Crawler Canyon Presents: Servo Testin' Time, Savox SA1230SG and Reefs Triple 4

Bounty from the ongoing Plofferings.
Running the gauntlet today,
The apparently now vintage Savox SA1230SG-- now discontinued and replaced with the functionally identical SA1230SGP-- at 4.8 and 6.0 volts.
The oft-recommended Reefs 444 at 6.0 and 7.4 volts.
SA1230SGP: alnk.to/1C5gSNf
Reefs Triple 4: alnk.to/1N01RD9
AGFRC SA75: amzn.to/45eoBGj
Reefs 99: alnk.to/goYVhmu
AGFRC A20CLS: amzn.to/3rY6F4q
IG: crawlercanyon

[@buddybirddog8177]

As a retired guy, I now have to watch my spending when comes to my rc addiction that’s where your channel comes in. From tire testing to servos, I look at your past shows to help me make decisions on purchases. What I found was I am just as competitive in rock crawling events at half the cost as before. Maybe do a build from the retired guy's view, a competitive rock crawler while still having money left over for grocery😀

[@Mad4saxBrewery]

Reefs Triple 4 is now my go to servo. Had problems with every other servo I used. The Reefs I have never had a problem with one.

[@eddytoy9496]

That Rockford Fosgate reference was GOLD!!! I wish more manufacturers would give us Punch 80 power in more servos.

[@FaithSaraG]

Way to go Reefs, making more power than advertised.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Looks like somebody is testing stall torque and not instantaneous torque. Tip 'o the hat to Reefs for that.

[@rccrawlingaddict207]

You may say it's over-kill, but I have 3 of the REEFS 444's in my phoenix. Never a steering issue nor a shifting issue. Good to see the review. Thanks again. I have a triple 7 that I haven't even tried yet.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Not may say, ABSOLUTELY say. 500oz for dig is just bonkers, my guy. You need to IMMEDIATELY build two more crawlers for the other 444s, and put some junk in that Phoenix for dig/OD.

[@rccrawlingaddict207]

I put a just is my SCX 10 pro and guess what........as I was setting the end point(which I start a zero) the junk #spektrum servo started to chatter and shake and then stopped. It literally lasted less than 2 minutes. If I were to change them, it would not be to a micro for sure.@@CrawlerCanyon

[@freerangehuman7016]

I own 3 Reefs raw 500's and 2 800lp's I'm happy with them. To each there own.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

I'm not saying they make a bad servo-- any of the Reefs servos are solid-- but they're also near enough as to be "Rolex priced." I don't see where the cachet comes from to justify $140 for ~500oz. That same money will bring home a of 800oz servos.

[@evintacy7272]

Awesome I want see what reefs 444 does! 😊

[@TheAmericanUhate]

I just got one of those reefs 444's on a truck I bought. I haven't even tried it out yet and 100% planned on changing it out for something bigger & direct power. My zoku phoenix has the reefs 777, and trx4 has the reefs raw 500. Planning on swapping an nsdrc rs800 into the zoku phoenix, then putting the 777 into the new truck I just got. The 444 will be homeless for a while. Kind of thinking about an on-road or stadium truck in the near future. It would be great for one of those it looks like.

[@ydrRC]

Digit 4096 just means it's a digital servo with 12-bit resolution. It's normal Savox nomenclature.

[@idiot_RC]

SUPPOSEDLY, AGFRC is an OEM for a lot of servo manufacturers and Reefs uses some parts supplied by AGFRC (cases, gears) but use proprietary electronics, and claim that doing so nets them more consistent numbers and allows them to achieve stall torque at lower voltages. I have no idea if that's true, it's like 3rd hand knowledge from a team driver a few years back. Maybe a test needs to happen between the Triple 4 and the AGFRC A73CHLW V2 (similar specs, half the price). I do know you can contact AGFRC and have them manufacture servos to your exact specifications, so maybe that's what's happening with some of these "re-brands."

[@CrawlerCanyon]

The non-V2 AGFRC A73 made an average of 607oz @ 7.4V when I tested it, but is a bit more amp hungry than the 444, so maybe there's something to it. I keep forgetting to install the ones not in use.

[@themountain59]

@@CrawlerCanyon was the AGFrc servo programmed for max output ?

[@CrawlerCanyon]

@@themountain59 I’m not sure the non-v2 A73s were programmable- which is the long way of saying it was running how it comes by default.

[@lylevalentine5902]

I have a AGFRC A86BHM programmable servo I bought for $99 before price hikes for my Traxxas X-MAXX. A few hours run time on it a it's fantastic! Made the big girl nimble and can actually take tight turns! 😂 I have heard the same information as you. They were the behind the scenes servo maker for many companies, for years but now sell servos under their own name as well.

[@bustedknux]

Am i the only one still picturing Susan spinning?

[@grantwitt4962]

Have you thought about testing the hk hobbies 35kg+ direct power servo? They're claiming 40kg and 0.09 at 3s.

[@mikeshobbiesandrandomstuff]

Dang it's not possible to get a decent servo around 60 USD anymore.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Flash Hobby has a number of good options around 60 bucks, in both Rx powered and direct power. I've done tests on both. But in terms of "name brands," you're right on. Savox, Reefs, ProTek, etc, are all gonna be at or above $100.

[@rascalracing4428]

You should test the 50kg direct power servo 9imod BLS-HV50MG. It seem to have pretty good power for the price! Keep up tje good work!

[@CrawlerCanyon]

I've done a test on the BLS-HV60MG. Plenty strong, but a bit loud and a bit slow compared to say Flash Hobby. Great when a coupon comes up. I've had multiple people mention suffering 9imod servo failures, so I haven't been in a hurry to try the 50.

[@user-ld9ke2yv6t]

I’m running the 50kg and it’s been good so far in my TRX4 with 5.4”Boggers. I can definitely hear it but haven’t had any trouble yet! I’ll be sure to mention it in the comments if it lays an egg.

[@HollerRC]

I laughed too loud about you using Rockford Fosgate as a verb.

[@HollerRC]

I used to be into Kicker, Pioneer Premier and Alpine. Then one day on a whim I bought some Volfenhag 12” subs. 🤯

[@CrawlerCanyon]

I've never owned anything Alpine. Crazy, right? For head units I was a Clarion man for decades, until they you know, stopped doing car audio. I loved CDT for mids/highs, and more than any other brand have gravitated toward JL for subs. Still have a pair of 10W3s in the old Scion. I remember working with a guy waaaaaaaay back with a RF Punch 45 in his Nissan Hardbody-- rated for 45W x 2, and bridged into a single channel at like 1 ohm it did around 500W. I ran a Punch 800a2 for yeeeeeeeaars, and that thing was an absolute tank. Rated for 200x2 @ 4ohm, mfr. claimed 960W into a single 4ohm channel, and my birth sheet was 1,150 x 1. Even with the 160A alternator and a gel cell in the Mitsu, the headlights were still dimmin'.

[@HollerRC]

@@CrawlerCanyon I loved my alpine head units for their sub and sound controls and the sound processing (like loudness). Their full range speakers that I used were ok. I didn’t have problems with them, but maybe they could have sound3d better. I had some 12w0’s. They weren’t real loud, but sounded nice with the right amount of power. I’ve never heard of CDT. I don’t have direct experience with RF amps, but I’m aware they were underrated like MTX. A couple of my friends had RF subs. We mixed and matched brands a lot for some reason. This is all from before maybe 2006. I still have my volfenhags and 2 JBL amps that I ran them on, but I don’t have the space for them in my little Honda.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

@@HollerRC I had concluded very early on that no one company made the best everything. I remember the VW dudes with bumper-to-bumper Blaupunkt, just I guess because they had to. I never liked their spartan looking head units. I loved the look of Clarions, Kenwoods (before the days of a thousand tiny buttons) and of course Alpine, because they ALWAYS had a knob. Best amp I ever owned has to be the Memphis Audio MC1300D "Memphis Belle." Cleanest, loudest amp I've ever owned. All it needed was more room than most people had, and a 200A alternator and you were good to go. Ended up selling it when I got my Scion in '05, because the amp literally wouldn't fit between the shock towers.

[@user-ld9ke2yv6t]

My buddies who were into it in the late 90s early 2000s liked Phoenix Gold amps

[@johandriehuizen9282]

Wich servo would you reccomend for a hpi savage v2? For bashing? A real nice one

[@CrawlerCanyon]

I think you've got a couple of options. If you want to go all-in, with all the warranties and coverages that come with a sky-high priceppoint, then you get something like a ProTek 170TBL. Enough torque and speed for anyone, and a warranty for if/when you break it. But as I said, expensive. My go-fast, slam-into-stuff rigs are all fitted with MKS HBL550s. Fast (very fast,) strong... loud. Potential dock of a point on the MKS because it uses a 2.5mm screw to attach the horn. Makes the servo stronger, makes mounting the horn annoying. Also on the borderline of expensive. If you want basically the same specs, but economical-- and that economy comes from what I call "no warranty expressed or implied, you get a Flash Hobby CLS4050RP. Absolutely gets the job done, and does it for less than half of the MKS and under a third of the ProTek.

[@BrandonM83]

The savox is the same servo I used in my old sc trucks. I literally have 0 experience with reefs

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Savox kinda makes servos that don't die. I don't know about this specific example, but the 1230 as model has to go back a decade. So, SO noisy though.

[@BrandonM83]

@@CrawlerCanyon remember glitch busters 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@BrandonM83]

But agreed that noise is yuck lol

[@idiot_RC]

Do you have a link to that horn? I need a long one for a laydown SOA mount on an F10.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

amzn.to/3QwLn8q. Why are the blue ones always cheaper?

[@philthy5058]

The 444 is a great servo, but for $10 more I can have an rs800.

[@texavon6168]

"load cell slamming" building up momentum and or speed before activating your load cell, will give you inaccurate torque values as the inertial mass of the servo arm and gears "slamming" into the load cell at speed is not indicative of actual torque in the same way that crashing your car into a trailer is not indicative of your cars towing capacity.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

What you've done here is put together a collection of words that at first blush appear coherent, but on any kind of investigation are essentially meaningless. If you don't like the numbers, that's perfectly fine.

[@texavon6168]

@@CrawlerCanyon Sorry, if I was a bit rambling, my main point was that if you are trying to get accurate torque numbers then load cell slamming is a bad practise.

[@Honoluluairsoft]

As a man on a budget I personally can not understand the reasoning to spend upwards of 120 dollars on a servo I just recently bought a flash hobby 60kg direct power for like 60 maybe 70 bucks can’t remember and for my driving it does fine and I just can’t justify the extra 50 dollars for a servo when that money can be used elsewhere

[@themountain59]

No offense but Reefs are overrated,overpriced, rebranded servos !!🙄

[@smashtj666]

I can see buying a reefs....delivers what it states and support an american business...

[@themountain59]

"Supports a american business.."....lol..really? 😄😄😄 An Egyptian baker with no technical background sells you an asian made servo..that's american business nowadays? Ok🙄

[@smashtj666]

I have meet the owners of the company at uste event in Florida.i trailed with him and a couple other of the event sponsors that evening.......he seemed American enough for me....and it is his company...

[@themountain59]

@@smashtj666 😄😄😄👌👍