Simple Servo Controller


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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.

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Comments

anonymous
Simple Servo Controller
Saturday, February 09, 2008 2:18:42 AM
In the Misc. and Notes "R1" should be corrected to "R5".
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