3001 available ?

[J D 8]

  I have not purchased any standard servos for some time, my go to servo has been Futaba's 3001 but they do not look to be listed by main suppliers now. Have they been superseded by a another model ?

[Andy Stephenson]

JD,

 

It looks like the SU300 has taken over from earlier standard servos.

[J D 8]

Thanks for the info,  John.

[Jon H]

if those specs are right then 12 quid is pretty good for a 4.5kg digital servo. Still, its double the price of the old 148 and stuff so thats not ideal for those who just need a bog stock servo

[Cuban8]

1 hour ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

if those specs are right then 12 quid is pretty good for a 4.5kg digital servo. Still, its double the price of the old 148 and stuff so thats not ideal for those who just need a bog stock servo

By the look of it just a plain bearing, non ball race output on the U-300. Need to pay £22 or so now for a ballraced servo U-301 with stuff included that I don't need and won't be of any use with other manufacturers RXs as far as I'm aware. Not the end of the world with so many alternatives, but it just makes life that little bit more difficult and more expensive than a while ago compared  with the perfectly adequate 3001s.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Cuban8

[Andy Stephenson]

A quick search shows Kamtec still have 3001s @ £13.99.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Andy Stephenson

[Andy Stephenson]

To add to the above, Kamtec even supply an Emax equivalent called ES3001 it looks exactly the same as the Futaba offering and is half the price.

[Cuban8]

2 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

By the look of it just a plain bearing, non ball race output on the U-300. Need to pay £22 or so now for a ballraced servo U-301 with stuff included that I don't need and won't be of any use with other manufacturers RXs as far as I'm aware. Not the end of the world with so many alternatives, but it just makes life that little bit more difficult and more expensive than a while ago compared  with the perfectly adequate 3001s.

At least the U-301 is rated up to 8.4V compared to the U-300's 6V. I just dont trust very cheap servos of unknown brand for use in a decent model. The extra cost of making the U-300 a ball raced servo must be tiny so I can only assume it's a marketing ploy to get us to double our servo costs where a ball race servo is required instead of just putting a quid or so on the price of a U-300. Will need some thought but not a good move by Futaba IMHO.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Cuban8

[J D 8]

                        Have to agree with you with about the so called up grade U301, for most many unwanted features [ just like this laptop I am on ] at extra cost when 3001's were the bee's.

 When I was getting well into rc some time ago our club expert was a chap called Brian who built and flew some lovely large [ at that time ] models. When I asked him what servo's he said 3001's for everything, even his large Beech 18 with twin Zenoah's, just more of them. Good enough for Brian then good enough for me I thought.

  Checked out Kamtec but they use Hermes  who seam to be totally unable to deliver in my area.

[Andy Stephenson]

Kamtec was the first to come up when I searched, there must be others.

[J D 8]

                 I have had a fair look around with nothing found. I have for now decided to do what they do for the US president's helicopter in taking proven parts from other aircraft, other models in my case.

Edited July 12, 2021 by J D 8

[Dad_flyer]

Rapid RC show stock.

[Nick Cripps]

I'd go for a Savox servo. The SG-0351 has similar specs to the old 3001 and has the same spline fitting as Futaba servos. Available from the servoshop for £10.99.

[Nightflyer]

I like the 148s and 3001S but there are some very good alternatives. As Nick Cripps said the Savox is a very good alternative and would use that.

[J D 8]

                 Thanks for the info and will likely go to Savox in future, good to know splines are the same Nick. Cheers, John.

                   

[Cuban8]

Been looking around since yesterday and yes, the Savox products look to fit the bill and are a known high quality brand with a broad range of products for varied applications.

I'm as guilty as anyone, but I do think we sometimes overspecify our servos, especially on models that aren't what you might call 'high performance' and with care, physically smaller servos (very often just as powerful or more so as the much larger types that were the norm years ago) will be perfectly adequate and up to the task. I'm thinking mainly on elevators and ailerons, where on non-3D sport and some scale models, not very much deflection is required and aerodynamic loading will be minimal. Horses for courses, hence correct choices will have to be made, but a physically smaller and less heavy 2.5Kg (5.5 lbs!) torque metal gear, ball raced servo might be just as well suited in some applications where the physically larger and heavier 3001 std style was the original go to solution- mainly because that's always what we used!

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by Cuban8

[Jon H]

So much of what we do is over spec. Excessively large engines, over powered servos, massive batteries etc. 

 

On the one hand its not a problem as everything will be running well within its ability so failures are in theory less prone. But, the added complexity can lead to its own problems and failures. Its also a waste of money. 

 

Manufacturers also like to flog you more expensive stuff you dont actually need. Reading the blurb on the savox 351 they state its good for park fly and throttle...now, if you need a 4kg digital servo to move your throttle then something is wrong with it. As for park fly, would you not use a 9g servo and not a hunking great thing? Seems a bit off to me and i use a number of 351's on my 50cc class warbirds without issue. 

 

As has already been stated though, i would rather take lower spec servo from a reputable brand than a theoretically higher spec servo from some random brand i had never heard of. 

[J D 8]

             In days gone by a 148 would do both ailerons even on quite large models. My Major Mannock is still this way with an old Fleet FPS-17 moving the barn doors, today it is common for an aileron to have one servo to its self.

          Servos are for the Bristol F2b [ now mine] I am fixing up, original in it are 148's One is duff and signs of corrosion on others have them condemned to spares.

[Engine Doctor]

Repeat warning ! Whatever you do DONT buy cheap Futaba servos from the inter - Bay. They will more than likely be dangerous fakes. Just checked and they are still for sale, 4 servos for £ 12 to £14 . That's £12 to £14 wasted and are just rubbish. The old saying " If it looks too good to be true it usually is " has never been more relevant. These might  be OK for a bird scarer or something but not for model aircraft.  They seemed to have removed the Futaba name but have kept the number "S 3003" .

These have appeared at our club three times now despite warnings and have quickly been despatched to a bin.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Engine Doctor

[J D 8]

               Thanks ED, I am aware of fake stuff and was only looking around known model suppliers.  JD.

[David Davis 2]

I like Hitec 311s myself. £10.50 each from Steve Webb Models. https://www.stevewebb.co.uk/index.php?pid=HITHS311&area=Servo

[Nigel R]

As DD, HS 311, or for an extra couple of quid the HS 425 with two races instead of nylon bearings.