mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

i'm considering these servos. i did a search and did find much about failures- a good thing.

so has anybody had any major prolems with these. you know like failing in flight, locking up, going to full deflection and staying, etc. thanks.

adrian-RCU

check this out - http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByC...rodID=JRPS8611

dsnyder

That is not in reference to any type of failures. That is simply an update. All servos after Jan 1st have had the new case top.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

this is a good deal.

i seen they are on back order. any idea when they'll be in?

Mr.3d

My Feedback: (6)

I have 8611's on all surfaces on my Comp. ARF Extra and I can tell you this. The servo on my right elevator has no holding power and the two servos on my rudder don't have any holding power either. This problem developed after approx. 40 flights. So out of 8 servos 3 need repair. Take this as you will but I have some Hitec servos with more flights on them than that and never had any problem and they were half the price as well.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

finally someone with some type of a problem. do you think they are more reliable than Hitecs?

Mr.3d

My Feedback: (6)

I'm at the point now where I'm starting to wonder. Seriously I use Hitec servos now in all my planes except my 1/3 scale and larger. Only reason being I can use 2 8611's in each wing of a 40% aircraft and 1 on each elevator. Savings!!! Also when Hitec perfect their new super torque servo then maybe I will attempt to install them on a larger plane. So for now I think Hitec makes a great servo and for the dollar you can't beat them,you never know you just might see top dog pilots use them in the future. Hope this helps you.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

thaks man.

i need seven servos- 4 for ailerons, 2 for elevators, a 1 for the rudder.
i was going to go with 5645's for the ailerons, and 8611's for the rest. but then i was hearing horror stories of the hitecs locking up.
that's why i started this thread. i would rather spend a little more for quality (if the quality is there) than crash my plane.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

While the HS-5645 is a digital servo it’s a low end sport digital. It most definitely is not a comparable servo to the JR 8411 or 8611. Hitecs HS-5945 would be an excellent choice for your model, this is on par with an 8411, and the 5955TG is comparable to the 8611, while offering more power and a titanium gear train.

In any case problems with lockups are generally associated with installations. These servos require a robust power distribution system and proper mechanical and electronic setup to function correctly. The hard over/lockup is typically realized from electrical losses associated with connectors or as voltage degrades below the minimum threshold while under load. Properly feeding these high power digitals is a must.

Thud_Driver

My Feedback: (1)

My 5645 went hard over, locked up and got very hot while plugged directly to the receiver, with no extensions, lying on the workbench, just a couple minutes out of the box. Hardly an "installation" problem. Otherwise, if you're really concerned about possible servo failures you might run them for an hour or so to get past any infant mortality problems.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

do i need a power block? are seven digitals too much to run through the reciever?

how about 4- 5945's on the ailerons and 2 on the elevators. 1-5955 on the rudder? how would i wire it up?
the servo connectors will be cut off and the extensions soldered on to help eliminate voltage drop.
what about the power block thing? don't want it, if i don't need it.$$$$$$$

i will be running 2 Duralite 4400 mah li-on battery packs. each with their own switch.

Silent-AV8R

I regularly run up to 11large high torque digitals through a single RX.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

There are a few things that come to my mind that might have induced the failure as you describe. First off you may have simply got a BAD servo. I have had two 5600's fail on the bench; this was well over a year ago. There was a run of the 5600 series that were problematic. Overdriving the servo outside the maximum control pulse width has been known to lock-up up the servo; Hitec has since updated the control signal MAX parameters to work with other OEM equipment which is able to go outside the ill facto standards.

As mentioned burning in the radio gear is a worthwhile endeavor. I generally operate all my equipment on the bench for at least fifteen minutes prior to installing same.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

A power distribution system is not required, but worthy in some cases IMO.

I do not eliminate the servo connectors, many do. I simply use HD quality components with minimal wire length and connector counts. Do NOT use multiple extensions; obtain the correct length extension to reach the extreme locations.

You'll likely need wyes for the wings, or servo dependant a programmable servo matching device that is essentially a wye.

Independent channels with dedicated extensions should be used for both elevator servos and ailerons.

If I had a choice I would utilize failsafe ON regulators, this eliminates failure modes and power routing through the switches.

Careful attention to the mechanical linkage setup and electronic setup will alleviate binding and high current draw scenarios.

Consider purchasing a device that displays the current draw (ampmeter) of your servos individually and as a whole flight system. Hanger 9 and others offer a device that utilizes servo connectors and can be plugged into each servo to observe what’s happening, the device can also be plugged into the power source for observing the entire flight system while stirring the sticks.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

what do you do? wiggle the sticks?
what do you think about the installation MG?

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Wiggling the sticks with the ammeter in line will display the current of either the individual servo or system dependent of where the ammeter is placed in-line.

The servo load/line-up your contemplating will be fine for 35% model.

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

thanks for the help.

Thud_Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Actually, it was sitting at neutral, then started oscillating and finally went hard over. No doubt a bad one and has since been replaced. Even though I use the two 5945's I have for elevators or ailerons, I've yet to commit the two 5645's I have to anything other than speedbrakes.

barryb-RCU

I have about $4K in JR digital servos. No 8611's. I keep my planes flying by having an extra set. Every 40-100 flights something goes bad. I replace the servo and toss the bad one in a box. When the box fills with dead servos I ship it to Horizon and they ship me a box full of new servos.

I use the following servos : 368, 9411, 9411SA, 8411, 8411AA, 8417. The 368's and 8417's last the shortest amount of time. Then the 9411's. 8411's seem to last the longest.

It sucks that they die all the time, but it's great that Horizon and JR are standing behind their product and replacing them.

I briefly tried Hitec servos and had just as many problems with them. I'm now moving toward Futaba digitals. They're not quite as powerful for the weight but I have zero failures to date. I only have 4 futaba digitals but have put 200 flights on them. I don't have any other digitals that have made 200 flights before failing.

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

The other thing that is wise to do is once everything is rigged, connect the ammeter to each branch of all ganged servos (i.e. wing, elevator-y, rudder bank, etc) and make sure the servos are not using excessive current in nuetral and at each end point.. as well as in between.

I always "fly" my airplanes on the ground for 1/2 hour before putting any of them in the air. Doing this works in the servos, proves out any linkage issues and overall wrings out the system. Better on the bench than 100 feet up!

I have seen one 8611 and one 5945 fail. I have used many of these servos in my planes and those I do for others. Both were fine out of the box, but after a few minutes of hard excersize the 8611 simply gave up the ghost. The 5945 went into some erratic buzz around neutral. Both would have taken a plane down if they had not been run in on the bench.

I prefer Hitecs for their flexibility, however that same flexibility can lead to failure if improperly programmed. My opinion is that most of the trouble reports posted on RCU on the 59 series is due to programming and rigging problems. They have been flawless for me and everyone I know who flies them (which is most everyone around these parts).

DP

mrbigg

My Feedback: (21)

what's ya'll take on the Smartfly Power Expander? it should help the servos get a good signal and power. price is nice at a hundred bucks.

i want to make absolutely sure that the servos are getting full signal and power.

by the way, i'll definitely be "flying the plane on the ground" for at least a half an hour.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

I've got a prototype Power Ex
I've got a prototype of SmartFly's Power Expander in my 40% Carden Edge, it’s working as good as the day I installed it. I quite pleased with the device; I'm also using the SmartFly Super Regulator with Lithium. GOOD stuff IMO....

famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

I am waiting for the new smart fly product - it is two regulators and conditioner in one.. I saw the prototype and will definitely be checking that out when its available.

DP