Servos and the BS2
Buck Rogers
Posts: 2,187
Hello!
I have here an older Hitec servo, its so old the vendor doesn't even keep it in its obsolete file. That being said I found out that the standard servo code, obviously written for the ones that Parallax selected, which are either Futaba or even Hitec or someone else's brands works on this one.
Oddly enough I bought it years ago, before I even heard of the Basic Stamps to construct something from a now closed hobby shop in Manhattan for about 10 Dollars. This is the first time I've done anything with it, in about twenty years. Perhaps even thirty years.
Oh and Chris you were very right about the color code on the cables that we were discussing for the LCD displays having the same color codes as the servos. I found a chart who confirms it, and I was able to make my widget work with the code after a fashion.
All I did there was to swap a P0 for the P number displayed when I loaded the code. It worked. Thing is also rather noisy.
Okay here are some photos of the arrangement:
And one 45 second video. The soundtrack which the device didn't tell me it was recording is from my radio station WQXR-FM who is running down a pledge drive (It is a Public Radio Station.)
I have here an older Hitec servo, its so old the vendor doesn't even keep it in its obsolete file. That being said I found out that the standard servo code, obviously written for the ones that Parallax selected, which are either Futaba or even Hitec or someone else's brands works on this one.
Oddly enough I bought it years ago, before I even heard of the Basic Stamps to construct something from a now closed hobby shop in Manhattan for about 10 Dollars. This is the first time I've done anything with it, in about twenty years. Perhaps even thirty years.
Oh and Chris you were very right about the color code on the cables that we were discussing for the LCD displays having the same color codes as the servos. I found a chart who confirms it, and I was able to make my widget work with the code after a fashion.
' CenterStdServo.bs2
' {$STAMP BS2}
' {$PBASIC 2.5}
counter VAR Word
servoPin PIN 0 ' change I/O pin for servo signal here
FOR counter = 1 TO 220
PULSOUT servoPin, 750
PAUSE 20
NEXT
All I did there was to swap a P0 for the P number displayed when I loaded the code. It worked. Thing is also rather noisy.
Okay here are some photos of the arrangement:
And one 45 second video. The soundtrack which the device didn't tell me it was recording is from my radio station WQXR-FM who is running down a pledge drive (It is a Public Radio Station.)
1024 x 768 - 124K
1024 x 768 - 127K
1024 x 768 - 136K
1024 x 768 - 139K
Comments
According to http://hitecrcd.com/company/about-us, HiTec was founded in 1973, so it's likely that most any servo made by them can be controlled by a BS2 with standard PULSOUTs.
Hello!
Actually yes. Since what I had shown there was done at 3AM yesterday (EDT) I promptly spent sometime later on yesterday confirming my suppositions regarding how the items were wired together, and of course appropriate purposed demonstration code. Each example with the appropriate Pin # set worked.
Almost forgot, what does everyone think of my photos and the video sketch?
Hello!
And right you are. I still can't recall why I bought the thing then, but given the particulars, yes. As it happens back a number of years ago, TI made an excellent analog to digital converter which translated an ordinary analog voltage of say five volts to zero, to the span in bits, and it was done in serial fashion. Forest M. Mims made use of one as a PWM tool and found that it would do much the same for a servo. I think that's why I bought it from that now closed hobby shop. It was never assembled as such, and I think I have two or three of these parts.
And the stamps do much better with servos.
Ideally my next purchase will be the excellent continuous rotation servo that Parallax makes to ascertain how to have it participate in running a tracked vehicle other then the BOE-Bot wearing tracks instead of its wheels.
See this thread http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/151076-Website-problem as to where I'm off and running with this.