Skip to main content

Mini Servo Controller

In this project we introduce easy to build, miniature servo controller. This miniature servo controller system is ideal for most of the robotic and mechanical projects. Some of the most notable key features of this project are:


  • Tiny PCB design (35mm × 33mm aprox.) using standard through-hole components.
  • Support for both analog and digital control interfaces.
  • Compatible with most of the servo units.
  • Low cost due to small amount of components.

The main controller of this project is PIC12F675 – 8bit CMOS microcontroller. In this given design we configure PIC12F675 microcontroller to operate using its 4MHz internal oscillator.

This designed servo controller may successfully work with any generic servos which include MYSTERY, Futaba, HiTec, JR Radio, etc. At the prototyping stages we test this controller with several MYSTERY 3.7g and 9g servos.

This servo controller is design to work in 2 operating modes. In first mode this system may work with analog potentiometer and control the servo according to the value of potentiometer. In the second mode servo is controlled using 3 tactile push switches. These operating modes are selected using jumper on the controller PCB. This servo controller is design to work with 4.5V – 5.5V DC power source.

All the project schematic files, PCB designs and firmware source codes are available to download at google drive.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This servo controller is working in two modes means analog potentio meter and servo controlled using 3 tactile push switches ,thanks for sharing this blog.

Popular posts from this blog

Building the TD4 4-Bit CPU

The TD4 is a famous 4-bit CPU featured in the book How to Build a CPU by Kaoru Tonami . The book focuses on constructing a functional processor entirely from basic 74-series TTL logic ICs. While the book is unfortunately only available in Japanese, a friend from Japan sent me a copy along with a TD4 PCB. I believe the PCB is based on the open-source design files available on BG5DIW's GitHub repository . "How to Build CPU" book and the PCB. Recently, I finally found the time to build and experiment with it. The project took a few months, as I had to translate the book myself to grasp the core concepts. The overall design is simple and elegant, offering a set of 12 instructions and a 16-byte ROM (implemented via DIP switches) for programming. The board operates on 5V and can be powered via USB. Most components were sourced from local shops, though I had to order a few 74HC-series ICs online. Later, I tested the circuit by replacing some 74HC components with 74LS series...

CD2003 - yet another simple FM radio receiver

In the last few days, we are looking for some simple FM radio receiver to integrate into one of our ongoing projects. For that, we try several FM radio receiver ICs including TDA7000, CD2003/TA2003/TA8164, CXA1019, and KA22429. Out of all those chips we select CD2003 (or TA2003/TA8164) based receiver for our project because of its simplicity and outstanding performance. Except to CD2003, Sony CXA1019 also perform well but we drop it because of its higher component count. We design our receiver based on Toshiba TA2003 datasheet and later we try TA8164 and CD2003 with the same circuit. Either CD2003 or TA8164 can directly replace TA2003 IC, and as per our observations, TA8164 gives excellent results out of those 3 chips. A prototype version of CD2003 FM radio receiver The PCB design and schematic which we used in our prototype project are available to download at google drive (including pin-outs of crystal filters and inductors ). Except for CD2003 IC, this receiver consist...

Arduino superheterodyne receiver

In this project, we extend the shortwave superheterodyne receiver we developed a few years ago . Like the previous design, this receiver operates on the traditional superheterodyne principle.  In this upgrade, we enhanced the local oscillator with Si5351 clock generator module and Arduino control circuit. Compared to the old design, this new receiver uses an improved version of an intermediate frequency amplifier with 3 I.F transformers. In this new design, we divide this receiver into several blocks, which include, mixer with a detector, a local oscillator, and an I.F amplifier. The I.F amplifier builds into one PCB. The filter stage, mixer, and detector stages place in another PCB. Prototype version of 455kHz I.F amplifier. In this prototype build, the Si5351 clock generator drives using an Arduino Uno board. With the given sketch, the user can tune and switch the shortwave meter bands using a rotary encoder. The supplied sketch support clock generation from 5205kHz (tuner f...