beavertail

Has anyone had a really consistent bad expierience with Hi tec. Ive heard good and bad things about them. I fly JR exclusively, but I could do alot more with my money with Hi tec. Until then ill stick to what has been good to me.

thanks
joey

rhakkenberg

Joey,
I've got nothing bad to say about Hitec. I really like the 59 series dig. servos. Like you said more for your money. I also notice alot of gas buddies w/8411 and excessive play in the servo gear causing a "jumping' control surface when idling on the ground.
my $.02
Rich

moses

Ahhhh ... how reliable are Hitec servos given their aggressive pricing and impressive specifications? A question we all have pondered about at least once. Unfortunately, we will never get a definitive answer to that question.

Even if Hitec reliability was statistically not as good as JR ... statistics don't apply very well to a single individual. Every company has some servo failures. Hitec says their failure rate is similar to the other brands. And what can we conclude from all the post relating to servo failures? The only thing that I could conclude was that sometimes servos fail.

In any event I have quite a few Hitec servos. They were just too darn attractive to pass up. I'm going to try them out and see how they hold up.

Hitec seems to be the only company aggressively pursuing the mid price servo market (the $30 - $60 range). Somebody over there at Hitec knows an opportunity when they see one.

So far so good with a set of five 5625 digitals in my AK Models 3D Freedom ... about 20 - 30 flights. I also have a set of four 545BBs in my Goldberg Extreme 330 ... also working fine.

As luck would have it, I also have a set of HS-81MG servos (micro) on my Pizza Box ... only one flight so far ... they seem to work fine as well.

My current theory is to keep a lot of planes in the hangar ... you know ... risk diversification. Sooner or later something is going to break.

Moses

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

I've used Hitec receivers and 5645s, and just picked up some HS-81MGs. I've got no hesitations about using their products. I've heard some spotty things about their very low-end servos, but I've got no experience with them.

beavertail

the negative things ive heard are mainly about the lower end digitals, (5645).

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

Well... yes. I purchased over 30 Hitec servos of various types in the last three years. I had a high first hour failure rate and was bitten by the "software" error. Mike at Hitec convinced me to buy some digitals since I was unhappy with the high end Hitec analogs... damn near lost a $1800 plane because someone at Hitec can't write software programs that work. That was the last straw for me. Needless to say, I sold all my Hitec gear and swore off the company for good. But that's me. Not related to servos, but I've noticed that every time a Hitec Eclipse 7 radio is turned on it splatters crap all over the spectrum for a split second... wonderful. Some think a servo is great because it always moved the right direction... others care a little bit more about the details. I know many that use Hitec and love it. Based on listed torque and price Hitec is hard to beat. But if you expect a lot from your equipment, there are better brands in my humble opinion... and it is just that... my opinion.

easymoney

joey

What do you think... if somebody had a loss of more than $500 due to Hitec servo failure then will he try that again...

For my case I WILL NEVER TRY Hitec AGAIN even if they start giving servos FREE .

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

I'm on the other side of the fence on this Hitec quandary. I have well over 100 Hitec digitals. Recently been experimenting with the 5600 series non-coreless digitals. I expect a lot from servos, thus far I am very happy... I have never had any problems, haven't lost a model, no software issues... I highly recommend them... My flying buddies and I have been using them with Futaba and JR equipment.

There are many that have problems with Hitec servos, specifically the 5600 series has been plagued with problems, supported by the number of problems I have seen expressed here at RCU... Apparently there were/are some issues that have been resolved. I also believe many user's have had problems with the application, installation and implementation of these servos. There have been situations where servo extensions, wyes, servo connectors, manufacturer specific RX signal degradation, power supplies and so fourth that have been thrown into the mix of the reported failures, all of which were the actual problem.

Consider the numbers of these units Hitec sales compared to others. I am sure they are very high, it makes sense that you hear of more user problems with any item that is sold on a four or five to one basis as compared to all the rest. I didn't just make up this number either my LHS, which is HUGE suggested this based on their sales. The guys that have problems with the other's just don't voice it, they accept. It's normal... Remember the numbers are small in comparison to units sold.

I'll go one step farther, I fly mostly GS Aerobat's with some racers, helis and scale stuff thrown in to the mix. With my GS Aerobats we've damaged, wore out, burned up numerous examples of the other major players digital offerings... I calculated it once about a year ago approximately a 17% failure rate as compared to none with the Hitec's... In defense of the other guys it seems like they too, have finally worked through their deficiencies.

I like the ability to program the Hitec's operating parameters, the unconditional gear train warranty, [have not worn any out yet though], cost and the incredible service I have received when I crash damage Hitec stuff.

Ikaros

My experience from Hitec gear is mostly positive.

I had a Challenger 720 that I used extesivly. Experienced broken control lever wires after a while. It did not cause chrash though because I was lucky.

Had some problems with oxides in servo-reverse switches, cured with 5-56 and some switching back and forth.

The double -super reciever worked flawlessly, never even close to a tiny glitch as long as it was feeded with the right voltage.

Servos worked nice too. Oxides on potentiometer races never occoured.

I have a Flash 5X now wich I have operated for 23 hours without any problems so far. Reciever is of another brand so I have no experience with the current Hitec recivers.

I think Hitec is good value for money and the quality is good enough for most needs.

Cheers,
Ikaros

rcflier_gi

My Feedback: (2)

Monkeyboy,
I have always had good luck with the Hitecs I have used over the years. I hope the five 945s I purchased from you are OK. Did these have problems (I have yet to use them but will be doing so this spring) or are they just part of your Hitec sell off ? Please let me know before I risk my plane.

Jim

moses

RCU is just an awesome thing. Within 12 hours you have before you pretty much all of the issues covered and explained in detail.

I think for most folks without specific personal knowledge about Hitec products, it is all about their level of risk tolerance. You hear the good and the bad. You know the pricing is attractive. You see the specifications are pretty awesome. You also know that it is possible that the reliability may be slightly lower in exchange for lower manufacturing costs. It could be higher, it could be lower - who knows.

You also know that you might never have a Hitec or JR or Futaba servo fail in your entire life. Or your next ten servos could fail in rapid succession. There is nothing you or I could do to change this fact.

For me, I can currently accept the loss of a plane or two due to servo failure. It would be upsetting, but I think I could accept it. But my planes are not that expensive.

Once you start talking about giant scale (i.e., expensive) stuff, all bets are off. At that point, you want to buy the absolute most reliable stuff on the market. The most reliable engine, receivers, batteries, control linkages, wiring .... everything. You want that extra .0001% reliability, and you should pay for it.

If I were to ever build something big and expensive (say 30% or larger) I would probably feel compelled to seek the most reliable servo I could find. But for now I am ducking that question cause I don't know how answer it.

Moses

edit: To summarize I use and like Hitec a lot. I trust them with the type of planes that I currently fly. In fact I always check their product line first when planning a new plane (even though I use a Futaba radio) ... I just don't know who I would trust if I ever reach that "expensive" threshold.

Crashem

I got to agree with moses. After hearing all the problems with Hitec digital servos and hearing what users with problems had to say about Hitec. I decieded to go with the better safe then sorry approach. Airtronics has never (knock on wood) let me down so I stuck with them.

Maybe I'll use hitec servos on the cheap planes that I don't care about crashing in the future.

On the other hand if Hitec could provide an explanation for what happened to cause these failures and show us what they did to fix the problem I might be interested in giving them another chance.
All I've ever heard is how low the failure rate is no one from hitec to my knowledge has even admitted that there is/was a problem. To me that position is all I need to justify spending my money elsewhere. I'm not asking hitec or any manufacturer for Perfection in the way of zero defects just honesty when they happen. I realize that any acknowledgment of defects could leave the company open to law suits, but hey I'd at least trust them enough to remain a customer as it is know finding out that a hitec product is part of a package immediately makes me search out an alternative

Ikaros

Some guy in my country chrached a Turbine model because he's "state of the art" transmitter worth about $1500 decided it wanted to have a software failure.

If I flew a model worth $ 6000, I would have my son standing by with an auxiliary transmitter and I would use double recievers, controlling left/right side of aircraft.

Maybe I would also have a parashute system.

You cannot buy brains yet, thank god.

Cheers,
Ikaros

MikeMayberry

My Feedback: (1)

I completely agree with the above statement. While there are electronic component that can cause a servo to fail, there are also other factors. I have read on this board and others that a 5645 locked to one side only to have the same person post that the problem was solved and the Y-harness was the problem.

Mike.

beavertail

As I sit here and try to sift through all the go- no go stuff about hi tec, ive heard of these failures and also about them lasting for years. I cant help but stay away from them for now, I want to give them a chance, but i just cant risk my planes. i learned early on in this hobby that we usually get what we pay for, time and time again.

Thanks for all the input

Wouldnt we all feel better if these companies would recall stuff, like car companies do. JR just did with the 8411, and that just makes me feel better.

rcflier_gi

My Feedback: (2)

I've been flying since 1988. I have owned a two Focus 4, a Focus 6, two Flash 5, two Prism 7 and an Eclipse. I have had Hitec servos too numerous too count. In all those years I have had one Hitec servo fail. It was an $8 standard HS-300, a throttle servo in a profile plane. The position of the servo was directly in line with the exhaust, at the end of each flight the servo would be coated in exhaust residue. I knew it was only a matter of time before it would fail. No matter what brand of servo none would have survived long in that kind on environment.

beavertail

nevermind

JL1

My Feedback: (93)

I have a lot of Hitec stuff, servos and receivers, and have been using it for about 5 years in scale, aerobatic and combat models. I have had no failures other than stripped gears after a couple of crashes. I also have a multiplex 4000 I have had for two years with four failures, two Rx and two Tx. I have no fear of any of the hitec stuff. my biggest concern, now that Hitec has purchased Multiplex, is that the Hitec equipment will become less reliable. :-)

beavertail

Ive heard great things about Multiplex, hope Hi tec will keep a good thing going and bring them into the mainstream U.S. market

flyinglow

My Feedback: (2)

I have numerous digital and analog hitec servos (all less then 2 years old) never had a failure with them. my 2c.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Beaver

There is a great deal of documented occurrences with specific relation to wyes and extensions... I am aware of several circumstances from users that have been using these servos for substantial amounts of flight time that experienced the transition to endpoint and subsequent lock. Others realize it right away. The scenario has been duplicated on the bench... There are of course other situations of which this was not a contributing factor.

Not all wyes, connectors and extensions are created equal... Herein lies the problems. Whether you choose to recognize this or not is a personal choice.

Not all users properly setup and or install their equipment correctly. This again is well documented. Many modeler's are stepping into larger aircraft which require a new mind-set with relation to rigging the airframes. The new digital technology has had it share of bugs, of which seem to have been addressed. The rest is up to the user... Time and time again I have seen poorly setup aircraft, computer radio's improperly utilized and more. Typically the user's see's the problems as equipment related when in reality its user applied or implemented deficiencies.

Unless you have had specific experience and direct knowledge of the installation and problems purported to be equipment inadequacies or whatever, your just passing along HERE-SAY . Which at best is meaningless without the facts, thus perpetuating the so called "STIGMA" . Many of us have been using Hitec equipment with great success and confidence. You'll find there are many more ACTUAL success stories than the latter. The number of units sold supports this assertion... Modeler's with success stories typically don't come on-line and flood the forums, its the small percentage that have problems that come to the forums.

Everyone decides for themselves which equipment is best for them. JR, like Hitec is not perfect... This is true of all manufacturer's. My personal experience has proven this to me time after time, servo after servo...

A.T.

Having just read the previous posts, I may have gained an incorrect impression, but reading between the lines it appears that Beavertail started this thread (and responded another 4 times in similar vein) simply to knock Hitec or to satisfy a personal agenda - to justify the purchase or sales of another brand? If I am mistaken, then I sincerely apologise for my opinions.
I own a number of different RC systems and model types and have experienced absolutely no difference in reliability between Hitec, JR, Futaba, Acoms, Airtronics etc. ALL brands have displayed periodic failures except that for aircraft I now prefer to use the Hitec Eclipse TX (good feel, easiest to read screen and no need for more than seven channels) and HFD-08RD receivers.
(FWIW, I own in excess of 20 aircraft, weighing from a few grams to 35+ lbs plus cars, boats, tanks etc equipped with a large mixture of servo and receiver brands.)
regards
Alan T.

4*60

My Feedback: (41)

Beavertail "Has anyone had a really consistent bad expierience with Hi tec" You seem to be the main negative here. So I guess the answer is "NO"!

cassidy

My Feedback: (5)

I have about 30 of their servos and 12 of their receivers. Been using their RX and servos with Kraft, Hitec, Jr and Futaba Txs. Never had a problem that I could blame on them. If you have a problem (mine were my fault due to crashes) their service is FAST and usually without Charge.
I think they are great and while I would not go near Multiplex before , I now eagerly await the Wram and Toledo shows so that I can look them over.
If the Multiplex reliability and customer service ever approaches the level of HITEC then it will be a major seller in the USA.

beavertail

Listen guys, I admit that I am just passing on information that I have recieved, I am not a Hi tec basher per say, I will say that this STIGMA, sure wasnt created by me. I do not have "years of expierience" using Hi tec stuff to say that Hi tec is a reliable company., What I am trying to do is just to get an HONEST opinion on why so many people who fly other radio companies dont have people telling me NOT to give them a chance I fly JR and Futaba just because I know these are reliable.
I would like to give Hi tec a chance, the prices are great, and I could do so much more with my money if I used them.

P.S. calm down kids