Futaba JR Hitec Servos for the Blade 400

[ChuckTSeeker]

Ok I have decided to not wait till they cause me to fall out of the sky, curse and then spend money on unnecessary repairs, I’m upgrading those servos now!

So begs the next question and I’m hoping a few of the members will chip in with their 2 bobs worth on this one, as I’m sure it will help many, many new members and with the title I gave it will surely be found easy on the search engine

“What are the Best Replacement Servo’s for the Blade 400?”

Ok, firstly for Cyclic Servo’s, here the general consensus seems to be either the JR DS285 or the Hitec HS-65HB (or their metal brothers) I ask the question which of these two servos are the better??

The JR DS285’s are Dearer, "Do Not" have Ball Bearings but slot straight into the stock holes and are a little lighter than the Hitec’s, the Hitec’s however are Cheaper, "Have" Ball Bearings and are Stronger, but are a little harder to slot in and weigh a fraction more

Now my LHS, who stocks all three brands mentioned here, says the Hitecs are always a better servo than the JR and when you read the spec’s I’d have to agree, are we just paying for a “Name” with the JR’s????

one last question on Cyclic Servos, how come no one ever talks about a Futaba Servo for the Cyclic 3 ?? do they not make one compatible??

Ok now to the Tail Servo, here it seems like most talk is about the JR DS3400G the Futaba S9257 or S9650 and I guess the most talked about is the JR DS3400G which has some great specs but costs a lot more than you can pick the Futaba’s up for and the S9650 seems pretty close in specs to the JR so what one is better and if you have tried both, “Why” is it better than the other? From reading the Futaba S9257 is just a step or two up from the stock servo

Again like my last question in the Cyclic, why are there only 2 runners in the tail dept?? doesn’t Hitec this time, make a decent Tail Servo???

Myself, I had decided just to upgrade and being new and not needing 3D whiz bang Gyro+Servo combo, had gone for 3 Hitec HS-65HB and the Futaba S9257, “BUT” I found a shop that has the Futaba S9650 for the same price as the S9257 so now might go for the better S9650 so I’m ready for when I eventually "Do" get the Futaba 401 Gyro

What do you guys think? And yes I know when it comes down to it, it’s a personal choice, but some good constructive answers here could help many a newbie and even a few oldies I’m sure, thanks guys

Cheers chuck

PS sorry for the marathon post but it’s a subject that seems to get talked about heaps but never fully answered

[Heli Jim]

I went with the JR's

Mostly from other experience with JR stuff....they seem very reliable.

You can get a little price break if you buy the set......JR's mini helicopter performance pack,which includes 3 DS285's and a 3400G for about $159 and I suppose if you want
to surf around the net, you might find a dealer that will sell it for less.

I must say that I am VERY happy with the JR's, but I read that a lot of guys like the Hitec's also

[Wolfpackin]

I like the Hitec's better for two reasons.
First, whether you go with the karbonite or metal gears, they are stronger than nylon so they won't strip as easily.
Second, they are not digital but still have a pretty fast response time and a higher torque rating than the DS285's. And being that they are not digital they theoretically draw less amps. I think that's a good thing if you are not planning to run an external BEC. I think the stock ESC and internal linear BEC are borderline with the stock setup so adding much more current draw might overload it.
I've been looking at the Futaba S3154 as a tail servo, not as good as the 9257 or 9650 but it should work well.

The DS285's are also very good servos so either way is a good upgrade.
The 3400G, S9257 and S9650 are all pretty heavy compared to some of the other choices out there. I've mentioned this before and weight may not be an issue for you, but it is for me at 8,000FASL. Take that for what it's worth.

Bottom line is these are all quality servos and it's more of a personal choice than anything else. Everyone has different needs and opinions so the choice is yours.

JMHO

[sokal]

the JR servos center better than the hitech but not by much
both make a great upgrade

as for the tail buy a servo that is specificly designed for tail rotor use.
seems they do the job perfectly.

i run jr and have no issues quick and precice

but any is better than hopeing the stock dont give out.

[SeaComms]

I too was looking at te Futaba 3154 for the tail. Its digital, has impressive speeds and torque for a micro and is about a third of the price of the 'tail' servos advertised. So I have one coming today (I hope) as well as 3 x HS-65 Karbonites for the collective.

Had to order something as the left rear shat itself and just started overdriving when under load - a very strange effect as its the opposite of most complaints.

[widower]

I'm using the futaba 3154 in my tail but haven't bothered flipping the gyro switch to digital. I saw posts of people burning out the 3154. When I get better at flying, I'll switch to the digital setting.

[CoptrDoctr]

I've been using a Futaba 3154 servo on the tail and Futaba 3156 servos for ccpm for about three weeks now. I have the GY401 gyro in DS mode and it flies just fine. The 3156s have metal gears and have were the best money I've spent yet! Although I had mastered replacing the E-Flight nylon gears in the cheap stock servos (I swear they used to strip to spite me!), I was tired of wasting time doing it! I highly recommend to anyone with a Blade 400 to upgrade to metal gear servos as soon as you can afford it. It'll save you a lot of money and grief in the long run.

[ChuckTSeeker]

Ok, my problem is i have limited funds at the moment :bawl and having just spent $470 Aud, buying the Blade, BUT hope is round the corner as i have a birthday in a month and have asked for a servo upgrade :lolol which i can get now! :happyd

ok i've seen the JR sets for $159 usd but thats without postage to Australia, (around $198 Aud) i have found a site that can give me 3 X Hitec HS-65HB and either the Futaba S9257 or S9650 for $137 usd "Including Postage" to Australia, (around $152 Aud) can anyone give me a good enough reason to spend the extra $46 on the JR's?? hmmm guess i should go click the button before they sell out :fly

also when talking the difference's no one seems to care about the ball bearings or lack of them? are these not important in a servo?? if so then maybe the extra cost of the JR's is worth it for the weight savings, if this is important to you??

cheers chuck

[CoptrDoctr]

From my vast experiences using my heli as a plow - I chose to pursue servos for their robustness over weight savings. Considering the exceptionally one-sided weight to power ratio of the Blade 400, I didn't see the extra weight as an issue. In fact I see it as a good thing - helps slow the beast down a bit and improves the odds of keeping the whirly bits on top and functioning!. I'll likey reconsider my current servo configuration once I'm able to end a flying session due to dead batteries - and not a dead heli!:)

[SeaComms]

OK,
I just finished fitting a set of HS65HB's to the 400. Need to reverse the 3 cyclic servos on the TX (elevator, aileron and pitch).

Elevator servo is a tight fit but slides in pretty easy.

the 2 rear servos are too tight a fit to be comfortable. When looking at the front edge of the mounts, there is 3 high spots, the low spots are where the screw holes are. Need to shave down the area to be pretty close to level with where the screw hole sections are. You will also have to stretch the mounting holes in the front edge of the servos closer to the body of the servo so the screws will fit in. I elongated mine about 50%. Once in, I used the included double ended levers and followed finless Bobs setup, using sub trim to centre all 3. All looks pretty good.

For the rudder, I used the Futaba 3154, and again used finless's videos to trim the settings. What I did notice, was that if the gyro was in digital mode, the servo would not stop creeping and buzzing around, so I have put it back to normal mode and have it set up pretty nicely with no creep.

[Dizzyflyer]

Still getting the hang of this heli, but for the tail I went with the Futaba 9257 mounted on the boom. Screwed right into the stock servo mount (just bought a second). Definitely more responsive than the stock servo. Cost was better than JR too. I don't think you could go wrong with JR or Fut though. Both top notch servo manufacturers.

[carlo_the_wonder_frog]

Get metal gear servos, you want to survive crashes not spend hours replacing broken gears which is a PITA. The 9650, 9257 and 3400g tail servos are about the best in the business can't go wrong with any of them. Upgrade the Gyro also and you will have a good machine that should fly suprememly for a long time. Do not use digital mode on the gyro when using Micro tail servos, they aren't up to the really fast frame rates the other 3 mentioned mini servos can tolerate.

[terrybeb]

JR's drop right in without modding the frame. Flip the boom support around on the tail and the the 3400 fit's without any other work.

[ChuckTSeeker]

ok, well i finally did it and pressed the button, now my 3 X Hitec HS-65HB and Futaba S9257 are shipped and on their way to Australia and for the great price of $120 usd with a $17 postage charge, man i wish i could support my LHS but there is just no way they can compete against those prices, i love the net :clappp

now another question? is there any problems i will encounter with setting up these servos in the Blade 400? do i need any extended leads? i know i have to reverse the servos in the Tx, can i just flick the switch on the stock gyro to Digital, or do i have to set something else up?? should i rebind the whole lot after installation??

anything else i should be aware of??

thanks for all the help, cheers chuck

[LockMD]

Sorry the only thing I have experience with and can comment on is:

ALWAYS re-bind the tx to the rx after ANY changes to the tail setup. I cant explain it, I just know it works.

[Mr Rossi]

go with the jr's or the futaba 3156's for all your servos, these combined with a GY401 will provide all the strength and stability you could ever wish for.

[SeaComms]

ok, well i finally did it and pressed the button, now my 3 X Hitec HS-65HB and Futaba S9257 are shipped and on their way to Australia and for the great price of $120 usd with a $17 postage charge, man i wish i could support my LHS but there is just no way they can compete against those prices, i love the net :clappp

now another question? is there any problems i will encounter with setting up these servos in the Blade 400? do i need any extended leads? i know i have to reverse the servos in the Tx, can i just flick the switch on the stock gyro to Digital, or do i have to set something else up?? should i rebind the whole lot after installation??

anything else i should be aware of??

thanks for all the help, cheers chuck

Ok. Just finished installing the HS65's in mine, a few things I can tell you from the experience. If you look at the frame when you pull the two rear servos out you will see 3 high spots on the front edge, the low spots where the screw holes are. If you trim the high spots down to match the low spots the servos will go in a lot easier. You will need to put the side with the wires in first, then the other side will pop in with a little push.

Before you fit them though, you will need to elongate the centre hole on the front of the two rear servos closer toward the servo itself, as expanding the opening allows the servo to sit slightly further forward and the front screw wont line up. Elevator servo is only a little tight but drops right in.

Then, go to the reverse menu in the TX and reverse the elevator, aileron and pitch (? going from memory here) servos. I used the third hole out from centre of the heavy double ended arms that come with them for all 3 cyclic servos and mounted the balls on the inside edge. Works well, stops the binding between aileron and elevator linkages and lines the linkages up much better.

Follow the Finless bob setup for the swash to get the servos centered then adjust linkages for swash levelling. I would recommend reducing the DR settings for elevator and aileron, as mine was driving the pitch for both to about 8 degrees, 6 is more than adequate and you shouldnt get the linkages binding on the head at that rate.

[ChuckTSeeker]

Great answer SeaComms, thanks heaps i'm sure this will help a lot more newbies than just me

cheers chuck

[SeaComms]

Your'e welcome, I get so much out of these forums its nice to put something back in for a change!

Cheers, Dave.

[ChuckTSeeker]

well the servos are now fitted and while having a read here at Helifreak this morning i read this:

sparx- (http://www.helifreak.com/member.php?u=31830)


Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: us


http://www.helifreak.com/images/icons/icon1.gif
If you are going to stick with the Stock ESC, then I would suggest a Futaba 9257 to go with the GY-401 Gyro. If you are thinking of replacing the stock ESC and running a 6v BEC anytime soon, then I would go with the Futaba 9650.

SPaRX


i just ordered a 5/6V SportBEC last week and just realised i won't be able to run it at 6V as the 9257 i finally decided on instead of the 9650 isn't a 6V servo :arggg:

thought i'd add this bit of info to this thread so if any other newbie is reading they won't make the same mistake i did :roll:

so if you intend to get a BEC make sure the servo's you buy can run at 6V :YeaBaby:

cheers chuck

[ChuckTSeeker]

hmmmm just a quick one, i just turned on my DX6i and went to the "Reverse" section to reverse the ELEV, AILE and PITCH and noticed this is my setup:

THRO =N AILE =R
ELOV =N RUDD=R
GYRO=N PITC =N

so i need to change the

ELOV to R
the AILE to N
and the PITC to R

is this correct?

cheers chuck

[Goodge]

Would it be a horrible idea to use a HS-65HB on the tail servo, vs the stock servo? I'm not looking for better performance (altho I wouldn't want a loss in performance), just stronger gears!

[SeaComms]

hmmmm just a quick one, i just turned on my DX6i and went to the "Reverse" section to reverse the ELEV, AILE and PITCH and noticed this is my setup:

THRO =N AILE =R
ELOV =N RUDD=R
GYRO=N PITC =N

so i need to change the

ELOV to R
the AILE to N
and the PITC to R

is this correct?

cheers chuck

Yup, thats how mine is and works like a charm.

As to your other comment on the tail servo being not 6 volt rated, if you are handy with a soldering iron, you can run the BEC at 6 volts and splice a diode or two into the red wire for the tail servo. Using a IN4001 or similar, this has a forward voltage drop of 0.7 volts, so if your 6v BEC is putting out just under 6 volts, 1 diode will bring you down to 5.3 or so, if your BEC is up around the 6.2 volt mark then I would use 2 diodes in series, dropping the voltage to around 4.8. Just a thought, Dave.

[SeaComms]

Would it be a horrible idea to use a HS-65HB on the tail servo, vs the stock servo? I'm not looking for better performance (altho I wouldn't want a loss in performance), just stronger gears!

Not horrible, it would be better than stock as they will centre better, have more output power and are less likely to be damaged in a crash. If you can pick them up at a good price then it would be a good start, then when you can afford/warrant a proper gyro/tail rated servo, upgrade and keep it as a spare for the cyclics.

If you do - it (and most servos on the market) are reversed to the stock ones, so you will have to reverse the rudder channel in the TX AND reverse the nor-rev switch on the gyro itself.

[Goodge]

Does anyone know if the metal gears from the HS-65MG will fit in the HS-65HB? I'm thinking of getting the HS-65HB's now, and replacing the gears later if I still have a stripping issue. Will they fit?