Guys, I know this must sound like a super "blonde" question..(mind you..I AM blonde), but I am planning on getting a katana V2 70 in the next few months. Is there a reason why I would go with 6V setup over 4.8V??
I think some servo's act quicker with a 6V power source, and might deliver little more strenght as well (please correct me if this is wrong though). I am planning on getting some Hitec metal gear high torque servo's and think it might be more feasible to go with a 6V setup. Would you guys please educate me and explain why I should or should not go with either 4.8 or 6V setup??

As always...thank you so much for your help

I use 6.0 volts always. More power and speed to the servos. Downside is that you also use more energy, so you need 20% more capacity than at 4.8 volts. So you have a little more weight (perhaps one ounce). Theoretically, the servos might wear out a little faster, since they are using more power. I've never worn out a servo anyway.

you said it in your post, stronger and faster is why i changed
i too would like to hear more reasons.

im still a newbie and all and i just no enough to get me in trouble.i recently bought a 9303 jr tx and rx came with it allso 4 digital servos.im to lazy to go look at the exact numbers.but anyway i needed 1 more standard servo for my alpha 40 arf build so i had to use the allmighty digital servo in a trainer plane.i no it doesnt need it but it was handy at time.boy is the digital servo so much faster than standard servos.thinking bout slowing it down on my tx are my trainer plane is gonna start hovering r something i dont want it to do.if u havent tryed digital and if ur wanting speed i suggest trying them.there price tag is kinda big tho.and i heard there really for giant rc airplanes.

Just curious, but how is your trainer going to start hovering with the addition of a digital servo? If thats all it takes to make planes hover, then heck, I'm going to put one in all my planes!

Torque is the main reason we go 6V. Any given servo will output more torque at a higher voltage. That is IF the servo is designed to run on 6 volts. A lot of servos are not designed to run on 6V so you have to do your homework and make sure that the servo is designed to operate at 6V. Only bad thing is that 6 volts requires regulators and if you stay NiCad or NiMH you end up with a MUCH heavier battery pack. With more torque comes more current drain so those 5 cell packs need higher capacities and it just piles on the weight. Bottom line, in a plane less than say 11 pounds you dont need 6V. There are servos out there that operate well at 4.8V and put out plenty of torque like the Futaba 9202 or 9303's or whatever their new designation is... In your average sport or 40-60 size 3D plane you dont even need that much, about 60-75 in/oz is plenty on 4.8V.

We use 6V in our giant scale aerobatic planes because we need more powerful servos and lots of them. I am running 9 servos in my newest 35% Extra 260 8 of those are Hitec 9151 Titanium geared servo's. They put out 333oz of torque [8D] at 6V and I need every bit of it. I run this on 2 4400mah Lithium Ion (this powers servos, receiver and ignition) Battery packs from www.Fromeco.org . These guys sell some fantastic Lithium packs at a great price. Dont let people scare you away from LIthium Ion either, they are becoming more and more widely trusted by serious competitive RC hobbyist. They are lighter and mah for mah will last about twice as long on a charge than NiMH or NiCad. The Fromeco packs are holding up too. To give you a rough comparison.. on a charge with 5 cell NiMH packs I can get 3 flights and I must recharge. On 1 4400mah LIon pack I can get as many as 12 flights and then I only recharge because Im afraid not to. [8D]

lol, if that were all it took to hover, I wouldnt have to do anything but takeoff and I couldnt do anything BUT hover.

Btw, I recently bought some batteries from here: [link=http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=156]www.all-battery.com[/link]
Their 6.0 V airborne packs are pretty much the same size and weight as the 4.8 V pack that came with my Hitec transmitter. Check them out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Best think you can do is to go with the 6 volts system plus a 5.9 voltage regulator to keep it at 6 volts to protect your small servos and the receiver, the 5 cell packs are not 6 volt packs as the can go up to 7.5 volts when they are at its best and could damage your small servos and most important the receiver, the regulator will also make your battery last longer, when you run the servos at 6 volts your are getting the maximum performance out of the servos.

Hope this helps.

Have fun flying

I've used 6v battery packs for many years with NO regulators required. You get 20% more power and speed and about 20% less flying time.

Our electronic equipment can handle a fully charged 6v pack easily. ALL electronics are built with "overhead". That is, an RX rated for 4.8v doesn't have 4.8v components. Standard electronic parts are rated for standard voltages like 15, 24, etc., which are usually higher than the voltage used by the device they're in.

Dr.1

Some, not all, Futaba servos are limited to 4.8V input. IIRC, this is mostly limited to their less expensive "sport" digitals, and I'm not sure exactly where the limitation came from, but it is called out on their spec sheet.

You're right, BUZZ, digitals are another story entirely.

Dr.1

True.

I think I can safely say, that unless you are into high performance, you won't notice that much of a difference. I've only flown on 4.8Vs, so I don't have a view from both sides, but I will say that 4.8 V can make my profile in my avatar do some crazy stuff. I don't think faster response time or more torque would be required. Its a 40 size plane, scratch built if anybody cares.

Actually the flight time only decreases by around 5 or 6 percent.