Optimal Rudder and Throttle Servo Speeds

Martin Law · Nov 16, 2024

Hi guys,

Stepping up to a transmitter with the servo speed adjustment features. I run gas riggers and gas sport boats.

What are the optimal rudder and throttle servo speed settings you guys that rely on those features use?
What reaction should be expected with those settings?

Thanks,

Marty

John Beardslee · Nov 16, 2024

Each transmitter and servo combination are different. You will just have to experiment. Maybe drop the speed 10 points at a time until you can start seeing a difference. The other thing that helps is adding expo. Expo adds dead space at the center which softens the throw so if you flinch it doesn’t affect your turn. FYI, with Futaba radios you add negative numbers to increase Expo, not sure about others brands. You won’t believe how slow I run all my stuff 21 rigger through twin.
John

Martin Law · Nov 16, 2024

Hi John, hope you are doing well these days!

I think I'm trying to compensate my older 50 mph brain for these 75+ mph boats, lol...

The new transmitter is a Futaba T4PM and I have Savox servos in everything. Sounds like it's not a simple cut and dried setting situation thus requiring some serious trial and error time at the pond.

Thanks for the great advice as usual!

Marty

John Beardslee · Nov 16, 2024

Martin Law said:
Hi John, hope you are doing well these days!

I think I'm trying to compensate my older 50 mph brain for these 75+ mph boats, lol...

The new transmitter is a Futaba T4PM and I have Savox servos in everything. Sounds like it's not a simple cut and dried setting situation thus requiring some serious trial and error time at the pond.

Thanks for the great advice as usual!

Marty

I’m doing well. Just finished up cataract surgery, amazing difference. Getting the work shop and trailer organized to bugout for FL for season.
Once you make the first or second change you’ll feel the difference and will be able to judge what’s best for you. I’d been flying helicopters for years before returning to boats, with the newer, faster and more powerful servos I was all over the pond let alone trying to stay on the race course. I had a good 3pmx radio and treated the boat like my heli’s and adjusted the radio to suit me and my driving style. The Expo probably transfers and isn’t affected as much by servO speed. I start with negative ten (-10) and go from there, most of mine are -20 to -30.

the german · Nov 16, 2024

Hi Martin
I run the same combo you have (4TPM with Savox servos) in all of my nitro and gas boats. I start with 50% speed and go from there. On my Gas Sport Hydro I event went down to 40% servo speed.
Hope this helps
Alex

Martin Law · Nov 16, 2024

That helps alot by giving me a good starting point and then fine tune from there.

Thanks Alex and John!

Marty

Danny King · Nov 16, 2024

It’s unique for each person. Set the linkage at the closest hole to the servo horn screw that is max torque and slowest speed. Then drive it before slowing the radio speed down. But I’d tried to learn to drive it that way first. If you already have then you can slow it down.

Grimracer · Nov 16, 2024

Barrie Lever · Sunday at 7:53 AM

Martin Law said:
Hi guys,

Stepping up to a transmitter with the servo speed adjustment features. I run gas riggers and gas sport boats.

What are the optimal rudder and throttle servo speed settings you guys that rely on those features use?
What reaction should be expected with those settings?

Thanks,

Marty

I cannot see any point in any RC model of having anything other than the fastest response possible, having said that having some expo can give a nice feeling around neutral but that does not reduce the response speed.

The slow part in this package is the human reactions which will be around 0.25 seconds for most of us, do you want to add any more time onto the 0.25 seconds unnecessarily?

Wesleys Custom RC · Sunday at 2:52 PM

If you get nervous at race time on the driver stand YOU WILL get shakey. With the new high speed radios it will translate to the servo. I have pitted for alot of guys in my years and watched their shaky hand movements and heard them tell me how their was something wrong with their boat. I have been just as guilty myself. I have the rudder at 10 and 17 in 2 boats. You can't decrease the servo arm length or you will not have enough travel.

Hydro Junkie · Sunday at 6:26 PM

Going back to what Wesley said about nerves, I had that issue when I started racing. When I got my 4PLS, I tried to drive with the rudder at full speed, just couldn't do it. I had nothing but problems cutting buoys with that quick response. At the suggestion of another person, I slowed the rudder down to 50%, left the throttle speed alone, made a world of difference. As said above, experiment with your speeds and see what you find works for you.

Martin Law · Monday at 7:46 AM

Some time ago in a previous post on this forum about this subject someone mention the advantages of slowing the throttle servo down some also.

Of course I can't find that post but does anyone do this also and for what benefit?

Thanks guys!

Marty

Grimracer · Monday at 8:31 AM

Barrie Lever said:
I cannot see any point in any RC model of having anything other than the fastest response possible, having said that having some expo can give a nice feeling around neutral but that does not reduce the response speed.

The slow part in this package is the human reactions which will be around 0.25 seconds for most of us, do you want to add any more time onto the 0.25 seconds unnecessarily?

This is not response.. this is speed... there is a difference.

Don Ferrette · Monday at 9:20 AM

Grimracer said:
This is not response.. this is speed... there is a difference.

Yup. And I cannot tell you how many ill handing boats I helped straighten out over the years by reducing end point adjustment (EPA). I have never seen a boat with proper linkage set up that needed anything even remotely close to 100% EPA. Also use the pushrod position closest to the servo output shaft that will yield sufficient throw to the rudder, this also helped slow the action down before we had servo speed adjustment. Now being able to slow the servos down thru the TX settings is an added bonus.

Tom Foley · Monday at 9:37 AM

Play around with it at 100 percent and slow it down to where you feel comfortable. I have never experimented with it but like instant quick response . I will have to check.it out .

Julio Almazan · Monday at 1:40 PM

Hi:

Tom Foley said:
Play around with it at 100 percent and slow it down to where you feel comfortable. I have never experimented with it but like instant quick response . I will have to check.it out .

From my experience in racing boats, I have been able to verify that the rudders on racing boats work differently in each boat. That, without mentioning the different types of propulsion you use.
The rudder turn required in an FSR-O type boat is very different from that of a 3.5cc Tunnel F1.
In the case of a 3.5cc Tunnel F1, it is very convenient to have control over the “AMOUNT" OF TURN you will give to the outboard motor. Softer, less over-steer… more aggressive, greater over-steer.
I would try the following test:
Two or three turns with 100% of the rudder
two or three turns with the rudder at 50%
… and from there on, adjust to your racing style. I fully share the experience narrated by Don Ferrette… it is like that, 90% of the time…

Wasted wages · Thursday at 9:48 PM

Back when I was racing, I worked and worked on my F mono ( husslecraft ) radio setup
( futaba magnum 1024 ) until I could scrape the paint off of the buoys at 75% wheel rotation.. worked on exponential and end point adjustment to where it was extremely predictable in the turns, but the last 25% would come in extremely fast if I needed to dodge a dead boat.. this was all before the new fast digital servos.

My gas boat comes close with the new 2.4 gig radio, but it was a huge learning curve,

I personally set up my linkage as straight as possible using the center hole in the servo arm and then use the radio to adapt to my driving style..
I mean that’s why they built all that wizardry into the newer radios right ??

Now on my riggers, I want full throw on the rudder, as fast as the servo will go.. I like the feedback of the rigger in proportion to how much I move the wheel..

Best way I can describe it is,, mono’s I want nice smooth control to carve turns, with a little “ cushion “ for an emergency correction when I give it full crank..
Riggers, I want a more direct feedback on the rudder..

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