KGSS28

Has anyone tried any of the HiTec servos in pattern planes I am interested in something like the JR 8411SA or 9411SA in the Hitec brand. They seem to have a lot of good features like programability , better warrenty and a lot less cost. We have several guys at the field using them in big gas planes that swear by them.

Thanks

Chris Moon

My Feedback: (8)

There is a good functional reason why virtually no high level pattern guys fly with HiTec servos. It has nothing to do with cost or sponsorship or glamor or monkey see- monkey do factor - it is just that their servos so not have the accuracy and precision that the high end JR and Futaba servos have. The HiTec fans can flame away, but anyone who has tried them in pattern will tell you that they are not comparable to the JR and Futaba servos. The facts speak for themselves, virtually nobody uses them and believe me if they offered ANY advantage over the others, we would be more than happy to save money and use them.

BTerry

My Feedback: (8)

The 5955 in particular is very attractive for the big planes because it is POWERFUL and the titanium gears will not wear out and develop slop over time. If you program out the deadband (make is shorter) it can be quite accurate as well, but not tight enough for pattern.

That said, it is not as accurate as the JR servos or Futaba servos especially.

The JR 8411 metal gear is a good servo but develops slop quickly which greatly reduces accuracy. Giant scale planes should NOT use nylon-gear servos (i.e. 8411sa or 9411sa). They use metal gear servos exclusively.

If you want to save money, the JR 821 servo is very good (in the short term) at around $30, although the gears will need to be replaced at 150 - 200 flights in a pattern plane.

Jeff Boyd 2

I am keen to know for sure . . but as far as I am aware, there was not ONE entry at the World F3A Championships using Hitec. I stand to be corrected here .

I think Hitec is a great product for it's application. I also think that Hitec may have even led the way for the highest torque composite and/or metal/titanium geared servos, making them a VERY popular choice for giant scale aerobats. It is also possible that "scale" aerobatics by nature of the design, combined with the large scale, makes them less sensitive to servo accuracy/resolution when compared to the design of F3A planes, and with the flying precision required.

JR and Futaba have long been the leaders in this area.

Having said that, there is a lot of top IMAC pilots using JR and Futaba equipment, and if asked, I am sure they will say that it is because they can feel the difference when they fly . . funny that . . . I think that's a marketing slogan, as I recall

Cheers, JB

AmericanSpectre505

Hello Guys,

I have used Hitec digital servos for years, especially in IMAC. And many,....many IMAC guys use Hitec servos. I am using the HITEC servos in my pattern/IMAC birds,5955,5625,5645,5245 mini digitals and they all work very well and are very precise. I have used and still use Futaba and JR servos and they are great servos,...no doubt! I think most guys that fly Futaba and JR are seeking to be brand specific with respect to the transmitter brands they fly with (Futaba, JR and Airtronics). You will not find any top pilots using Hitec servos usually due to sponsorship commitments or other political reasons. Plus, in the past Hitec would not provide sponsorship for servos only.

The only well known pilot I know of that was sponsored using Hitec servos was also using a Multiplex transmitter and he is not from the USA. I believe if Hitec had a "top of the line" radio that would compare to the Major name brands today we might see more pilots flying with them.

If money is an issue, the Hitec are great either way. However, if you can afford the major name brand equipment by all means keep it the same! In pattern the problem you will find, which was already stated, most guys don't use them. So, if you get yourself in a pinch at a contest and need a gear or a servo arm, etc...........have some spares because no one else will.

Example:I switched from Airtronics equipment in 2003, great stuff, but the local hobby shop didn't carry it, Tower didn't carry much and I became frustrated one day and ordered a Futaba 9ZWC2 and never looked back (the dominate radio brand in our local club).

Opinions will vary, this is only my opinion, so good luck!

Bill Holsten
Dist#2

can773

My Feedback: (1)

I think you are referring to Bernd Berschorner correct?

AmericanSpectre505

Yes Sir Chad!

Will we see you in Muncie this July?


Bill Holsten
Dist#2

can773

My Feedback: (1)

Absolutely!! Only three weeks until I leave!

AmericanSpectre505

Have not decided if I'm going yet,.........not much flying for me thus far.[:@] Will see how the flying goes at the contest this weekend with the new used bird (partner). I would like to fly with you guys this year, mechanical issues took me out be last year on day one.[:'(]

Best Regards,
Bill Holsten
Dist#2
FAI/F3A

can773

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Bill

Still plenty of time for practice I just test flew my new Integral yesterday that I plan on flying....3 weeks should be plenty to work out the bugs lol!

djr1007

MHO, unless your in the F3A championship, I'd bet the majority of us couldn't tell the difference at our skill level. So why spend the money? It's like stereo speakers, go up in quality until you can't hear the difference, and stop there.

Chris Moon

My Feedback: (8)

Case in point: I know of 2 intermediate class flyers personally in the last year who were having lots of problems getting their planes to trim out reliably. The planes would never center the same. Both had HiTec servos. They both ended up changing out the servos - one with JR and one with Futaba. They both said what a huge difference the servos made - so you don't need to be an F3A champ to tell. Not trying to bash HiTec, they just are not as precise as some others. Some can tell, maybe others can't. If there was any benefit of HiTec servos to be had over the JR and Futaba ones, people would be using them all of the time in pattern to get the best performance and possibly an edge over the competition. If HiTec comes out with a great precise servo we can use then I would bet they would sell lots of them, but right now they don't have what we need.

Russmall

So, which JR or Futaba servos do the pattern guy's use? I'm a beginning pattern flyer (Intermediate) and would like to set up my plane, FocusII, as precisely as possible. And yes, I'm currently using Hitec's. If switching servos will help me improve, I'll do it....RS

jlkonn

My Feedback: (1)

This is the second season on my Focus II.
I am using the following:
2 Futaba 9650's for elevator, one on each half
2 JR9411SA for aileron, one in each wing
1 JR DS368BB for throttle
1 Airtronics 94758 on rudder as a trial, works good so far for about 280 flights.
JLK

Jason Arnold

It would seem that Hitec is listening..

Hitec's best servo just got better. Based on the powerhouse HS-5955TG servo the HS-7955TG has the added benefit of our G2 second generation programmable digital circuit. This new circuit has twice the resolution of our original circuit while adding programmable overload protection. The HS-7955TG has been designed for the most demanding hobby applications including the largest aircraft and monster trucks. Featuring a titanic 333oz./in. of torque at 6.0 volts, all this power is harnessed by incorporating the industries first Titanium gears for incredible wear resistance and two strong hardened steel gear pins and axial brass bushing in the servo case.

Cheers
Jason.

apereira

KGSS28,

I have been using Hitec for years, I used the HS-225 with great results in my old ZEN 120 (YS120AC), very precise even being an analog servo, a friend of mine got the digital equivalent 5225 I think, I reprogramed his servos for maximun accuracy (Dead band = 1), but it was not accurate enogh, so he had to swicth to JR3421 eventually, there is really a difference, and he could tell the difference on the way the aircraft was flying.

Most people in these forums are ussually parcialized on brands, I have JR and Hitec (about 42 Hitecs and 40 JRs), but for my F3A models I only use JR, some very nice Futaba servos can not take 6V and I only use 6V, but if budget is a determining factor for you, go with the Hitecs, they are very good servos, and whenever possible, switch them to JR, that's the way my friend did and it was the way to go for him at the time, if budget is not an issue, then go to JR or Futaba directly, they worth the money in presicion, unless a pilot really sucks, the difference in the flying is really noticable, especially in snaps.

Hope this helps

Regards

can773

My Feedback: (1)

Apereira

Which Futaba servos cannot take 6V? In my years of using Futaba I have used, 9151, 9252, 9150, 9154, 9650, 9602, 9351, 9155, BLS 351, BLS 451, all of them running on a 6V regulator, never once a problem (knock on wood).

Futaba marketing states not for 6V, but they are meaning a 5 cell NiXX pack unregulated which can get up to 7V+. A regulated 6V system is perfectly acceptable for virtually all servos made, except maybe some tail rotor ones.

I just want to make sure you are not passing up good servos that you could be using with your setup.

Jon Wold

I'm gonna use all hitec in my new 2-meter (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerowol...95522/sizes/o/ ). I'm all for buying brand servos (JR/Graupner is my preferred choice) but the amount of money I have to give for a 8411 is just ridiculous. Price/value is obviously a deciding factor for most people. Another factor for me was the Hitec gives me some great (big!) control horns included in the price. I can't belive I payed as much as I did for my 8311 Graupner servo and only got the same horns with the servo as I did 25 years ago when I started with R/C cars and a graupner radio.

I've used Hitec servos for 17 years (the span of my flying career) and the quality is far better than the cheap price implies. So that makes the brand stand on its own as far as analog servos are concerned. Now that digis are all the rage, the other brands years of experience are not worth much since they all started with a clean slate when it came to digis, and I must say Hitec are by far the most innovative manufacturer now.

What angers me is that manufacturers are slo to pick up on battery trends. 7,4 volts (2s lipo) should be handled by any servo directly but so far only Dymond (modellhobby.de) does so.

AmericanSpectre505

Hello guys,

The important think here is to simply provide an open honest opinion for those looking for answers here. The post has mixed results, which is a good thing. Most of us on here have had mixed results with products that have been mentioned,....some good,...some not so good. I personally have had great luck with "all" of the older and newer servos (Futaba, Hitec, JR and Airtronics) and for the guys just starting pattern flying. My only advise to the new guys, is to remeber that servo selection should be based on the application in which you intend to use it.

I think perhaps the Futaba 6 volt question was raised because Futaba does not list in the spec. chart 6 volts for some of the servos. I know years ago I was running 9206's in my 40% Cap and was told by the Futaba Rep. in the area at the time not to run them on 6 volts. However,..Mr. Kirk Gray and I (God bless his soul) both ran these servos on our Caps for may years with out any issues on Duralite 7.4 volts regulated, just an example.

P.S: Chad,...let me know how you like the new bird,...getting ready to order 2.


Best regards,

Bill Holsten
Dist#2

KGSS28

Thank you all for the responses and time. Now all I have to do is decide.

LGM Graphix

My Feedback: (22)

Where is the huge price difference people are talking about, a JR8611A from Horizon is $114.95, a Hitec 5955 (comparable servo) is $114.95 from Horizon. The most expensive JR servo I can find is the 8711 at $139.95. That is way overkill for a pattern plane though, so I won't compare that one. As for Hitec, sure there are cheaper servo's in the 56XX series, but those servo's stink for centering. Even if you go to the Hitec 5985, it's still $89.95. In a pattern plane with 5 servo's, that's a $125 difference between JR and Hitec. For an airplane where precision counts, I wouldn't cheap out on $125 difference in servo's, particularly when a cheap airframe is minimum $350 alone. Your airplane will only fly as good as your thumbs and your equipment will allow, in most cases the pilots thumbs are the weak link, so why not give yourself every advantage you can with good equipment.
The way I look at it, that $125 difference is at most a 10% difference in the final cost of a cheap airplane, hardly worth it if you ask me. The 56XX series hitecs are cored motors which will never have the centering of a coreless motor so if you're looking at those servo's, be sure to compare them to the JR 821's or something which again are still less than the hitec at $29.99.

Just my opinion

apereira

Chad,

There are some servos that specifically said not for 6V or something like that, I don't fly Futaba so I can't remember the model, I saw that when deciding if Futaba had a servo for a special aplication I needed and found that, I'm sure you must have more information than me on those models, but they list certain servo model or models not intended for 6V.

The Japanesse team was flying Futaba with 4.8V , 6v will give more holding power for 4 strokes, so why not use 6V? I think it was because of that, I will check when possible and post the model if I'm right.

Regards

apereira

Chad,

I looked in the Futaba page and some are listed in the 6V box "n/a", and in towerhobbies(where I saw it, I just remembered) the S9206 says a big " 4.8V only", take a look at it. The S9151 is called specifically for F3A rudder, and look at the note on voltage, Futaba does not recommend to 6V, and please note the "not" is in capital letters.

Regards

Jeff Boyd 2

Yep . . but with torque like that . . no need for ailerons ! ! Just set the linkages up to twist the whole wing . .

can773

My Feedback: (1)

Yes its very misleading IMO. I have ran the 9151 on 6V regulated and know that a lot of others do as well with no issues.

As I understand it, regulated 6V is fine, what they want to avoid is people using unregulated "6V" packs...or in other words a 5 cell NiXX pack which can be over 7V when fully charged.