Servos other than Hitec or Futaba

[jobinseattle]

Would like to know what others are using for standard servos other than Hitec or Futaba and what your opinion is of them?

[Konrad]

First we need to define "standard servos". Are you looking at 28 gram to 50 gram servos? With what MotionRC sells (foam models) the 9 gram servo seems to be the default standard.

In modern time my servos need to have digital amp, and I'm leaning towards being able to run on 2 cell lixx native.

All the best,
Konrad.

[jobinseattle]

Yes, 38-44 gram servos. I like foamies but I like arf's also. Something about building them or putting them together I find relaxing.

[Konrad]

Building and the term ARF sounds like a non sequitur to me. Assembling is a term I'd use.

So what do you have against Hitec and Futaba, that might help me formulate a meaningful reply? Does this apply to JR servos?

All the best,
Konrad

[jobinseattle]

Yes, Assembling is a better term. I have nothing against them I was just curious if people are using something different and what they think of them? I have bought both Hitec and Futaba Servos.

[Konrad]

So you are concerned about brands? I avoid Futaba servos as I've had a rash of failures way back in the day with the S128, S132, S133, S135 these are just off the top of my head. That having been said the tail servo for my TRex 600 is a Futaba brushless. I also love my micro S3154's

Most of my mid sized helis have Ino-Labs servos*.

As I was heavy into gliders many of my larger gliders are servo'd with digital Multiplex (pre Hitec) servos and Volz servos. These were/are great servos even today.

I've had good performance with MKS. Have had great results with the cheaper KST servos.

GWS servos have served me well.

I've loved JR servo prior to the digital revolution. As the output shaft was pretty standard across a large selection of servo sizes. When the digital servo came out JR's were a bit to slow. This is not so today.

I hate Blue Bird and Blue Arrow products!

While I've had failures with E-flight and Spektrum servos they have been caught on the bench or at least allowed the ship to land.

I can't stress this enough. But all electrical components need to go through a burn in process before you install them in an aircraft. This goes for double for flight critical components.

Today my servos need to be digital, 2 lixx friendly and maybe even metal geared. I place speed and accuracy above power in my selection.

I get a lot of my servos locally here.

https://alofthobbies.com/radio-gear/servos.html

I wish MotionRC would spec their servos. The FMS has some of these specs on the case but I don't see any engineering data on the sales page. I'd also like to see the FreeWing servo spec's! Buying things blind goes against my sense of logic!


*A problem with using off brand stuff is that they are likely to go obsolete (lack of part support) should the OEM go out of business. The next time I have a failed servo with the TRex 600 I'll need to replace all 3 servos as I don't have any more gear sets to replace any that get damaged!

All the best,
Konrad

[jobinseattle]

Thanks, this is what I was looking for. Just to hear experienced pilots discuss what they like or dislike. I don't really have any real concern on brands except some of what hobbyking sells for a few dollars. Not saying they are bad but you usually get what you pay for. Don't really want to spend $150 to $300 on an arf only to have it crash because of a failed servo.

[Konrad]

Hum, You know I really haven't said much. You didn't ask for failure modes, failure rates, or time between failures. So please don't use what I've said in selecting your servo or brand.

What I hope you do is perform burn in of your electrical components. Most failures will happen within the first 5 to 15 minutes of having the power applied. This is assuming you have spec'd (sized) the component properly.

All the best,
Konrad