OK. I am a complete newbie and have only visited a local club once. At the moment, I'm finding it difficult to find the time to get back down there but I am definately keen to get into rc planes and have a couple of kits waiting to be built which I will hopefully start this week. I have decided to buy a Futaba 7C and get it shipped over from Tower Hobbies. I have tried getting one locally but once again not having much luck (either way too expensive, not in stock or LHS won't reply to emails or calls) so I'm going to bite the bullet and just get one sent over and hope Ilike it. With the Aussie dollar the way it is at the moment and the Tower Hobbies discounts it will work out a lot cheaper anyway. My question is though, which combination to buy? I want to get servos with it for my SIG LT-40 and also a set for my Mid Star 40 as well as an extra receiver. I guess the question I really want answered is what are the cheapest servos which will do the job properly for me? Both planes will be using 4 servos each. I plan on upgrading the batteries and buying a charger later but for now I will just convert the included charger to 240 volts (don't panic - I'm an electrician).

Just to clarify - I am getting a Futaba because that is what the majority of guys at the club fly and I need to buddy up with them. Please don't try and talk me in to getting something else. I have done a bit of research and it is a pretty good radio in my price range. Cheers.

Wazz, are you sure your radio doesn't come with servos? Usually they do come with the radio package.... depending on how /what you bought from Tower

If not, servos offered for that radio package... the S-3004 servos will be fine for that plane.

I know you're just getting started but I would say to buy a little better servo that would easily handle a 90 or 120 size plane. At some point you will probably want a 60 size, maybe a 90 size and you will look at that money spent on just getting by on a 40 size as thrown away.

At least that is how my growth in the hobby was.... I bought many things over and over as I went larger. Wish someone would have mentioned this to me.

Now about the radio..... jk


Good luck,
Steve

They sell it with just a receiver ($280) or with S3152 servos ($350) or S3004 servos ($320). I probably should have put that in the original post. I might just go with the S3004s then? Thanks.

You'll have absolutely no problems with those servos.. even with a common .60 sized plane in the future.


BTW, Congrats to you on your choice of radio..... A well thought out and educated decision for the protection and longevity of your investment. ... whew! I had to come up for air on that one. [8D]

Thanks Mike!

Futaba 3004 servos work fine for 40-60 size airplanes.

However, I've been flying these planes since 1973 and found out my 4 channel radios will make my planes fly just as well as any 6 or 7 channel radio will.

The only programming I have to do on my 4 channel radios is turning it off or on and setting the trim levers.

As a beginner, if you don't have that Futaba 7C programmed right, you can kiss your plane goodbye!

Whether you're an electrician or not!

big dan

My son is learning to fly and I am relearning after years of absence.

I got an Arising Star trainer and set it up with my Futaba 6 channel FASST. Flew pretty well.

I was new to programmable radios but the Futaba guru at my club set it up with 30% exponential and dual rates. Amazingly smooth now. The expo does dampen our tendency to over control and I like to click to higher rate to try a few tricks.

Tom

Wazz won't have that problem. He's getting a radio equipped with digital trims (very desireable), servo travel adjustment, exponential capabilities (if he chooses to use, or his instructor recommends)

To put it terms for a newbie to the hobby... it's like using an 8-Track tape player (4 channel basic) vs. a CD player (wazz's new 7-C).

Big Dan - I appreciate your comments but the problem we have here in Australia is the cost.  I will use the 7C as an example seems that's what I am buying.  The cheapest I can find it here at a place within driving distance is $350 AU and that is without servos.  Plus they don't have them in stock anyway and that particular shop has lost my business due to lack of customer service ie) replying to emails and phone calls.   The next cheapest from memory was about $355 but again no stock.  Servos are $19 each which adds up to $426 with four servos.

With the Tower Hobbies discounts I can get the same thing delivered for $306  so you can see the savings.  Now if I order a cheaper radio, the savings aren't as great due to the shipping costs so that's why I am going for the 7C and not the 6EX.  I figured I may as well "future proof" myself just a little bit?

Just did some more maths and with Tower Hobbies with the discounts I can get the 7C, 3 receivers and 12 servos for $504.23.   The same gear but with the 6EX instead of the 7C would cost me $469.23.  So I personally think it is woth spending the extra $35.

Thanks for your comments peoples!!!

Wazzbat,

I would offer the advise to get the 7C package with the S3004 servos. These are ideal for planes up to 60 size.
Besides,  I  never strip servos out of  a plane to fit into a new plane. If I buy a new plane I buy servo's suitable for that plane.
Your trainer is ne plane you will probably have around for a while after you've solo'd. I keep mine around because after I pass my instructors test I Will need a complete plane to teach people on.

Once you are ready to move on, then buy the electronics pack from Tower for your next project. This includes reciever, battery pack, servos and switch.
Also if I sell a plne, I sell them with Servo's, Makes it more attractive for a potential buyer since they can always buy their own ARF can;t they. I sell my planes as Ready to Fly

Thats why radios are shipped with instruction manuals to aid the user in correctly setting up a model.

Beside 4 channel radios offer noting other than basic control, not even a timer which the 7C has.

the 4 Channel Futaba is also not a FASST transmitter and therefore once he is done with his trainer he will have no use for the Tx. Ok so this was your choice and there are factors that obviously led to you making that choice. Wazzbat is chosing the FASST7C. Help with servo options for that choice please.

just for your information you do not have to stay strictly with futaba servos with your radio system. hitech servos and jr servos are wired the same and will work in all brands of recievers. you might have to remove a keyway slot to fit things together but electrically they are the same. I have had better luck with gear trains on hitech servos.

Thanks for the heads up rlipsett!

G'day I'm with rlipset too. I must have about 150 servos. Most are Hitec. I have found them to be readily available, good quality and a good price. I think they are handled by Model Engines here in Oz. I also have a few Futaba and JR servos but have had less problems with Hitec. The HS-422 is a good cheap all round servo for trainers etc. Its ball bearing version - the HS-425 is an excellent all round servo for up to 60 size models. The HS-485 give more torque at a good price and the HS-645 is great where you really need some grunt. The little HS-55 and HS-81 are what I use in small electrics.

Hitec, and JR use the same plug while the Futaba plug has a spline on it but other than that they are electrically the same.

Have fun.

Mike in Dubbo.

Waz

I went with Hitec 425BB servos for my LT40 based on recommendations from folks here. But I'm guessing if you go with the futaba 7C radio bundle you'll get a better price and it will include a rx battery as well. Wasn't really an option for me as the transmitter i got didn't have a servo bundle option.

Cool.  On another note, does anyone know if the charger for the 7C can charge the receiver battery?  Do the batteries have the same plug?

I'm just weighing up all my options at the moment and I still have a lot of things to buy so I am trying to sort of prioritise a bit.  I might end up getting the Tx locally now.  I found a better price finally.  But I might still order some flight packs or servos through Tower???  I change my mind every day at the moment - And yes - I am a guy, not a gal.   One of my biggest problems is trying not to let the wife catch on about how much this is all really costing us!  I'll have to be a bit sneaky about how I go about it.

Cheers

wazzbat,
You really should post that question out in the forum in it's own thread. This one has a title and subject that directs everyone coming her at servos as the topic. You'll get better response by not burying your transmitter/battery question in a thread about servos. And all the people who came here to read about servos will get what they came for. Starting a thread takes no time at all.

The charger will charge both the reciever battery if its a 4.8V NimH or NICAD and it will charge the Tx battery supplied with the bundle.

I would still opt for the bundle with servo's and batteries. If this is your first plane it just minmises the hassle of having to run around with finding servo's.

I have nothing against HiTec servos though, its just that you're buying a Tx, may as well get teh bundle and get everything at a greatly reduced cost.

Once you move on from this plane then I'd start trying out different servo brands. For a trainer it makes little difference what servo's you use. I have Tower Pro S5010 servo's in my trainer. They were cheap and ths far reliable.I use Futaba, JR and Hyperion servo's on my planes now simply because they're what I can buy a my LHS. HITEc is nowhere to be seen. KISS when starting out.

Yes, the wall charger that comes with the 7C will charge both the transmitter and receiver batteries at the same time, or separately. The transmitter lead wire on the charger has a round plug that goes directly into the transmitter and the other lead wire on the charger has a flat end that plugs into your receiver battery or into the charge receptical wire on your on/off switch if your batteries are already installed in your model.

big dan

Thanks guys.

Sorry da Rock - I didn't want to block up site with another simple little question which was answered in just a couple of posts. 

G'day

One small problem. You live in Australia. We use 240 Volt mains. If you buy the system from Tower it will almost certainly come with a 110 Volt charger. You will most probably have to buy another charger here. They cost about $25 so it is not a great deal. I recently bought a Hitec radio and it came with a charger which has a reversible plug on its end and a second plug to fit JR radios.

Batteries and servos use the same connector. On the receiver there will be a row of three pin connectors - one row for each channel and one for the battery. You can plug the battery into any of the three pin connectors though (so long as you get it the right way round). The power connectors on each three pin connector are all connected together in a BUSS.

Transmitters do not all use the same charging connector. JR and Futaba use different polarities on their transmitter connectors and although the connectors look similar they are slightly different as well. Most transmitters are protected with a diode so that if you do plug in the wrong type, it simply does not work (led does not light). Some people used to remove the diode so thay could cycle the battery (discharge and then recharge) in the transmitter but this is not smart. Better to remove the battery if you want to do this but that is another story.

The chargers that come with most radios charge the receiver battery and the receiver battery at the same time. Usually there are two LEDs which are on when the charger is connected and working. They do not go out when the battery is charged. These are dumb chargers. They typically charge at 50 to 150 mA and take 14 hours to charge a fully flat battery. They will usually charge both 4.8 (4 cell) and 6.0 (5 cell) packs as they are constant current chargers but they are usually designed so that if you leave then connected for ever, they won't do serious damage to your batteries.

There are lots of smarter chargers out there. The Swallow EQ AC/DC is a good general purpose charger which is easy to use. I have been using the DC (12 volt) version for ages and recently bought the more versatile AC/DC version with the inbuilt LiPo balance charger.

I do not fast charge my receiver and transmitter packs. Many people do but I find the slower longer charge is more reiable.

Another useful tool is a battery tester. I have an ancient Thunder Tiger analogue expanded scale voltmeter which works well on 4 cell packs and 8 cell transmitter packs but there are many more modern equivalents out there. These devices load the battery and then measure its voltage under load.

Have fun finding out all the stuff you need to know.

Cheers

Mike in Dubbo