I have heard here the usual internet motto "you get what you pay for" - but how true is that from one Chinese manufacturer to another? Specifically speaking, Turnigy motors/ESCs are so inexpensive they are tempting to purchase. Has anyone had some real-life experience with the reliability of these components from HobbyKing? Some will suggest I go with EMAX or jDrones etc - but these too are built in China - and perhaps in the very same factories.
I would prefer not to have responses like "well perhaps..." and "well in theory..." and "I've heard from this guy on the internet..."; I am asking for real-world examples. Have you purchased and tested and found success with certain manufacturers? What is so wrong with Turnigy equipment?
(lastly, as a side note; might I suggest that this forum consolidate their categories as 5 pages of categories is a little excessive, and makes responding difficult)
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Hi Sim,
I have a decent amount of experience with Hobbyking and RCTimer and others. The rule about getting what you pay for is not quite true. The reality is to get a good deal you have to be a smart buyer and know what you are buying and what it is really worth. Research and reviews from others help a lot. You also need to set quality expectations differently when buying from Chinese hobby sites. Effectively you will be part of their QA department so expect some extra time debugging issues for the lower price point.
So for instance, I like the hobbyking F-30A ESCs over all others. I order from their US warehouse, and that is a bargain at $10 each. I simonk flash them and stress test on a mounted motor/prop before putting on a quad. Most work, once in a while there is a dud, but in general the F-30As perform better than any other ESCs I have tried. For the duds you can desolder and switch out the mosets with 6 Infineon IPD135N03L which are lower turn-off delay drop in replacments at $3.00 for 6 on sale from Newark. Then even from a dud you turn out a great simonk ESC for around $13. I would never try to return something to Hobbyking - not worth the time and stress.
I have used several Turnigy motors for builds. I had great luck with a smaller quad using Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 2822-1275 and an 8" prop. Very smooth and no extra balancing needed. I used the SK3-3530-1150 with a 10" prop on a hoverthings flip frame and they work well but needed a little balancing but still a good match for that frame.
I put 4 Turnigy SK3 2830-1130 on another quad build. Out of 6 ordered, 4 motors were able to be well balanced with some work. 2 were junk rubbing against the magnets and went in the spare parts bin. As an experiment I swapped them out with MT2212 (980kv tmotors) and there was very little noticeable difference in flight. The big difference was all 4 Tmotors worked perfectly out of the box and required no balancing at all where the Turnigy motors took work and 2 extra motors to get the same performance.
There is nothing wrong with buying from China. But set your expectations correctly to avoid disappointment.
@David, I think it's a fair question. So far there doesn't seem to be a lot of disagreement among the respondents. ;-) And sending someone to search ning forums is pretty darned cruel!
Many of the hardware manufacturers are fine. In fact some high end components (such as Scorpion motors) are made in China.
More important is the concept of the vendor, and what QA activities they perform. Vendors who sell more cheaply put little or no extra QA into the process. A vendor who individually tests each unit before it's shipped is necessarily going to charge more to cover the cost of this.
I've been successful in buying cheap parts from companies like HobbyKing and RCTimer. They're not very good compared to high end products like Scorpion, but they're a tenth of the price.
I have been regularly flying with Hobby King purchased and RCTimer purchased motors and ESCs for several years without problems.
In addition to Scorpion, Hacker and AXi are high end motors that should be the gold standard in terms of reliability, support, and performance. Not that I can afford them of course!
http://www.hacker-motor-shop.com
http://www.modelmotors.cz
Hi Sim,
A similar discussion was only just closed over here and has been discussed a few times with regards to specific pieces of equipment (batteries, rx/tx, HK in general) rather than the broad question here.
If you had a question on a specific piece then by all means ask away, but please do a search on the forums first. We don't really want to create another heated thread. The people on this site are very passionate about their hobby/profession.
@TC, maybe this is where Stacy should come in. (;