Topic: Hi-Tec HS125MG's

Out sloping off the cliffs locally, went out with my little glider 1st just to see how the lift was-tons of it!
Got the Mistral rigged up, turned on the power, waggled the sticks-hang on a minute whys the right airleron stuck up in the air? Bloody hell fire-the servo's jiggered!
Less than an hrs flight time on it & its re-centered itself, one of the internal pots has given up the ghost is best guess. I will be taking that one back to the shop I bought it from on Tue's for return to whoever  imports these servos.
I've been using Hi-tec servos for 4 years & have only killed 2 in that time, both in helis & both after very heavy crashes, I'm at a bit of a loss as to why its died
The good news is this happened before I chucked it off a cliff 400ft above the North sea-now that wouldnt have been a good flight with a happy ending.
Anyone else had problems with this servo?

Could the control surface have been knocked in transit/storage?  It might have stripped a gear?  To date I have only ever had two servo failures.  One was a JR 589 that just died on the workbench as I was testing it to go in my jet, and the other was a Hitec HS85, which failed due to a wire coming loose inside (it was the signal wire, and caused my Sprinter to hit the deck rather early on a landing approach).  I think with the volumes of servos sold, there are always going to be defective ones that get through the various quality checks done by the manufacturers.  It would be nice to think that they should all be perfect, but in the real world that isn't going to happen (at least, not for the prices we pay!).

Take it back to whence it came, and see what the HItec guys say

Andy

yes other people have had the same problem with that servo.

Hyperion ds095amd, futaba s3150s, graupner ds3288 etc are better alternatives.

I forgot to add, I have three of the 5125 servos in my jim Fox Komet.  Had about 80 flights (fast flights too!) on that, with no issues at all....

Andy

Yes, had the same problem myself. Just recently pulled two out of the ailerons on my Skorpion because one of them changed centre after almost every flight and was getting worse. New Hyperion wing servos in place now.

It seem to only affect the new "improved" 5125s.

G

Yes, had the same problem myself. Just recently pulled two out of the ailerons on my Skorpion because one of them changed centre after almost every flight and was getting worse. New Hyperion wing servos in place now.

It seem to only affect the new "improved" 5125s.

G

that was the impression i got. I think Phil Taylor went down the same route with them. He will probably chime in soon.

In terms of buying new (thin wing servos), there is no point in buying 5125mgs any more as the hyperion is better in basically every respect (it's even slightly thinner).  s3150s are super reliable can't-go-wrong type servos.  The graupners are super faster and powerful but expensive.

Yes, had the same problem myself. Just recently pulled two out of the ailerons on my Skorpion because one of them changed centre after almost every flight and was getting worse. New Hyperion wing servos in place now.

It seem to only affect the new "improved" 5125s.

The original post mentions 125s not the digitals. My 125s have been very reliable on 60' flap duty. My pair of 5125s don't move centre but do whistle most of the time. VERY annoying.

I have 125's in the ailerons of my Typhoon ...one of them has just started self centering when it feels like it ...pile of Carp ........should have put the Hyperions in from the start . Best start working on some overly engineered overly complicated servos frames to attach them to ......

I have 125's in the ailerons of my Typhoon ...one of them has just started self centering when it feels like it ...pile of Carp ........should have put the Hyperions in from the start

yes you should...................

'Tis odd:  I've never owned a hs125 .  I guess posts from way, way back put me off.

There's only one problem with hs125mg and the hs5125mg digis they are both piles of Carp and should never have been sold to the public, depending on temp is where your flight surfaces will centre, iv had probs with 7 all now replaced.my advice just dont use them and take them out of anything you dont want to crash, i had one re trim the aileron on my wizard f3f by 7mm whilst in the air.

Scott R

so you're not a fan?

Interesting Debate.
But to a degree there is always a compromise.
I have used many125 with out any issues. Never used a 5125 as I believe the extra holding power is what breaks them. Don't know about the double centering as I have never had this problem. they do get sloppy. After flying my boobly atleast twice a month for 1.5 years, I had to replace some of the gears to firm them up again.

Futaba 3150's are ok but for the money they also slop way too soon. To me a big issue with them.

Hyperion now quite well tested on the f3f circuit but you and get a substantial arm on them

JR, Don't know. But JR's are usually good servos but you need to pay a bit more.

There is a bit of luck in the game, Some people swear by certain makes / models, and other people would not touch them (Sultz receivers are a prime example).
Stick for what works for you.

Will

Compact-I'm not talking 7mm of deflection-more like full range of movement! if that had happend in mid air the resulting accident would have looked rather good from 400ft+ into the North sea (think Battle of Britain film & German bombers/fighters sprialing into the drink-it is a German FVK model )
I've been floggin helis into the deck for four years with no problems with Hi-tec servos & I've never managed to crash a plane or glider over the last three years due to a servo or RX problem (I used to use Schulze-now 2.4) so it looks more like a design fault specific to this servo- rather than an inherant problem with the whole range.
Perhaps I should try the Hyperion's-after all I use their motors & ESC's in all my E-powered crafts.

Interesting Debate.
But to a degree there is always a compromise.
I have used many125 with out any issues. Never used a 5125 as I believe the extra holding power is what breaks them. Don't know about the double centering as I have never had this problem. they do get sloppy. After flying my boobly atleast twice a month for 1.5 years, I had to replace some of the gears to firm them up again.

Futaba 3150's are ok but for the money they also slop way too soon. To me a big issue with them.

Hyperion now quite well tested on the f3f circuit but you and get a substantial arm on them

JR, Don't know. But JR's are usually good servos but you need to pay a bit more.

There is a bit of luck in the game, Some people swear by certain makes / models, and other people would not touch them (Sultz receivers are a prime example).
Stick for what works for you.

Will

Your'e right, but, if there are a bunch of negative reports about a certain product, it's so easy to just buy something else (with a good rep.) instead . 

There are way too many very happy S3150 customers that have been getting faultless service for absolute yonks, for the so-called slop when un-powered to be an issue IMO.  What's importnant is how the plane flies, and how reliable it is.  3150's tick those boxes.

Having said that, I'm a big Hyperion fan too .

So would Tower Pro 9g servos be a viable alternative?

PDR

i like s3150s. There is a little slop in the gears but on a good linkage you hardly get any slop. They can also stand a lot of abuse. Good centring and resolution also.

Another good servo is the sanwa sdx762.

I agree, hitec do some great stuff, ive used hs 125mg with no probs, but over the last year or so every 125 and 5125 iv had has been rubbish, im a big fan of the hs85mg and iv still got models with 81s in them.
Scott r

I had an 82MG that ceased to centre properly, though only a little out.  I found the cause:

Reducing linkage play

and fixed it      

Jerry

There's a lot of 'cack' talked about this servo (HS5125 etc) - it's the SAME as the JR jobbie (made for JR by Hitec) yet funnily enough the latter has no bad press. (course it costs almost double.....

There are an awful lot of HS5125's in use (because they do the job and are reasonably priced one suspects....) and the ones that have gearbox issues are almost certainly down to bad handling/Storage - I'm tempted to suggest that the ones that go pop suffer from one of two issues - A = an unlucky duff one (i.e. as with anything else mass produced...) or B = lousy installation, stiff hinges, links etc!

There's a lot of 'cack' talked about this servo (HS5125 etc) - it's the SAME as the JR jobbie (made for JR by Hitec) yet funnily enough the latter has no bad press.

There are an awful lot of HS5125's in use (because they are reasonably priced one suspects....) and the ones that have gearbox issues are almost certainly down to bad handling/Storage - I'm tempted to suggest that the ones that go pop suffer from one of two issues - A = an unlucky duff one (i.e. as with anything else mass produced...) or B = lousy installation, stiff hinges, links etc!

maybe that's just because no-one has the JR version. I have never seen one or seen anyone who has one outside of rcgroups. 

Maybe all the people with Carp servos are imagining it Steve?  It's funny how when people swap the servo out for another type the problems go away.  I.e our Adam with his extreme (yeah coz he's a bad builder.........) changed and the problems went away. Phil with his Predator etc.

In what way are 5125s that well priced considering much better servos cost the same amount of money (s3150s and hyperions).

I feel that I should once again reiterate at this point that I have never had a problem with these servos and use loads of them.
I feel so alone...

I guess some people are just unlucky........
 

Big Negative with the 3150's are their thickness, (Over the 125) and the fact they will not run on 6V.
I am interested in other alternatives for my next 60" DS wing and my Opus GT. Got 5 3150's ready to go but cant help but want something better.
Does anyboy know if the hyperion (Thin wing servo) share a splie with another servo? Something that would provide a decent servo arm? Alli!.

Chris
The reason I keep going back to 125's is package space / price.
But like I said I am interested in looking into other thin wing servos as long as they are not stupid money.

Will

I have never had any trouble with 5125s (or the JR equivilent). But if I ever buy any I'll be sure to let you know if they have problems.

PDR

There's a lot of 'cack' talked about this servo (HS5125 etc) - it's the SAME as the JR jobbie (made for JR by Hitec) yet funnily enough the latter has no bad press. (course it costs almost double.....

There are an awful lot of HS5125's in use (because they do the job and are reasonably priced one suspects....) and the ones that have gearbox issues are almost certainly down to bad handling/Storage - I'm tempted to suggest that the ones that go pop suffer from one of two issues - A = an unlucky duff one (i.e. as with anything else mass produced...) or B = lousy installation, stiff hinges, links etc!

Erm, I am not normally this rude and abrupt, but honestly I have to say that on this occasion the cak is being talked by you (sorry)
The gearboxes are made of some white metal that is slightly more suitable for uses as a raw material for gears, than stale cheese. But only slightly. The one with a JR badge on then are just as s**te as the hitec ones.
Our club has banned their use after a few serious incidents.

I have HS5125s in my brio wings
I hit the ground after a lockout a full speed with serious damage to the brio but the servos are fine 

I am interested in other alternatives for my next 60" DS wing and my Opus GT. Got 5 3150's ready to go but cant help but want something better.

What about these from T9?

'+alt+'

Jerry

Hi Guys

I have had both good and bad experiences with both 125s and 5125s.

Seems to me there have been a least 3 differebt metals used in the final output gear.

Early ones, sort of gun metal - fine.

Middle ones - Aluminium foil, not so......

Most recent, brass. Stripping problem seems to have gone away...

Might just be me, but i think digis are prone to trim alterations with temperature, particularly if you use TowerPro MG 16Rs in your planks..

I often need to retrim my mouldies, with HS5125s, even 3150s, a bit.

But the planks ......, TowerPro MG16Rs - well, lets just say I have, on occassion, run out of trim and had to land to dial in subtrim or even wind in the clevises.

To be fair, the offset seems consistent - aileron trim is rarely affected, and "colder means its going down", and for about £8 a time what do you expect?

But - if I spend what an HS 5125 costs, I expect a bit more than I seem to be getting.

JMTCW

Tim
 

I find 125s totally reliable, but 5125s less so.

Analogue rules!

in what sense?

Analogue = reliable, quiet, lower cost

Digital = unreliable, annoyingly buzzy, high cost.  And what's the benefit?  Some theoretical extra hold that 99% of planes never even need! 

Digitals are a bit of a con I reckon ... us men are such suckers for those sorts of tech-cons. 

Okay, I'm playing devil's advocate here and being too black and white about it, but you know there's a grain of truth in what I'm saying!

PS I have a valve hifi too - analogue rules! 

I reckon I should start an Analogue Servo Society - ASS...

sounds like you are talking about hitec digis rather than digis as a whole.

also i think the reliability and quality of servo isn't related to whether they are digi or not.

Some are good and some aren't.

I like my HS125s and tolerate my noisy 5125s. The MKS digis I have just get on with it and work.
The Futaba 3150s I have are well behaved, quiet and low power users. BUT on flaps they are too sloppy. The lingage is awesome. ALL the slop comes from the gear train. I even dDremelled out the servo mounts, reinforced the wingskin and then epoxied them in place to get rid of any sevro movement, but no, they - or at least this pair - are intrinsically too sloppy for 90degree flap travel.

Why do you feel you need 90 degree flaps then John ...........I know age old question

I like my HS125s and tolerate my noisy 5125s. The MKS digis I have just get on with it and work.
The Futaba 3150s I have are well behaved, quiet and low power users. BUT on flaps they are too sloppy. The lingage is awesome. ALL the slop comes from the gear train. I even dDremelled out the servo mounts, reinforced the wingskin and then epoxied them in place to get rid of any sevro movement, but no, they - or at least this pair - are intrinsically too sloppy for 90degree flap travel.

Couldn't agree more.  Considering everyone raves on about the S3150 being brilliant, all four of mine in my Graphite have worn the geartrain rather quickly.  What started out as less than 1mm of movement on the Flap TE of my graphite, is now over 3.  The linkage has been checked, double checked and triple checked, but the play is coming from the servo geartrain.

The 5125s in my Komet are nice and virtually slop free after about the same amount of use (admittedly the control surfaces are not quite as large, but it does about 3 times as fast!)

Andy

s3150s. yes when I first had them I was thinking there was too much slop in the gears, but a couple of years of use down the line, I know it doesn't make any difference really.  Big flaps are hard not to make sloppy with any servo. Tried all sorts, graupner, volz, hitec etc and it still seems to me that linkage geometry/horn size makes the difference.

I've flown s3150s a lot in my m60 and broken the servo horn at it's root twice and not stripped the gears. I've also flown them a lot in my tragi and my ascot, which has huge flaps, and no disrespect, I reckon has flown faster than a lot of models.  They just don't go wrong in my experience. 

s3150s. yes when I first had them I was thinking there was too much slop in the gears, but a couple of years of use down the line, I know it doesn't make any difference really.  Big flaps are hard not to make sloppy with any servo. Tried all sorts, graupner, volz, hitec etc and it still seems to me that linkage geometry/horn size makes the difference.

I've flown s3150s a lot in my m60 and broken the servo horn at it's root twice and not stripped the gears. I've also flown them a lot in my tragi and my ascot, which has huge flaps, and no disrespect, I reckon has flown faster than a lot of models.  They just don't go wrong in my experience. 

+1 .  It's all about proofs, and puddings, and where what is.  Bottom line is, 3150's do the job, they do it well where it matters (in flight), and are trouble free.  Aagin, I'm not saying there aren't others that seem really good (like Hyperion) but none of the newer servos around have the long-term proven service of the Futabas (yet).

Erm, I am not normally this rude and abrupt, but honestly I have to say that on this occasion the cak is being talked by you (sorry)
The gearboxes are made of some white metal that is slightly more suitable for uses as a raw material for gears, than stale cheese. But only slightly. The one with a JR badge on then are just as s**te as the hitec ones.
Our club has banned their use after a few serious incidents.

Your club has BANNED them....................... 
Best Ban HS 55's then - they've got TEENY little gears - oh and Multiplex Naros - then there are those little Blue Arrow jobbies...........!

Having discussed 'the HS 125 - 5125 issue' at length with Mr Hitec it seems that this servo is not even close to the top of the 'we flog heaps of new gears for those yes' list back at HQ - as our chums across the pond would quip - 'go-figure' 

It's VERY easy to break servo gears in a moulded glider - land with the flaps down - shove the wings into heavy wing bags and lug em up the slopes - stuff the wings into the car and catch a surface on the seat/door/whatever!

I've got three mouldies with this 'cack' gearbox - the JR version is in one model and Hitec in the others - no snags yet......................