Servo Centering

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cardarear

cardarear

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Location
Oakland County, MI
This question is not specific to large scale (as I have had similar issue in 10th scale) but it is it normal for servos to center slightly different when returning from left Vs right. I'm talking about a very small amount of being off center to the left when returning from the left and then the same thing toward the right. I've noticed the same thing when working on wheel alignment on my 10th scale rustlers with stock electronics and on my Vekta. 5 with dual Hitec 845s. Even with the wheels off the ground there always seems to be a slight difference when returning to center. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this.
 
There shouldn't be a perceivable difference with a good radio and servos(digital) if all is well with the vehicle. I haven't had servo issues since I gave up on crystal systems and embraced 2.4 gigahertz. The biggest issue I've found is from slop in the steering components.
 
Sounds like the servo isn't centering completely rather than a horn issue. He goes left, and it centers slightly left. He goes right, and it centers slightly right. Seems kind of odd to me. Might also be a weak rx battery. I dunno. I've never had this kind of issue using Hitech servos. Or really any other digital servo for that matter.

Could be a servo saver issue, but those are spring loaded, so they should actually assist in centering the servo unless there is a ton of slop.
 
What radio is it? 845s aren't cheap servos and if it's a dual, if both don't centre it may be that they've not been programmed to centre together (do this or they will burn out) or it could be the radio.
 
The comment about steering slop was interesting. I will have to check for that. the rustlers are running off of the stock Traxxas transmitters and the xl5 esc powers the stock receiver off of the BEC. I'm using decent 2S Lipos (RC king at least 40c) . I'm using a Fataba 3PV and R20GF receiver in the Vekta. The servos are powered directly from the Killer Rc 7200 mah 2s lipo with just the signal going through the receiver.
I'm no expert on dual steering servo setups but I did spend a decent amount of time trying to make sure they were not fighting each other. I basically let both center independently then carefully added the linkage between them, and tweaked the length until there was no chatter from the servos.
 
No offense on the traxxas stuff, but the stock Servos /rx/tx are junk. With the gear you mentioned above you should definitely be able to get the steering back to dead center from either direction. Could be something as simple as the tiny bit of slop adding up in all the rotating components.
 
cardarear said:
The comment about steering slop was interesting. I will have to check for that. the rustlers are running off of the stock Traxxas transmitters and the xl5 esc powers the stock receiver off of the BEC. I'm using decent 2S Lipos (RC king at least 40c) . I'm using a Fataba 3PV and R20GF receiver in the Vekta. The servos are powered directly from the Killer Rc 7200 mah 2s lipo with just the signal going through the receiver.
I'm no expert on dual steering servo setups but I did spend a decent amount of time trying to make sure they were not fighting each other. I basically let both center independently then carefully added the linkage between them, and tweaked the length until there was no chatter from the servos.
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The only way to get dual servos working properly is by programming. The hitecs will burn out eventually as one of them will be slightly out of sync. They will fight during use but you won't see it until one dies and the other can't move it. Been there, done that, twice. It's worth spending the money and getting the Hitec servo programmer.
 
Mine work fine no programming ??
Took ages to get right?
Billp said:
The only way to get dual servos working properly is by programming. The hitecs will burn out eventually as one of them will be slightly out of sync. They will fight during use but you won't see it until one dies and the other can't move it. Been there, done that, twice. It's worth spending the money and getting the Hitec servo programmer.
Click to expand...
 
I've never run dual servos on 1/5th so I cant comment but I wouldnt have thought programming would have been necessary. At least I never had to with any of my older rock crawlers but that wasnt digital servos or anything close to what we have now as far as strong reliable servos.
 
I'm not positive if the issue I am seeing is related to the dual servo. However I have noticed before that the distance between the connection points on the two servo horns changes slightly as they travel away from center not much, maybe a few mm). So the Hitec servo programmer may be interesting to look into.
crucialRC said:
Just get this and be done with it. I use this on my Vekta with no problems. Had to use different tire rods but work perfect.
View attachment 53564
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how would this help? Does it do something different than my current dual linkage?
 
cardarear said:
I'm not positive if the issue I am seeing is related to the dual servo. However I have noticed before that the distance between the connection points on the two servo horns changes slightly as they travel away from center not much, maybe a few mm). So the Hitec servo programmer may be interesting to look into.

how would this help? Does it do something different than my current dual linkage?
Click to expand...
1 horn is on a pivot and can be locked down in any position. You can put both horns on with the linkage then let the horns center themselves then lock the one horn down. If that makes sense.?
 
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