Question relating to the DS410 and 420 Servo's

[Starcruiser]

I am waiting to take receipt of my very own Trex 250SE super combo this coming Tuesday (if UPS stays on schedule) and wanted to know if the servo's that come with this kit are either;

1. Programmable
or
2. Adjustable (mechanically)

I ask since I want to center the servo arm if the spline is not quite right. Now I know you can use sub-trim to fix it (adjust the servo arm position), but I am looking to get a mechanical center if at all possible. Some may think that I am taking this a bit too far but this is a hobby and I like to tinker and I am a little OCD at times so bear with me

I have been reading quite a bit on the forum and the debate on sub-trim or not to sub-trim and it was brought up that some servo's have a way where you can mechanically center the output shaft. A screw in the base of the horn that allows you to loosen and adjust it to tweak the horn position.

Since I have not used or played with the align servo's so I am hoping that some of you folks could fill me in on these servo's.

I plan on making a few upgrades already to "bling" it out but most are to avoid any of the pitfalls this little bird has and a few to make it more reliable.

Now I could replace the servo's with a programmable servo to provide the adjustability I am seeking but would rather work with what I already have coming.

So TIA for any feedback.

[jamesb72]

I don't believe the DS410/20 are programmable or adjustable electronically, so if you want this you will need to buy programmable servo's and the software/hardware to program them.

Seems a lot of money for nothing though, you should be able to mechanically/subtrim a perfect setup if you spend half an hour or so on setup, is it worth all that money to save half an hour ??

I'd at least fly the SE supercombo stock to see how you get on, before spending half as much again on servo's and programming gear !

[oliverdots]

If you can open the servo's, can't remember as my 250 is at work, could you simply move the gears round a tooth or two to get a level servo horn? I agree with the last post, nothing wrong with subtrim, apart from on the rudder servo, (which doesn't need to be dead centre anyway).

[wlfk]

Don't worry too much about the OCD - it's not altogether a bad thing in this hobby!

[Besen]

This has been debated elsewhere in this forum, but I use subtrim on my rudder servo and it seems to work fine. You just have to re-bind after trimming. To be fair I'm still in the learning to fly phase, but I centered the horn with subtrim and I get no drift in HH mode.

[Starcruiser]

Originally Posted by jamesb72

I don't believe the DS410/20 are programmable or adjustable electronically, so if you want this you will need to buy programmable servo's and the software/hardware to program them.

Seems a lot of money for nothing though, you should be able to mechanically/subtrim a perfect setup if you spend half an hour or so on setup, is it worth all that money to save half an hour ??

I'd at least fly the SE supercombo stock to see how you get on, before spending half as much again on servo's and programming gear !

I thought that might have been the case with these servo's but wanted to ask someone who has them to see if that was really the case.

I have 450's so I have trimmed them mechanically as far as I could then used sub-trim to finish them off. I agree with the cost for different servo's versus time, but I read elsewhere here about sub-trim and The affect it has on the servo's travel, I do realize that as long as the sub-trim value is not excessive I shouldn't have any major issues. I am wondering if I should have purchased the kit and bought the electronics separately instead and got myself some HS-5065's instead for the cyclic and another JR tail bundle. Well I will work with what I have and see how it works out.

Originally Posted by oliverdots

If you can open the servo's, can't remember as my 250 is at work, could you simply move the gears round a tooth or two to get a level servo horn? I agree with the last post, nothing wrong with subtrim, apart from on the rudder servo, (which doesn't need to be dead centre anyway).

\

I was considering this exact point actually, i.e. opening the servo and shifting the gears a tooth one way or the other if the servo horns do not line up the way I would like. I have to disagree with you though on the tail servo and would want that one to be 90 to avoid geometry issues. As I said above I will check it out and see what I end up with and then decide what to do. I figure I will post my findings here as I build to share my experience with the rest of the HeliFreak community.

Originally Posted by wlfk

Don't worry too much about the OCD - it's not altogether a bad thing in this hobby!

Well I will try not to worry about it. I consider this a hobby and it gives me something to tinker with. I am an engineer by trade so I strive for perfection in what I do as well as to find the best solution, so this is a trait I have I guess

Originally Posted by Besen

This has been debated elsewhere in this forum, but I use subtrim on my rudder servo and it seems to work fine. You just have to re-bind after trimming. To be fair I'm still in the learning to fly phase, but I centered the horn with subtrim and I get no drift in HH mode.

Yep I read that thread from start to finish and I am still subscribed to it Just trying to see how close I can get to a mechanical setup with out using electronic adjustments is all. I am new somewhat to this hobby, been flying for about 9 months now, still learning, this site (others too) is great for picking up info and tricks as well as sharing ideas and asking for guidance from others who have been there and done that already, thus the reason for the post.

Thanks to all for responding.