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[on:]

I did some searching and found all sorts of posts on servos, but nothing that directly answered my question in the 10 or so posts I looked at.

I'm thinking about buying a couple of servos for a project. It would be very light duty, opening the door on a small box and raising a small arm with no load on it.

I did a search and found some people had tried to use Futaba FP-S148 servos without much success. I still have a few of those laying around from my RC Airplane days.

If the FP-S148 won't work, some inexpensive servo recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jake

[Reply #1 on:]

I did a search and found some people had tried to use Futaba FP-S148 servos without much success. Too bad because I have a few of those laying around from my RC Airplane days.

Why don't you just actually try your servos to see if they work in what ever it is you want to do? That way you could find out what you need if they don't work.

[Reply #2 on:]

^^^^ I'm definitely going to do that. When I searched for Arduino + FP-S148 I had several hits; all attempts to use them were unsuccessful. Apparently these hobby servos rely on continuos voltage to maintain position. The spec on them look OK though:



Maybe I should change this thread to "will an FP-S148 servo work with an Arduino?"  (changed)

[Reply #3 on:]

Apparently these hobby servos rely on continuos voltage to maintain position.

Probably 99% of hobby servos have this requirement. If you need to hold the position without power applied, you probably need a worm screw or threaded rod actuator.

 

Maybe I should change this thread to "will an FP-S148 servo work with an Arduino?"  (changed)

I don't have one to test, but I bet the answer is yes. 

[Reply #4 on:]

Apparently these hobby servos rely on continuos voltage to maintain position.

Well yes, of course. Why would you turn it off, if you want it to control the position of something?

[Reply #5 on:]

UPDATE:  The FP-S148 works with the Uno.

Placed red wire to vcc, black to gnd, white to pin 9.   Loaded the "single servo" example sketch and presto!

Thanks for the responses.

Jake

[Reply #6 on:]

Placed red wire to vcc

I don't suppose it'd be a problem for light loads and obviously it's working for you at the moment, but you don't want to take much current through the Arduino, even if it's only via Vcc and so not going through the regulator. If you had bigger servos applying heavier loads they might draw more than the Arduino can handle safely. In that case it'd be necessary to give the servo a separate power supply.

[Reply #7 on:]

Thanks for the advice Milton. I'm moving it to a breadboard now.

[Reply #8 on:]

Just to prove the point, check out the two links in my signature for why you will need separate power as suggested by PeterH

Duane B