be so heavy (a walking robot) So i need more torque then speed. I also trust Pololu and im going to buy a USB to serial adapter and a microcontroller for them. Around 20$ for a microcontroller isen't expensive, and the USB to serial adapter, i cant really say much about the price couse i dont know what a USB to serial adapter usually cost.
(And i like to buy all on 1 internet store so i only have to pay for 1 shipping instead of buying different parts at different stores ending up with a BIG shipping price to pay.
Anyway can you give me some feedback on what u think about the servo, 8.00/111 means it can "carry" up to 8 kg right? Sry if that was a noob question i've never bought/used servos before, i have sticked to motors.

Hey you're following the road I followed!

I wanted GWSS03T at first, but I heard some weird things about that servo, in terms of noise and reaction. I also stared at GWS servo info charts and realized that it's much bigger than your standard servo so its not something thats the easiest to deal with.

Might I recommend something better? For cheaper? Buy the TOWERPRO MG995 at https://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=2 ... 208 oz/in at 0.13s travel time, all for $7.55 a pop. Check out http://www.rcsmart.com/servomg995.html for more info on it (look at the picture and what it says).

A friend (stevken5494) over at LYNXMOTION FORUMS built the following biped using these servos, and he claims it works pretty well. Lightning fast, yet very strong. Check this link out: http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9237/bot2011wx9.jpg (all done with TPMG995).

Good luck!

sotu · « **Reply #15 on:** June 24, 2007, 02:18:31 PM »

Thank u so much, maybe i missed it but whats the shipping time and are they shipping outside of United states? Many internet stores dont offer that. And also, i see the comments and it sounds relieable but have u tried it yourself? (Sounds like u have) And can you ask your buddy how much he's robot weights? And is the servos on the max limit of what they can take (If they strugle to move because its to heavy) couse i dont want to buy like 4 of those with no use because they won't work.

S. Karim · « **Reply #16 on:** June 24, 2007, 03:23:41 PM »

You can ask them yourselves if you're worried about shipping. If they dont ship, you can buy them at another place. Just google up TOWERPRO MG995...heres a link on google shipping from hong kong to worldwide, 10 bucks a pop for 10 of them:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tower-Pro-MG995-MG-955-TowerPro-Servo-x-10-Sets_W0QQitemZ180083869868QQihZ008QQcategoryZ34056QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

You can also check out the weights of the servo on the link or just by once again simply googling up info about the servo.

What did you mean by "is the servos on the max limit of what they can take"? They can handle a lot of torque (208 oz/in at 6V) so you shouldnt be worried about strength.

sotu · « **Reply #17 on:** June 25, 2007, 04:08:12 AM »

The servo at the link you just posted is 99.99$

+ an extra 10$ for shipping??
I cant afford that for one servo!
Maybe im wrong, couse i dont really understand what u mean about "10 bucks a pop for 10 of them"
Anyway the servo itself seem really good, and i would love to buy one for 7$ as at the other page.
Im a little confused now, i just want a good servo thats not so cheap, pololu (as i said) offers servos for a good price but you said the other was better, maybe, but i need a good price not 99$

hgordon · « **Reply #18 on:** June 25, 2007, 07:25:58 AM »

United Hobbies in Hong Kong has the same servo (MG995) listed for $7.75.

https://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=2

I think the expedited shipping cost is $29, but you can get up to 500g or 1000g of stuff for the same shipping charge, and it will take less than a week to arrive. I bought some brushless motors and ESC's from United, and it worked out okay. Check their forum for feedback from other customers - I don't think anyone has cheaper prices.

=======
S.Karim - sorry ... I didn't see that you posted the same link to unitedhobbies

sotu · « **Reply #19 on:** June 25, 2007, 09:02:21 AM »

Oh thanks, so now im going to buy 4 or more servos from united hobbies (All in one shipping cost, 29$) And a microcontroller + a USB to serial adapter at Pololu.com!

S. Karim · « **Reply #20 on:** June 25, 2007, 11:22:37 AM »

Quote from: sotu on June 25, 2007, 04:08:12 AM

The servo at the link you just posted is 99.99$
+ an extra 10$ for shipping??
I cant afford that for one servo!
Maybe im wrong, couse i dont really understand what u mean about "10 bucks a pop for 10 of them"
Anyway the servo itself seem really good, and i would love to buy one for 7$ as at the other page.
Im a little confused now, i just want a good servo thats not so cheap, pololu (as i said) offers servos for a good price but you said the other was better, maybe, but i need a good price not 99$

Dude relax before you freak out, read the ebay auction.

It's not 1 servo for 99.99, you get TEN servos, for 99.99 bucks. Thats 10 dollars each. I posted the new unitedhobbies.com link with is the same servo at 7.55 each, I was just giving you options.

sotu · « **Reply #21 on:** June 25, 2007, 11:48:33 AM »

Ok as i said "maybe im wrong..." So i was..

Anyway thanks for the help!
So does eBay ship the servos cheaper then unitedhobbies?
Looks like eBay only ship for 10$ but unitedhobbies for 29$. Which one would you recommend, what the safest choice, cheapest?

hgordon · « **Reply #22 on:** June 25, 2007, 12:18:05 PM »

You need to read the ebay auction more closely - it's $10 for the first item and $5 for each additional servo, so freight is $55 for that auction of 10 servos. That's pretty typical on ebay - the sellers offer okay prices on the merchandise and then kill you on shipping. I normally avoid ebay because this is standard practice.

Buy the servos from unitedhobbies - if you make regular purchases, you get additional discounts.

S. Karim · « **Reply #23 on:** June 25, 2007, 01:41:37 PM »

sotu, it depends on how many you are purchasing. both the ebay auction and unitedhobbies are located in hong kong.

if you buy 10 from unitedhobbies, total price is 104.50, while ebay auction i posted is $110 (assuming the set of 10 he is selling is 1 item, otherwise you're screwed). Unitedhobbies is best here, because they are a huge warehouse and offer cheaper prices, and will always assure you get your products.

sotu · « **Reply #24 on:** June 25, 2007, 02:32:39 PM »

Yeh, i have already decided, im going for the unitedhobbies.
And i finnaly got answar on a question in the pololu product forum, so now im all good to go!
This is what im going to use for my product:
- microcontroller
- USB to serial adapter
- 4-6 servos at unitedhobbies.com
- 6 V power source
- A to B USB kabel
- Chassis

S. Karim · « **Reply #25 on:** June 25, 2007, 04:00:45 PM »

k good luck.

remember, document!

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Author Topic: Anyone have any experience with TowerPro servos? (Read 12666 times)