Simple Servo Controller

Author Views Views Today Rank Comments
9,852 6 1

Servo motors have many uses in everything from robotics to puppetry to photography and beyond. These little motors can position their output shaft to any position on command and hold that position. Most servos have a range of motion to about 210 degrees and thankfully are very easy to control with a simple circuit such as the one presented here. Using just a 555 timer and a few support components this circuit can control a servo through it's full rotation based on the position of a pot. This circuit was originally published in the Think Tank column of the October 1995 issue of Popular Electronics.

Schematic

Schematic for the servo controller

Parts
Part
Total Qty.
Description
Substitutions
R11820 Ohm 1/4W Resistor
R2168K 1/4W Resistor
R3110K 1/4W Resistor
R411K 1/4W Resistor
R511K Linear Taper Pot
C111uF 16V Electrolytic Capacitor
Q112N3904 NPN Transistor2N2222, Most Small Signal Transistors
U11555 Timer IC
MISC1Board, Wire, Knob For R1, 8 Pin Socket For U1

Notes

  1. R1 adjusts the position of the servo.

  2. Connect the servo to the circuit as shown in the schematic. For common Futaba servos, the red wire is power, the black wire is ground, and the white wire is control.

Related Circuits
Air Flow Detector, Wire Loop Alarm, Simple Two Speed Contactor DC Motor Controller , 7 Segment LED Counter, Simple Lie Detector, Low Voltage Alarm, Video Stabilizer/MacroVision Removal, Pulse Width Modulation DC Motor Control, Simple Polarity Tester, Pine Racecar Victory Judge, Rain Detector, Time Delay Relay, Time Delay Relay II, Stepper Motor Controller, Touch Switch, Video Activated Relay, Digital Keypad Combination Lock, AC Motor Speed Controller, Simple Servo Controller, Water Detector With Sump/Bilge Pump Controller

Comments

anonymous
Simple Servo Controller
Saturday, February 09, 2008 2:18:42 AM
In the Misc. and Notes "R1" should be corrected to "R5".
The last 10 comments are currently shown. Show All Comments.

If you would like to leave a comment, you can do so using the form below. Comments can be things like suggestions, successes or failures, improvements, similar circuits, error reports, an answer to a previous commenter's question, or anything in between. However if you would like to ask a question it is suggested that you use the forum instead. The forum provides a more robust environment for discussion.

Important: If you post a technical question here, there is no guarantee it will be answered. All technical questions should be posted to the forum. The owner of this site generally does not answer questions in comments.

All comments are subject to approval before they are displayed here, so your comment will not appear immediately. This is done mainly to prevent spam and other abuse. If you wish to remain anonymous, simply enter "anonymous" for your name and/or email.

Name:
Email:
Subject:
Comments:
Anti Spam Code:
Please enter the exact text shown in the image above into the box below.
Browser cookies must be enabled to comment on circuits.

Privacy Policy

Back To Circuits Page | Mail Me | Search