Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Seems JR has a new answer to the Hitec 5945 and the older JR 8411 with a new Jr 8611 servo. From reading one thread here the report is that its at 240 ounces of torque at 4.8V and 260 ounces of torque at 6.0V. My question now is the people that have already used them... What is there durability compared to the old JR 8411s, do they get sloppy after 30-50 flights or do they hold up? Whats there speed at 6.0V? Is JR going to make a programmer anytime soon like Hitec has or are they going to stick with the Matchboxes.[8D]

Would like to get a little thread going on this new servo and some inside info on it and its new features.

JLB

My Feedback: (2)

Everything is subject to change at this point so take this with the proverbial grain of salt. I believe I read somewhere that the speed on 6V is .16. Reports are that the gears are a different alloy than the 8411 and are holding up well and not developing the slop. JR sounds pretty emphatic that they are sticking with the Matchbox as opposed to a programmer. Their official reason is that the electronics in a programmable servo do not allow the precision they have now. Ok, I've passed on all the info I've dug out but don't know whether to believe or not. I'm about to cut the servo mounts for a new Carden 540 and I think I'll give the 8611 a try by using one per aileron.

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

With the torque they put out and at the speeds they should be a sweet servo and highly popular.

JLB

My Feedback: (2)

They sound absolutely perfect to me. I like the concept of programmable servos and have used some Multiplex servos as an experiment with mixed results. We have several guys in the area that use nothing but Hitec and have great luck. I have tried a few of those also but had nothing but failures with them. I never stray too far from my beloved JR equipment and the 8611 looks like the perfect servo to me. I've got a stash of Matchboxes so I know what I'm doing for next season and I'm lovin' it.

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

Although I am glad there is an alternative to the 8411 situation, I don't see myself investing in the new technology for awhile. There are lots of people like myself that have a rather large collection of the 8411's. I just can't see myself spending new money on a new fleet of servos, even though they will probably be better[]
My first questions to JR were (1) Will there be an exchange program for situations like mine where I am offered a way to upgrade? and (2) Will the current gear replacement policy still be there since there is definitely a situation that needs to be addressed?
Oh well, keep the thread going_bob

JLB

My Feedback: (2)

Those questions were posed to Danny from Horizon and the reply was that there was no program in place for an upgrade path and he was unsure of the status on the current replacement policy. I had several 8411's in heli's and have had them converted to 8311's under the current program. I was about to convert my airplane 8411's to 8311's also when Horizon informed me that they were not to be used on anything larger than a 1.20 sized aircraft as the geartrain wouldn't take the stress. As much as I love JR, this ticked me off as I have a boatload of these things also. I suppose I could buy 5 more helicopters to use them in but that's not what I had in mind. The 8411's were failing frequently in heli's and developing geartrain slop very rapidly in planes so what appeared to be a super servo wasn't that great after all. If the 8611 is as good as it looks and the street price is the same as the 8411 (they said that) I don't see how the 8411 can do anything but disappear. It would have been nice if they would have come out with a reliable replacement gearset for the 8411. Oh well, I still think JR is the best thing on the market so I'll buy a few 8611's for eval and hope for the better days ahead. The good news is that I'll have spare heli servos for a very long time.

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

They have them posted on Horizon's website but no picture yet. List price is lookign at $115. I can't wait to see the feedback from these servos as people get them and how they hold up.

Flyfalcons

What is nice is you should only need one per 35% aileron, so no matchboxes will be required there. You could probably get away with one on the rudder of a 35% as well, so you wouldn't need any matchboxes in the plane.

Forgues Research

My Feedback: (7)

When will they be availlable???

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Ive heard reports of mid Novemeber and sometime this month.

JLB

My Feedback: (2)

I've heard November also. Perfect timing for our winter building season.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

If they are going to compete with Hitec they need to drop the price

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Well I dont know about that... its 80 ounces more torque and around the same speed. Nearly same size and weight. The price is going to be $115 but I have already talked to Minnesota RC and there going to sell them for $100 so thats awesome. Can't really compare the 5945s to these new servos.

JLB

My Feedback: (2)

I agree that they're not competition for the Hitech but a higher quality servo. I've tried to use Hitech's from time to time and I've averaged a 50% failure rate out of the box or with 20 minutes. I know many guys use them successfully but I've written them off forever which is why they don't even enter into the equation for me.

shorthop

I hope they stand up in helicopter use. I think im going to try them on my next helicopter.

Gary Gillis

My Feedback: (66)

Does everyone agree that only (1) JR 8611 servo will be necessary for (1) 33-35% aileron versus (2) servos?

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Have you tried Hitec's HS-5945's, these are comparable to JR's 8411... Failures with these servo are virtually NON existent from what I have experienced, seen and observed... I have nearly one hundred of them in use in various GS aerobatic models.

The 5600 series have had some issues, BUT these are sport digitals with standard 3-pole motors on steroids...

Flyfalcons

Yes, though the biggest concern would be if the aileron is stiff enough for one servo and not flex enough to cause flutter.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I own very little JR equipment. What I have seems to be of good quality. BUT Lately I note that they are advertizing they have servos with 0 deadband. If that is true I sure wouldn't want one. They would run your batteries down in short order.

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

Most of the 8411's I've tested are at least 2us deadband on the HiTech programmer_bob

underwater

I need a servo with at least 150 ounces which can be driven through 180 degrees (or more) with a speed of about 0.2. It must also be small, lightweight and very reliable. If I read the Hitec site the 5945 looks perfect. BUT. I see a lot of bad press about their reliability. Are they really that bad?
Can the JR 8611 be made to go through 180 degrees? What other brands should I be looking at?
Can a hitec programmer work on a JR or Futaba digital servo?
Does JR have a website? I can't find one!
Help with any of the above will be much appreciated
Thanks

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

Go to the horizon site -> http://www.horizonhobby.com/ to find out about JR. Better yet, use the JR radio sub-forum right here on this board. As far as I know, no other servos can be programmed with the HiTech programmer. Take care and good luck_bob

sizam

My Feedback: (6)

The bad press you're reading about are the 5645 servos from 2001, they've fixed the software for those servos and you can update them using the programmer, but thats besides the point since the 5900 series has had no severe complaints. At least the 8611's are out to solve the 8411's slop problem, but they're heavy which is why, when I sold my 8411's I bought up 5925's/45's.

NOTE: I'm not saying the Hitec's are better then JR's, I'm just saying there isn't a problem with the 5900 series and that people often mistake the problems with the 5600s for the 5900s.