General Align servos not available locally - switch to Spektrum (or other brand)?

[mooserider]

My elevator servo got some of the metal gears shreded. Today I called around to three of the hobby stores in the Seattle area and no one carries these to my surprise (other than online). I understand that you should keep all three cyclic servos the same brand. My question is, should I just switch them all out now with Spektrum, or something available locally so I don't always have to order them online? Any reason Spektrum wouldn't work (I have a DX7 radio anyway).

Also, is it worth trying to replays those metal gears in the servo? I took it apart and you can get to the gears fairly easily, but I can't seem to get them separated individually... not sure if it's possible, or worth it. Thought I'd see what others do.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

 

[Tony]

This is a pretty loaded question. On one hand, the gears are only $15. On the other hand, a brand new servo is only $25. I don't have any experience with Spektrum servos other than the 6040 that I ran in my Losi truck. Most people will run either Align or Savox. Some others are running MKS, but these are quite expensive. And now, BK just came out with micro servos that I'm sure will be awesome.

So if you want to save some money, head over to RC Cars & Trucks, RC Helicopters & Planes, Bicycles - AMain.com and order you a new set of gears for the servos you have now. If you are really wanting an upgrade, I will let some other members post up their thoughts on other brands of servos.

How did you manage to kill the gears in that servo? Just wondering.

 

[murankar]

Savox makes the Align servo, you will need to get three of them. I have ran them for almost 3 years without flaw. I now use KST DS215mg servos which can be ordered from helidirect.com. I got mine from ebay as a 3 pack cheaper than getting one at a time through the states. Mine took about 2 weeks to get here and I can order break away servo arms. These are great because they dont break, so its a little mis leading. What they do is slip on the ouput shaft (which does not strip any teeth in the servo). There is a rubber piece that is clapped on the output shaft, this rubber grips the output shaft and in hard impacts it allows the arm to slip.

The seller on ebay is Garret. Do a search for KST DS215mg and his store should pop up.

 

[Lee]

I have just bought the KST DS215mg servos for my Warp 360.
They get great reviews, and are super fast and strong.
I don't know why you are worried about online. The majority of RCers are buying online.
If I order something from a national company, its with me 1 or 2 day at the latest.
From abroad is a different matter, but even then, its a max of two weeks.

 

[mooserider]

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just stick with the Align servos for now. It's not that I don't like shopping on line, I just prefer to use the local store brands in case I'm out at the field and need something for repairs at the last minute. All good though.

Tony: I think the gears stripped when the blades came off (weren't tightened) at a relatively high speed.

Thanks again all!

 

[mooserider]

Hey all, I just ordered three of the DS416m servos from amain.com because they don't have any DS415m servos (415 came with the kit I bought). Can I use one of the 416's as a replacement, or do I really have to replace all three?

Thanks!

 

[Admiral]

You should keep all three servos the same Brand / Model / Age in theory to get the best results.
The DS416 is slightly stronger than the DS415 but the same speed.
The Gear sets are interchangeable between the DS415 & DS416.

I would defiantly go for the three new ones, in fact I did about 6 months ago and used the two remaining DS415s in a fixed wing.