Hitec HPP-21 Servo programmer

PARTS & SUPPLIES NEEDED
Hitec HPP-21
5 pin mini USB cable
PC
4.8-6v Receiver battery
Hitec Digital Servo

Lets face it, if you are a crawler, you want the most powerful steering servo you can afford. I had been running Hobbico CS-170s and they were performing pretty well at 333in/oz for 6v. I actually had upped the voltage to 7.2v so who knows how much power I was really producing. But, when Hitec came out with their 7950TH that puts out 403 in/oz at 6v and 486 at 7.4 volts ... I had to try one out.

The very first thing I noticed is that the 7950TH comes with a smaller "sweep" from the factory than the CS-170. I'd say the CS-170 is around 130* of sweep. The 7950TH comes out at 90* of sweep. Although more powerful, you end up losing some of the power if you have to use a longer servo horn, so I was disappointed. Then I ran across the Hitec HPP-21 programmer.

The HPP-21 is a PC based programmer that allows you to manipulate your Hitec digital servo settings. One of, and for my purposes the most important ability, is that you can adjust the servo to run up to 180* of sweep. More power and a larger sweep... perfect

The only probelm with the HPP-21, and the reason for this writeup, is that the instructions are not necessarily clear as to how to make thes adjustments. Maybe it's not the instructions though, I could just be a bonehead.

When I first plugged it in I tried setting the EPAs and there was no change. I got concerned that I would not be able to do anything short of making the EPAs smaller, then I ran across a writeup on RCCRAWLER.COM by Nova's Ark. If you know Eddie, you know he knows his stuff. After seeing him say it is possible I took a second look and figured it all out. So I decided a short writeup was in order to help clear things up.


1. After installing the software from HitecRCD.com, connect your Servo and RX battery to the HPP-21. Then connect your Mini USB cable to the HPP-21. Plug the USB cable into your PC and fire up the software.

2. Here is a shot of the first screen you will see.


3. Click on "Program".


4. Click on the button that says "High" under resoloution.


5. The screen will go back to the home screen, so once again click on the radio button next to "Program".

6. Click OK when you get the message.


7. Click on the radio button for the EPA "Start".


8. Click OK.


9. Center the slider to 0 if it is not already there, and hit the button for "Center".

10. Click OK.


11. Slider the slider all the way to the left then hit the "Left or Right" button.


12. Hit OK.


13. Now slide the slider all the way to the right and hit the "Left or Right" button. I noticed the left went to 197 and the right goes to 198, no idea why.


14. Click OK


15. Now click the radio button to end and your changes are saved.


16. Back at the home screen now you can click on the "Start" button to test the sweep (stop to stop it) and it should be 180* or more.


Here is the difference....