Because I'm ready to stick a fork in my eye to distract myself from the pain of getting this to work.
I've got a couple of Hitec servos, a cheap standard one (a HS-311) and an expensive super-torquey digital one (a HS-7950TH).
Using an Arduino Mega and the Adafruit motor shield (here) the HS-311 works fine on the Servo 1 pins.
If I plug the HS-7950TH into the same pins, it won't move.
The HS-7950TH works fine when plugged into Hitec's servo programmer/tester (HPP-21Plus) and a NiMH battery.
The Hitec web site (FAQ) states "Hitec digital servos will perform like standard servos out of the box. It is not required to program them before use." I expected it to just work when plugged in.
Hitec's tech support said they don't know anything about Arduinos and blamed the Arduino, suggesting that possibly the Arduino couldn't provide the necessary current. I am using an external power supply for the servo; the same NiMH battery that powers it with the tester. So that's not it.
I did all my software debugging with the cheap HS-311 so I'm about 98% certain the fault isn't the Arduino's ... I'd just use the HS-311 but I actually need every bit of torque from the HS-7950TH.
michinyon:
According to the link you posted, unless modified that servo will respond to pulse widths from 1500 to 1900 microseconds only.
To test it, I would suggest trying to set it to an angle which corresponds to a pulse duration in that range.
That was it.
My test code was running the servo back and forth from 5 to 175 degrees. Servo did nothing, didn't even hum ... didn't occur to me to try a different range.
Loading a servo to its maximum torque will fry it, you need to allow a reasonable
overhead so its not pulling amps all the time. The idea is the torque overhead is
only needed to accelerate the load briefly and the average motor current is fairly
low. If you want high duty cycle you'll need a servo in a metal case so the heat
can escape as a start....
MarkT:
Loading a servo to its maximum torque will fry it, you need to allow a reasonable
overhead so its not pulling amps all the time. The idea is the torque overhead is
only needed to accelerate the load briefly and the average motor current is fairly
low. If you want high duty cycle you'll need a servo in a metal case so the heat
can escape as a start....
This particular servo turns a gear that basically shovels gritty sandy stuff. It doesn't need much torque except for the very, very short period of time that an aperture is closing, and only if some material is 1/2 way in.
Actually the wimpy little HS-311 and its 51 oz-in usually works fine, but about 10% of the time it gets stuck because it lacks the oomph to overcome that random grain getting sort of stuck in the way. The HS-7950TH has almost 10x as much torque and so it powers through that sticking point pretty easily, but there's no load on it at either its starting or ending points.
It's probably overkill for the project, but I like overkill and I don't think I'd like even a 1% got-stuck rate.
