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Starry Night

Item #: 121
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Price: $55.00
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    The DS505BLHV servo is the most highly developed iteration of our most popular servo ever!

    This all-alloy standard-size servo is equipped with a brushless motor and has an all-steel gear train. This makes it powerful and very durable. But more than strong and fast, it centers good because we use the Noble 1mc potentiometer. This Japanese pot is the best on the planet (and why we use it). It's not the cheapest, it's the best.

    So because we've been making this servo for more than a decade (and have produced tens of thousands), it's a proven design. In short, this is a superb all-rounder in the 500ozin class. Some say the best bang for your buck in the whole world, for any application, and at any price. Big words? Well, yes, but here's why.

    First, please allow a brief birdwalk regarding ProModeler model numbers because you can interpret them without a decoder ring. In short DS505BLHV means . . .
    DS = Digital Servo
    505 = torque rating in oz-in
    BL = Brushless motor
    HV = High Voltage (to 8.4V)

    Regarding HV . . . and just as DS means digital servos (as opposed to just plain S for servo), HV distinguishes servos from SV (or standard voltage). You see, back in the day, all servos were 5V devices. We didn't call them SV because they were all 5V devices.

    This, by the way, is because 5V is what you get with four 1.2V NiCd cells (technically 1.2V/cell X 4-cells = 4.8V nominal but coming off charge, about 5V). Anyway, 5V is an incredibly common voltage within consumer electronics to this day (for example, open any PC on the planet and you'll see 12V and 5V leads coming off the power supply). So one day a fellow tried 6V on his 5V servo and presto it gave him more torque and more speed - for a little while, before it burned up. Note; he made 6V by using 5-cells instead of four because 1.2 X 5 = 6.

    Anyway, this almost instantly created demand for 6V servos because a) modelers wanted more power/faster servos, and b) manufacturer's always follow the money. So everybody complied and began making 6V-capable servos to satisfy the demand. Then some guy decided to try running a 6V servo on 7.4V. How? First by making a 6S pack of NiCd cells because 1.2 x 6 = 7.2V but then by using two LiPo cells.

    Remember, cells get put together in series to increase the voltage so just like 4.8V NiCd packs are four cells in series - meaning (+) to the (-) and because each cell is 1.2V nominal then you get to get 4.8V, with LiPos because the individual cells are 3.7V nominal, then two in series results in a 7.4V pack. And just as a 4.8V nominal really means 5V fresh off the charger, a pair of LiPos will be north of 8V and some into the range of 8.4V.

    So once again, the manufacturer's complied and created 8.4V-capable servos, and these are designated HV for High Voltage. Which is where we are today. but it gets more complicated. You see, to lovwer the costs for their RTR (Ready To Run) models, manufacturers like Traxxas added a circuit to their Electronic Speed (the ECS is a throttle for the propulsion motor). This circuit stole a Control - except - because some rigs are running 3S packs, a hobby dealer went to an Asian manufacturer and said, put my brand on a servo and I want ti to run on 3S (technically 11.1V but in reality, 12V). And since manufacturers are all about the Benjamins, they did it. Only thing is, hobby dealer isn't an engineer, he's a businessman and decided to try and 4S packs (and now many are using 6S and 8S and even 12S,

    So with model airplanes and helicopters with internal combustion engines, using a 2S pack for the control electronics is incredibly common because before that, they used 4S and 5S packs using NiCd cells instead of lithium-chemistry. Note; this is why we offer 2S lithium type packs ranging from 650mAh to 6000mAh.

    Thing is, in the model car/truck world, electric-powered models dominate, meaning 95% of the market. The other 5% (or less) being high-end gasoline-engine powered models like what MCD Racing offer in an RR5/XR5, Losi 5ive, or Primal RC Raminator). and with a gasoline engine), they

    , meaning 4-cell or 5-cell NiCd. Use a 2S pack with a standard voltage servo and it would quickly go poof and release the magic smoke

    you know how a Porsche 911 from 2009 and 2019 are recognizably the same car? This, despite a decade between them! Yet if you park them side by side they are 'totally' different cars, right? This is because Porsche engineering evolves their designs (little known fact, the first one hit the market in 1963).

    So basically, ProModeler have the same engineering philosophy as Porsche because we're doing the same thing. We introduce iterative improvements to our original 420oz-in servo. And just as Porsche 911 had a 2.7L engine, then a 3.3L, then back down to 3.2L displacement, we also use different servo motors. And always with the same goal, to make a better servo!

    This brings us to the next step in the DS420BLHV evolution, the availability of a more powerful motor, leading to our introducing the DS470BLHV. Basically the same servo, ever evolving like Porsche does their 911 supercar, (even the same price, $100, which Porsche doesn't do).

    Then our motor vendor approaches us about another motor. This leads to a further evolution as the servo becomes the DS555BLHV. So now we have a further advancement as this servo has become the DS505BLHV? Less torque? Yes, but a better motor meant the tradeoff was worth it in the eyes of engineering. What makes it better is about math, and beyond the scope of this description but just as Porsche engine displacement has varied up and down, torque output for this servo has now also gone up, up, up and now down. Bottom line? better servo. Best it's ever been.

    Where can you use it? A lot of places. Pretty much any 3D airplane to mid-size, call it 96" with a DA100. IMAC models to 104" with a DA120. Obviously, even a 40-size trainer since the physical dimensions are standard size even though the price of a single servo approaches the price of the whole airplane, but who knows, maybe the fellow has plans to build a big ass gasser once he learns to fly. Not our business.

    Where else? Pretty much any helicopter in existence that uses a standard size servo - 600-class, larger 700-class, and even 800-class are going to be perfectly served by this servo.

    Surface use, both land and sea. On the water, this is an outstanding servo for big hydro models for steering at 80mph. Surface use includes any 1/8-scale racing buggy, crawlers like a TRX4, etc.