Servo power
#1
Can someone please explain to me the power difference for the servos.. You can supply 6.0v 7.4v and now 8.4v to your servo.. now my question is how? I see people putting capacitors between the battery, what’s the point of that? I am confused on how to get the most voltage but don’t want to jack anything up.. please help.
#2
Tech Regular
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 421
Can someone please explain to me the power difference for the servos.. You can supply 6.0v 7.4v and now 8.4v to your servo.. now my question is how? I see people putting capacitors between the battery, what’s the point of that? I am confused on how to get the most voltage but don’t want to jack anything up.. please help.
#8
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,410
From: Austin,TX
Many ESC's have selectable BEC settings between 6.0V and 7.4V which are most common and nitro drivers typically use a 2S LiPo at 8.4V to power their equipment without a BEC. There are some older ESC's which limit the BEC to 4.8V but those are typically brushed systems.
I recently got an SRT servo that is 0.14 sec/60° @ 6V and I was considering to switch to 7.4V to get 0.12 speed, but after testing at 6V I decided to keep it there, the car turned out to be easier to drive and felt more stable with a slightly slower servo, I had been running a 0.09 servo prior to the switch
SRT SERVOS
*** It's worth noting the following which was posted on the SRT thread:
I recently got an SRT servo that is 0.14 sec/60° @ 6V and I was considering to switch to 7.4V to get 0.12 speed, but after testing at 6V I decided to keep it there, the car turned out to be easier to drive and felt more stable with a slightly slower servo, I had been running a 0.09 servo prior to the switch

SRT SERVOS
*** It's worth noting the following which was posted on the SRT thread:
Originally Posted by VPProUSA
IMO, if you use a high speed servo in 1/8, the gears will strip out. I ran for Hitec for many years and once I switched to high torq, I never broke another servo gear. Before it happened every few months.
Last edited by billdelong; 03-21-2018 at 06:10 AM.
#10
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,410
From: Austin,TX
I don't think it would be practical to hook up a UBEC for nitro, but that is certainly an option if you need to reduce the voltage to 6V for whatever reason.
#11
Tech Adept
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 117
From: Southern California
Generally speaking, servos that are rated to 7.4V "HV" operation will handle all the way up to 8.4v without a problem, or direct 2s LiPo voltage. Some will run a capacitor as the cap helps with the current loads. When the servo is operating and forcing the wheels to turn it can draw a lot of current suddenly which can in turn cause the pack voltage to sag, which in turn gives the servo less power and can potentially cause a notable drop in performance to some. The capacitor helps smooth out that sudden current draw from the servo so that the performance remains relatively consistent.
#12
castle bec are highly overrated they don't last long.. cap inline with esc and battery are to help voltage sags of bec... depending on servo specs you can get 2x the power or torque to move the front steering.. check specs to see .. i like the turning 20 amp bec has leds on it to let you know n see how many amps its supplying..
#14
Tech Adept
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 174
In order to run a servo at a higher voltage the bec has to be able to supply the higher voltage. Check your esc manual. Secondly your servo has to be able to handle the higher higher voltage otherwise you risk the probability of burning it up. The advantages are a faster and stronger servo. Not everyone likes a fast servo. But more torque is always desired. The cap is there to prevent breakouts which happens when the esc demands more power then the battery can deliver. It will cause your car to act very erratically with issues like no steering or you won't be able to accelerate smoothly.



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