Upgrading gear material--When?
03-22-2007, 06:07 PM
#1
Upgrading gear material--When?
Danny,
I've been using only JR radio products for quite some time now and have been pretty happy overall. There is one area that has me a little concerned. More than just myself I'm afraid as evidenced by the numerous individuals that have noticed the same situation/condition that I have. That's the rapid gear wear and free play in new 8611 and 8611A servos. Yes, it IS there, IS a common issue, and shouldn't be overlooked too much longer.
I have one brand new 8611A servos that is neutral "chattering" right out of the box without ever having been used. No, there's no linkage bind or excessive travel adjustment or reversed mechanical advantage. Of course it stops as soon as you slap the surface it's connected to. That's on a single servo surface by the way. I've seen the same condition on planes belonging to others. All the other new 8611's I have (which is quite a lot) show a small, but perceptable, amount of gear lash right out of the box. As the numbers of flights increase, so does the amount of lash.
The other guys can put together a high end, but still somewhat affordable, servo that doesn't exibit these issues, why hasn't JR? In the work I do we rate a standard digital servo's life at 100 useful flight hours, then toss them out regardless of condition. We should be able to make that with the 8611's, a much better servo, but we aren't getting anywhere close to that in RC flight installations before the gears require replacement. Why is this so?
The 8711, though very strong, will have the same gear train as the 8611 so that one isn't going to do the trick. A lot of us actually do sit down and consider the torque of a servo, the speed, the amount of usable voltage the servo can handle, the likelyhood of failure, life of the gear train, zero load free play, and the price. Being more expensive than the other guy isn't an issue if all those items are met by the more costly servo. The problem is that at the moment the higher priced products are not meeting those criteria, making product selection move outside where we would like to be.
So what's in the works?
Sincerely,
Pat
I've been using only JR radio products for quite some time now and have been pretty happy overall. There is one area that has me a little concerned. More than just myself I'm afraid as evidenced by the numerous individuals that have noticed the same situation/condition that I have. That's the rapid gear wear and free play in new 8611 and 8611A servos. Yes, it IS there, IS a common issue, and shouldn't be overlooked too much longer.
I have one brand new 8611A servos that is neutral "chattering" right out of the box without ever having been used. No, there's no linkage bind or excessive travel adjustment or reversed mechanical advantage. Of course it stops as soon as you slap the surface it's connected to. That's on a single servo surface by the way. I've seen the same condition on planes belonging to others. All the other new 8611's I have (which is quite a lot) show a small, but perceptable, amount of gear lash right out of the box. As the numbers of flights increase, so does the amount of lash.
The other guys can put together a high end, but still somewhat affordable, servo that doesn't exibit these issues, why hasn't JR? In the work I do we rate a standard digital servo's life at 100 useful flight hours, then toss them out regardless of condition. We should be able to make that with the 8611's, a much better servo, but we aren't getting anywhere close to that in RC flight installations before the gears require replacement. Why is this so?
The 8711, though very strong, will have the same gear train as the 8611 so that one isn't going to do the trick. A lot of us actually do sit down and consider the torque of a servo, the speed, the amount of usable voltage the servo can handle, the likelyhood of failure, life of the gear train, zero load free play, and the price. Being more expensive than the other guy isn't an issue if all those items are met by the more costly servo. The problem is that at the moment the higher priced products are not meeting those criteria, making product selection move outside where we would like to be.
So what's in the works?
Sincerely,
Pat
03-23-2007, 09:00 AM
#2
RE: Upgrading gear material--When?
When set up properly the gear train of the servos can last hundreds of flights as proven by many pilots including myself. Metal gear servos must have a little play in the gear train to function, if there is no play in the gear train the servo will lock up.
I can't speak on any new products in the works until they are released.
I can't speak on any new products in the works until they are released.
03-23-2007, 01:23 PM
#3
RE: Upgrading gear material--When?
Thank you for the reply. Although the answer was not unexpected it was most dissapointing. Those that fly IMAC and general sport type aerobatics will be able to take great comfort in it, but those that fly 3D will not. There was a fork in the road that led to where many wanted to go and your answer provided a clear path. Thanks again.
Pat
Pat
