Servos, Which one and why, Competition or Weekend Warrior.
- Thread starter doublea
- Start date
49dimes
Damn I'm hungry
I have been a diehard Futaba servo guy and a few years back I simply gave up because of the "price point" alone.
Tried the MKS 777's and damn they where silky smooth and very powerful but all of them (5) started jittering in a V2 Peak Models Edge with a very smooth running DLE 55. That was almost 6 years ago. I went back to Futaba 9157's and I have to say remarkable servo but not high voltage. I dared to try Blue Birds and I have to say after 4 heavy use (for me) years the BLS2209's have developed just a tad of slop (tip of 1.5"arm) with about .5mm travel. I use these in my 25% and 30% planes. The BLS 3114's in my 35% plane have only moderate use over 3 years and are as solid as new with over 500oz of torque with 8.4 volts and hold a steady 485oz with nominal 7.4 volts. These have a hybrid metal gear train like Futaba but with a Titanium Nitride output gear. Both the 2209's and 3114's are "standard size" and will fit most applications. IMHO I do not think there is a "standard size" HV Brushless servo with metal gears that wont develop some sort of gear wear or start jittering because of the demands we place on them in our vibrating, shaking, extremely powerful giant scale birds.
Tried the MKS 777's and damn they where silky smooth and very powerful but all of them (5) started jittering in a V2 Peak Models Edge with a very smooth running DLE 55. That was almost 6 years ago. I went back to Futaba 9157's and I have to say remarkable servo but not high voltage. I dared to try Blue Birds and I have to say after 4 heavy use (for me) years the BLS2209's have developed just a tad of slop (tip of 1.5"arm) with about .5mm travel. I use these in my 25% and 30% planes. The BLS 3114's in my 35% plane have only moderate use over 3 years and are as solid as new with over 500oz of torque with 8.4 volts and hold a steady 485oz with nominal 7.4 volts. These have a hybrid metal gear train like Futaba but with a Titanium Nitride output gear. Both the 2209's and 3114's are "standard size" and will fit most applications. IMHO I do not think there is a "standard size" HV Brushless servo with metal gears that wont develop some sort of gear wear or start jittering because of the demands we place on them in our vibrating, shaking, extremely powerful giant scale birds.
Monster-Energy
50cc
I only run Savox HV 1270 or Mks777hv. Hitec 7955 and 7945 are falling way behind when it comes to power/torque and price. I also have some futaba bls157 on a 50cc. Love them also. I'm all about over kill. And Hitec servos are like running a 72 mhz radio. Lol. Stop living in the 80's Lol
Surfer Dude
50cc
Ive been using Futaba's for the last 5 years. Even had a 35% that had the same 9157s in it for two seasons without being sent in. Never stripped and worked awesome. Finally sent them in. Kind of a whoops for not sending them in.
in general, use servos with metal gears for any airplane that is 20 cc or higher.
next, you need to decide on what voltage spectrum you will be using.
You can go with either standard 4.8 to 6 volt servos
or
go with HV servos, these can take up to 2s Lipo (7.4 volts or so) (around 8.2 when fully charged)
brand of servo, will be up to you and how much cash you want to pay.
I mostly use HV JR servos high torque, they have never let me down
or the Futaba BLS servos, all high torque.
I have one 35 cc airplane with Savox servos, and those also, have not let me down.
With regards to service, Futaba has repaired some of my servos, even after warranty expired, which was pretty cool, same with JR.
DO not know about Savox.
i have used Hitec servos, 7990 TH HV, very strong, no problems with that one either.
I like the JR MP82T/83T servo, in that, it has a soft start, and they do not buzz. very smooth servos.
The Futaba BLS 157, also are not jittery.
my Hitec 7990 does not jitter either, but some savox and hitter servos are known to be jittery.
If you are wanting to do extreme/high energy 3d, you may want to consider purchasing servos that have a metal upper case. reason being, that over time, if servo is under extreme stresses, the plastic can deform that holds the output shaft, then, the center will find a hard time finding center, and will buzz and act erratic.
anyways, that is my 2 cents
next, you need to decide on what voltage spectrum you will be using.
You can go with either standard 4.8 to 6 volt servos
or
go with HV servos, these can take up to 2s Lipo (7.4 volts or so) (around 8.2 when fully charged)
brand of servo, will be up to you and how much cash you want to pay.
I mostly use HV JR servos high torque, they have never let me down
or the Futaba BLS servos, all high torque.
I have one 35 cc airplane with Savox servos, and those also, have not let me down.
With regards to service, Futaba has repaired some of my servos, even after warranty expired, which was pretty cool, same with JR.
DO not know about Savox.
i have used Hitec servos, 7990 TH HV, very strong, no problems with that one either.
I like the JR MP82T/83T servo, in that, it has a soft start, and they do not buzz. very smooth servos.
The Futaba BLS 157, also are not jittery.
my Hitec 7990 does not jitter either, but some savox and hitter servos are known to be jittery.
If you are wanting to do extreme/high energy 3d, you may want to consider purchasing servos that have a metal upper case. reason being, that over time, if servo is under extreme stresses, the plastic can deform that holds the output shaft, then, the center will find a hard time finding center, and will buzz and act erratic.
anyways, that is my 2 cents
slowgto
30cc
I was a die-hard MKS guy for a long time... I got told to use Spektrum 6270's in a recent build and have been blow away. That being said I want to try Savox on my next build thanks to all the 'constant reminder of how awesome they are' from @Taildraggerrc .
CatalinaWOW
50cc
Consider your skills. Mine - not great and just about anything that will move the surfaces works fine for me. Some people I have flown with can identify servos used by flying the plane. If you are there, or think you are going to be, get the best servos you can get.
bigblueswope
100cc
They do look like they are. No doubt Hitec is certainly proud of them, well at least judging by the King's ransom they want for 'em. ;-)I will say this, and that's that Hitec's new brushless servos are BAD ASS