Topic: HiTec Servos

Ah, I think that can only be laid at the feet of those that have made comparisons. Like myself, many of the posters have said they use them because they have not let them down. That would lead me to believe that they have confidence in them and aren't making direct comparisons. After all, like I said, why change?

exactly- I use them because they are cheaper than Futaba, and have never had one go faulty. Given a choice, I would pick Futaba! But 645s seem to be the best 'cooking' servo there is. I use the MG versions.

and that cost is not the issue.

As servo's go they are extremely good value for money, very robust powerful servo's which happen to have a decent price tag on them, im on a fair few other sites (mainly large scale aerobatics) and many of the IMAC fliers are turning away from JR/Futaba and are going for Hitec, and im not talking about club fliers with too much money but well known named fliers.

I am supprised though.

Why's that out of interest?

ust out of curiosity, what TX and RX`s are you guys using with the hi-tec servos ?

JR and Spektrum.

I`ve often wondered why JR and futaba users use hi-tec servos. I can understand those with hi-tec radios using them, why would you change manufacturer, but the JR and futaba users, after giving it a fair bit of thought i kept coming back to the conclusion it must be cost.

Cost doesn't enter into it for me, look at the servo arms on Hitec compared to Futaba, much more robust IMHO, the plugs will fit Futaba or JR/Spektrum Rx's without modification and the digitals can be programmed.

Superb

J

Thats fair comment.

Just out of curiosity, what TX and RX`s are you guys using with the hi-tec servos ?

I use Futaba. If I was a rich man (great title for a song) I would use Futabas overpriced servos, but as I have to budget, but still need quality, its Hitec.  However, I would not use the bottom end servos, Futaba 148s are the ones to use!

I've had numerous JR 517 and 519 failures (as in letting out the magic blue smoke...)

What voltage were you using? 

Yes, I am a complete numpty beginner with zero experience who hasn't a clue what he is doing.

If you are pulling that many brand new servo's from a box (of ANY make or manufacture) and zapping them then you must be

What voltage were you using? 

Just your (correct....) 4.8 volts aa cells...........

And there's another thing - Hitec not only 'allow' 6 volt operation - they specify speed and torque against both 4.8 and 6 volt

I've got a lot of JR - Futaba and other makes of servo - very few fail as a percentage but if the one that lets go puts a nice aeroplane in, it tends to colour judgement.

Just as an aside (and to chuck a grenade in) one of the most popular glider wing servo's is the Hitec HS5125 digital slimline jobbie - the JR version is TWICE the price (or almost)!

1   The HS5125 has a 'reputation' for gear failures (albeit caused by clumsy stowage and handling rather than flight loads)

2    The JR version uses a Hitec gearbox and case (even same output splines - i.e. non JR pattern) and doesn' have the same 'reputation'

Go figure (as they say across the pond_!

Just your (correct....) 4.8 volts aa cells...........
Just as an aside (and to chuck a grenade in) one of the most popular glider wing servo's is the Hitec HS5125 digital slimline jobbie - the JR version is TWICE the price (or almost)!

1   The HS5125 has a 'reputation' for gear failures (albeit caused by clumsy stowage and handling rather than flight loads)

2    The JR version uses a Hitec gearbox and case (even same output splines - i.e. non JR pattern) and doesn' have the same 'reputation'

Go figure (as they say across the pond_!

As an aside, I forgot to mention that I now ALWAYS use the metal gear servos! I have had failures with gears on all servos. Hitec, Futaba, JR and some of the cheap copies.... Yes, its usually a knock to an aileron or something more than in-flight....

If you are pulling that many brand new servo's from a box (of ANY make or manufacture) and zapping them then you must be

Indeed, for some bizarre reason I smash Hitec servos with a lump hammer and connect them to the mains electricity and then declare them to be faulty, yet connect every other brand of servo to a normal radio and normal battery and wonder why only the Hitec servos are faulty.  It never occurred to me to treat a Hitec servo like every other servo.

well, it takes all sorts... I have felt like doing that to some servos- especially the pair I bought from Mick Reeves years ago.

Thats fair comment.

Just out of curiosity, what TX and RX`s are you guys using with the hi-tec servos ?

Hitec Aurora 9, and before that, Spektrum DX7

I must admit i`m in the 'dont like hi-tec' camp, i`ve been a die hard JR user for over 20 years now, and can quite honestly say i`ve never had a single failure. i have no problem with futaba either, i would happily use them if i couldent get a JR to suit 

Worked in a model shop a while back and we used to joke that Amerang should be renamed 'booberang' because of all the hi-tec returns. Although they do seem to be more reliable now, i just personally wouldent put them into anything that leaves the ground.

Wouldn't booMerang have been more appropriate, if making such a joke?

A question for the die hard hi-tec fans - If all makes of servo were identical in price for a given size/spec, would you still go for the hi-tec ?

Sure. If all servoes were identical in price/size/spec then what would be the point of selecting any brand over any other?
As it is, in the real world, my experience has been that, for my models,  the Hitec servoes represent a good match of size/spec/price and do the job that is demanded of them.

BTW, there is no 'e' in servos   

Really, how do you spell it then, I always thought the 'e' was the second letter servo.... 

J

According to Leccy there are 2....... Ant.

I've used them all.  Now use mainly JR servos, having recently 'upgraded' from Futaba to JR!  I still have a couple of hitec servos in use, and have never had a failure by any make that caused the loss of a model!  That said, the only servos that started jittering when switched on were Hitecs - these had worked fine for quite a while, but with age/use, they became unreliable.

It's always a budget thing with servos.  When I built cheap models, anything would go into them.  Now, as the models get more expensive, they get more money spent on the servos!  I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for! Your choice if you want to spend a few grand on a turbine model, and throw some cheap servos in.

Bottom line - use the best servos you can afford!  Happy flying. 

only problem i have ever had with a hitec is age that's when the pots get dirty and the servo starts to jitter remove the top spray with electrical cleaner job done these are lower end market servos
i have had servos fail over the years(most makes) but these have been new out of the box so put them down to a bad batch
it used to be you get what you pay for but that is not the case any more so far to say how many servos with a named  badge come from China
first go at 26cc petrol this year the servos i use for every day flying would not do the job so like others have done gone to the tower pro mg996r they work very well if i was to move up a size i would read up on what others have used again
i dought i will ever go to jets just to much cash involved and i think the fun factor would not be there as worrying about it to much
Ron

OK I am only stating my experience with Hitec servo's

I used to be the same with Hitec servo's after i had a couple fail and vowed I would never have another as long as I Lived  etc etc
But 4 years ago i tried them on a helicopter (30 size) after i had a couple of coreless futaba digitals failed
(I have also had JR digitals fail )
My main reason for getting them was to get the programmer for them as at the time i needed it for a retract install on a heli

Still in the same heli and still work even though this heli has hit terra firma twice and has fought its way through a tree 

I now only use Hitec on all my helicopters and planes including my Gasser Heli
Currently standing at 5 planes and 7 helicopters
I have so far saved in excess of £1000 by using these servos and have as yet not had one fail..

Not out to make anybody use them or recommend them even
at the end of the day its your money and your choice
only you can decide what suits you and your models
Me I will carry on with Hitec and save money

Roger

If I were a rich man:

• Futaba
• JR
• Hitech

But as I'm not I use middle of the road Hitech digitals most of the time and the only failure I've had was purely my fault for not reading the label correctly and putting the wrong torque servo in a 90" Extra.

But then again the above list is only a perception based on cost, spec and perceived brand qualities. The worst servo I have every owned and used has to be the JR 8511. They hate vibration (i.e. petrol) and have more slop than a bucket of wet cement. Had 2 fail on a rudder, replaced them with an 811 (1/4 of the spec and cost) which is still going strong. The remaining two have been relegated to a 50 size electric, cos they ain't going anywhere near my expensive toys!

So I'll join the love hitec brigade (even if I was a rich man) for price, spec, programmability, reliability and because I don't care about brand only the aforementioned qualities.

The worst servo I have every owned and used has to be the JR 8511.

Interesting...  I have a couple of these and will watch them closely!

Friend had a couple fail on his large petrol as well. The gears turn into metal filings with the vibration and then seize. Still could just have been a bad batch (all of them were bought at the same time). Slop in the gears is very noticeable, there was enough on one rudder closed loop system to make it oscillate, had to bias it with a spring (no there was no slop in the control linkages before anyone asks).

Interesting...  I have a couple of these and will watch them closely!

517 and 519 were pretty much a lottery too

Interesting because I used to be of the view of never use Hitec. I used to see a lot of people having trouble with them so I avoided them The failures always seemed to be inadequate gearbox construction. Enginetorque alluded to this when he said that 5125 gear box had failure due to mishandling. Actually they had failures because the gearbox was Carp! The metal used was slightly better at its job than very old and stale cheddar cheese. I am given to understand that they have started to use brass having discovered it a couple of years ago.
The problem it seems to me is that they got digital technology from Multiplex (or at least an ex MPX employee), and just changed the amplifier. Without taking into account the extra load on the gearbox, feedback pot etc.
However, having seen a number of my clubmates have great success by choosing correctly speced Hitecs, I decided to try the 5995 TG's. These have given great service and I have just bought 6 of the latest 7950Th servo for my latest model.
In the past I have had JR servos fail.

Not wanting to be contencious re what MPX said

If Hitec work for you then carry on using them.  My models are Hitec-free zones and will remain so until the end of time, I will pay 2 or 3 or 4 times a Hitec price to get a similar size Multiplex/JR/Futaba servo because I have never ever never had a single failure or problem from them.

But,  Multiplex sell at least one Hitec servo...The Nano S....its a red HS55 isn't it....     

They wouldn't stake their reputation on poor quality goods...

I wonder what others are badged up as well..  I'm sure somebody from SWM could confirm this...

Shaun

The Multiplex Polo Digi is a HiTec servo, as are those titchy Nini Nano things. However, I'm certain I've seen info somewhere implying some of the Mpx badged HiTec servos (most likely the top end jobs) are fiited with a different amplifier than that used in the purely HiTec variant.

I'm playing safe here. I still have lots (as in dozens) of the German made Profi, Europa and Royal servos unused, in their boxes!

I am wary of the newer types of Multiplex servos that appeared since the joint ownership of the two firms as some appear to be simply Hitec in a red case.  Multiplex denies this and says it specifies a different amplifier (I think it was samsung or panasonic they said they were using but I can't remember now).

Anyway, two batches of servos off the same production line can be light years apart in reliability even when built of the same components, never mind if each brand specifies different components.  For example if servos coming off the line let's say 10% fail within the first hour and failures after that are very rare, brand A says box up everything and ship it out, brand B says do a 1.1 hour burn in test first and only put the servos that pass in our boxes, factory doesn't want to waste the faulty servos so pops them into brand A boxes and sends them out!  So of course brand B has higher unit cost but vastly higher level of reliability than brand A's junk yet they are identical!  So any arguments that any brand is made in the same factory as another brand just doesn't wash, they can specify different components, different testing and as I have shown even totally identical products can be chalk and cheese for reliability depending upon which brand of box they are in.  I am not claiming in any way that is what is happening with hitec and Multiplex, but giving it as an example of how any claim that two brands are identical is worthless for claiming they must be the same reliability.

Harry

I've just remembered. It was a Mitsubishi amp they were claiming to use in their version of said servos. No idea if that's good or bad as I've never bought any. Yet.

It seems the safer option is now to do what you have done. Go with Futaba or JR servos.

The Multiplex Polo Digi is a HiTec servo, as are those titchy Nini Nano things. However, I'm certain I've seen info somewhere implying some of the Mpx badged HiTec servos (most likely the top end jobs) are fiited with a different amplifier than that used in the purely HiTec variant.

I'm playing safe here. I still have lots (as in dozens) of the German made Profi, Europa and Royal servos unused, in their boxes!

Hi Brian...

I've still have some of the early version in the red case, Power  mc  style  ones from the late 80's... built from Girders and still working fine..

If you look inside  though they seem very agricultural compared with modern ones... The motor wires and caps were not supported with a spot of goo to stop vibration issues...still, the wire used was like  ring main 2.5mm Twin and Earth cable.

I was talking to a fellow modeller once who said they used the same servos in large military target and surveillance drones.... One flight  and they got replaced...  All those servos in the bin....what a waste....

He did add,it was pushing the available servo technology at the time..They were showing signs of wear on the output shaft / gear after 30 mins of use.... They even had to make a carbon fibre outer case to fit the servos in  to strengthen them and stop the mounts snapping with the forces exerted on them and custom made alloy output arms.

Due to the cost of the drones...the servos only represented a small percentage of the total cost of the a/c....  They also used Multiplex Radio to fly them, but I seem to remember he said they were custom made  Tx's with higher output , specially commissioned....

Enough waffle...

Shaun

only problem i have ever had with a hitec is age that's when the pots get dirty and the servo starts to jitter remove the top spray with electrical cleaner job done these are lower end market servos

Ron

My tip is to drill a small hole in the side of the servo case directly next to the pot. Now you can give it a squirt of cleaner without dismantling it and then block the hole with a piece of tape or a small rubber bung.

Gerry

Shaun

Multiplex did at one time have a James Bond style "special tricks" department. Up until about 2 or 3 years before a certain Korean gentleman bought the company you could still specify "one off" Tx mods, fancy stick layouts, special Tx case finishes such as carbon etc. All at a price of course.

P.S. I still have some of the old red cased Power servos, unused of course. I think you'd break your thumb if you tried to stop them mid-travel.

Hi Brian.....

P.S. I still have some of the old red cased Power servos, unused of course. I think you'd break your thumb if you tried to stop them mid-travel.

OOPPPPPSSSSSS.

did that once to test one...It nearly disclocated my finger.... The important thing was I learnt from the experience 

Shaun

I have used hundreds of the red cased Mutiplex digital servos over the years. I still have them all. The Eurosport has been using these on the elevons for 6.5 years and they are still going strong. This represents over 1000 flights and I am about to retire her  :'(before something vital causes her demise.
 Some of the Micro MC digitals have had truly unbelievable amounts of use, such as those in my original ASH 26 glider. This model was almost 10 years old when it was shot down. When you consider that we normal expected a flight to be one hour, and often much more, that is one hell of a lot of hours of usage. I took them out of the wreckage and sent them to Multiplex who serviced them and returned them to me. They had replaced a few small parts but otherwise they still passed muster and have been installed in my replacement ASH for the last 18 months.
By far the most reliable servos I have ever used.

Hi

I  just realised I have some Acoms servos  ( over 20 years old now), I've never used them..

Does that make them reliable or mean I have shown good judgement leaving them in the box  

PS as a result of this thread , tripping down memory lane, I went searching through my servo bits box...do you remember the extra heavy weight output arms you could buy for the  big red multiplex servos

Now they were engineered to last.......


Shaun

Hi John

I imagine there are many thousands of the red cased Mpx servos still giving sterling service all over the world. When Mpx first introduced programmable digital servos in 1991, these too used the famous red cases. I never actually bought any of those, so I can't comment on their reliability. I think they were named the Mc v1 range.

Yes Brian, there were Micro, Royal, Profi, Power and Jumbo base version. The analogue servos were suffixed BB to indicate double ball bearings, and the digital ones were suffixed MC. The second generation were named V2, and the final incarnation was just Digi. On the digi versions they dropped most of the programmability except reversing.