Braddock, VC Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 I have a great deal of confidence in futaba servos and I was sorting through my servo box tonight to come up with 5 for my soon to be completed Modeltech Cub. Managed to get 4 S3001s and a handful of s148s and popped them all on the servo tester. One of the 3001s had a problem with the gears and one of the 148s wouldn't work at all. Twas the work of 5 minutes to swap the gear trains over and now I have 4 working 3001s and one 148 for the throttle. I wondered why the 148 that I'd cannibalised had failed and there was no sound from the motor so I pulled the bottom off to test the continuity of the lead when I noticed the signal wire had broken free of the soldering to the pcb. I could have soldered it back but I cut the lead off completely for future use and dumped it as I hate having 1/2 servos and, as I'd had it since 1994, it didn't owe me anything. Whilst writing this post I remembered I have a couple more suspect 148s so I pulled it back out of the bin and when I get a moment I'll check out the three of them and see if I can get at least another one working. To be continued............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 I wonder if it was genuine? Futaba wiring is normally well supported. I was interested to find that one of my 3001s was a fake when I was looking out some servos for a recent model. I hadn't heard of 3001s being counterfeited (unlike 3003/4s) but suspicions were raised by slightly fuzzy printing. The case screws were very coarse helix type, there were many internal differences and the clincher was the lack of a ball race on the output arm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 As I mentioned, it dates back a quarter of a century, pretty confident that predates Chinese copying techniques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilco Wingco Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 **LINK** Still being sold on a well known auction site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 There are cave drawings of the futaba 148 and im pretty sure that after the apocalypse only it, cockroaches, and perhaps a laser or 2 ( ) will remain. Its a brilliant little servo and i cant recall ever having one just give up on me. Edited By Jon - Laser Engines on 23/05/2019 08:27:22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 I've been racking my brains to think when I last had a full-on servo fault with either Futaba or Hitecs that endangered a model whilst in flight. I can only remember a Futaba 128 in my old Hi-Boy, thirtyfive or so years ago, that developed a nasty glitch (ailerons) when throttling up. Turned out to be a broken feedback pot solder tab. I have found servos, that during pre-flights or general servicing of airframes, have shown signs of wear or sluggishness, but nothing that would have been a certain failure in flight. Needless to say, they'd still be replaced pronto. In small electric models, I've only recently been using servos from manufacturers other than Futaba and Hitec and although I've avoided the very cheap ones, the ballraced mini servos of surprising performance for around the ten quid mark are very nice and appear reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 I had exactly the same issue with a genuine 148 that wrote off my original WotsWot. The older Futaba servos had a stiffer plastic insulation and as the rubber strain relief ages the wires become prone to fracturing at the soldered joint. A new lead and it's back in service on my current WotsWot's aileron. My Curare is on it's 3rd or 4th year using Corona midi sized mg servos that cost around a fiver each, my Tornado was donkey's years old running E-max aileron servos on the ailerons when I sold it in the Great Oily Purge of 2017. Neither have given a hint of trouble, unlike the old DYS servos from GiantCod days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Can't fault a genuine Futaba made standard, they're a benchmark. My own pile of standard size is mainly JR 507s, but I don't believe there is anything to differentiate them from Futaba, both well built solid units. I've still got a set of the old 505s in regular use, and they went obsolete sometime in the early 1980s - all working just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by Nigel R on 23/05/2019 09:47:56: Can't fault a genuine Futaba made standard, they're a benchmark. My own pile of standard size is mainly JR 507s, but I don't believe there is anything to differentiate them from Futaba, both well built solid units. I've still got a set of the old 505s in regular use, and they went obsolete sometime in the early 1980s - all working just fine. I know some JR servos are 4.8 volts only, I ditched all of mine as I use 2 cell LiFe batteries exclusively for my rx. I had a couple of jr servos let their smoke out being the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by Wilco Wingco on 23/05/2019 07:37:33: **LINK** Still being sold on a well known auction site That link is 9 years old.......still valid though, the size of the output shaft gear teeth will probably have an adverse effect on the resolution of the servo I would have thought. I also have faith in corona and turnigy servos which have never let me down in service. Edited By Braddock, VC on 23/05/2019 10:52:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 I still have some 70's Futaba servos, FD16, FD 26 and FD33M all still working fine. Some still at work on secondary duty. They are slow compared to modern stuff, like half speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braddock, VC Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by J D 8 on 23/05/2019 10:53:48: I still have some 70's Futaba servos, FD16, FD 26 and FD33M all still working fine. Some still at work on secondary duty. They are slow compared to modern stuff, like half speed. Ideal for throttle servos then . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 My models don't need a throttle servo, so if I want to use an old or suspect one I put it on the rudder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by Allan Bennett on 23/05/2019 13:29:21: My models don't need a throttle servo, so if I want to use an old or suspect one I put it on the rudder You wont find me putting a dodgy servo on a primary flying control. My dodgy servos are relegated to model car duty or the bin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by Allan Bennett on 23/05/2019 13:29:21: My models don't need a throttle servo, so if I want to use an old or suspect one I put it on the rudder To quote some of our lads "Wots a rudder" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 It's a taxiing control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Posted by Braddock, VC on 23/05/2019 10:55:36: Posted by J D 8 on 23/05/2019 10:53:48: I still have some 70's Futaba servos, FD16, FD 26 and FD33M all still working fine. Some still at work on secondary duty. They are slow compared to modern stuff, like half speed. Ideal for throttle servos then . I like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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