[nidalxbot]

Not sure if this is the exactly right forum, but it says "Electronic" so I'm asking here

I'm here for not so long and one of the first things to post on this forum is: I would like to ask you for a small favor.

I'm close to finishing design of a controller box for analog RC servos which should be done in a few weeks and I was wondering if you guys and gals could answer a few questions and help me make it even better.


I've been working on this controller during August and am wraping up the design in a week or two so I can have prototypes shipped to me before Halloween.

It will be able to control 16 servos, will have power supply for servos, USB connection to PC with Java and C/C++ programming interface, UART connection for the same interface. There will be a simple software for Win/Mac/Linux that can be used to control servos and write and run control scripts in Lua.

Now, I need your help here. Before I wrap up everything and send it off for prototype manufacturing I want to make sure that I've covered as much as there can be. Basically I would like to maximize return for money paid for prototypes (it's never cheap

That's where you come in. Please take a few minutes and just let me know, out of top of your head:

A) What would you put in/on this servo controller based on your experience/desires:

B) As far as electronics go, what would be the number one thing (or two...) you would put on this servo controller board? (uSD card? 32 servo connectors? LCD? pot to control servo position? anything...)

C) As far as PC software goes, what would be that most important function (or functions to implement? (scripting? mouse control? saving settings? graphs? whatever...)

Of course, if there's anything else you would like to write about servo controller(s), please do )

Thanks!

[Max]

What would one do with a servo controller? Is it something for just testing servos? Like a servo tester?

The other "servo Controller" we in the RC business use are receivers- the receiver receives a radio signal and then controls the servo. So would we need a separate servo controller.

Unless there is a new application out there that requires a separate servo controller. Can you please enlighten us?

[RCcanuck]

Can it run on my tablet?

[4*60]

Want someone to do your science project?

[Arceenut]

Why in the world would one need to test 16 servos at once, let alone 32? Unless this is being built for a servo manufacturer I see little use for it for the average modeller.

[dashpuppy]

Servo testers can be good, they are good for breaking in servos. Testing them for length of time.

Usually 4 servos max would be food 16/32 is TONS and no one would buy it fortthat..

is there a board layout we can see ? I'm good at PCB layouts & design.

[Warbird_ace]

How about S.Bus capability for use in the new S.Bus rx, thinking the new Taranis X9D with it's 32 channel capability. Not that I have a plane requiring 32 channels......

[nidalxbot]

Hi guys, and thanks for your comments, really appreciate it!


My mistake, I forgot to say what I'm doing with it: I'm building this animatronic dinosaur for Halloween using carbon fiber rods, balsa wood, foam, and RC servos, things you can find in my workshop laying all around.

While building dino in sort of ad-hoc way (No 3D design, CAD stuff etc.), I need to check if parts have enough space to move, are servos and horns positioned correctly, can servo even operate in this or that position etc. etc. I used one of my 6 channel receivers and Tx to move servos at first and it was OK, but then it came to the point where I needed 2 extra hands to operate everything.

That's why I put together this servo controller. Just to give you an idea of how this thing started, take a look at this:



Boards are from one of my other projects, buttons, LCD, uSD connector and whole nine yards.

The bottom one, with LCD by its side, is what went into ABS box and out the door to the client. If there's enough space on the board, I always fan out any unused pins from controller and other ICs.

I had 4 of these left and the top one is acting as a platform for servo controller. I just soldered headers to pins I needed and then connected this monstrous thing to it:



After that it was a matter of putting firmware together out of pieces I already had, and writing few dozen lines of code in Java to send commands and interpret responses.

Why buy stuff off the shelf with these things laying around and just teasing you to put them together?

I'm going to order 10 pieces of the controller board, and I thought before I shell out $$, to maybe add a thing or two to it which I could use with some of my future projects involving RC servos. That's why I posted the question: who knows more about RC servos but RC guys?


To answer some of the questions:
- No, it can't be connected to tablet, tablets and smartphones use different concept of connecting USB accessories
- I definetly thought of using one of the boards as a servo tester, no need for 16 or 32 outputs but how about current/voltage measurement or something?
- It's not a science project but hey, my kid might use the dino for one once I build it, who knows?
- Well, besides for this animatronic project, I was thinking to build foamy flyer with elevons and plug the board between Rx and servos to play around with controls. Maybe...
- I can send schamatic and board layout to whomever is interested, once it's all laid out...

[kip51035]

Analogue Proportional came out before digital and it was a BiG FLOP!!!! Too many things caused the signal to wander. GOOD LUCK!