Is it possible to control a servo using a Pot, but remotly using IR? If no, what would be the best route to go. I have a bunch of things all operating on IR and was hoping to keep the project IR rather than go to RC or Wi-Fi. I'm not looking for any sketch work or anything like that, rather just a yes and no with a little background on why. Thank you for the help.
Yes, you could use a servo to turn a pot, you just have to come up with a means of mechanically coupling the one to the other.
Yes, you could use IR remote control to affect servo control (pulse routine).
Thanks, are you saying the only way to remotley control a servo, using a pot is to doit mechanically? There is no way to just go from a pot on a remote and have that move a servo?
I thought you wanted to control a pot with a servo.
You could analogRead a pot and have that result a servo control pulse-width, which could be coded as a remote-control code, too.
In summary: You can control a servo...and you can read a pot...and you can transmit 'data' or controls via IR...and all combinations and in betweens are possible. Do you want to control a servo remotely? If so...is a microcontroller going to stay local to the servo and control it while at the same time awaiting remote input?
These are all questions perhaps you would be the best at answering since this must fit into your current setup as best it can.
johnnyonthespot:
In summary: You can control a servo...and you can read a pot...and you can transmit 'data' or controls via IR...and all combinations and in betweens are possible. Do you want to control a servo remotely? If so...is a microcontroller going to stay local to the servo and control it while at the same time awaiting remote input?These are all questions perhaps you would be the best at answering since this must fit into your current setup as best it can.
Yes, the microcontroller will remain localized with the servo and the IR receiver. Currently I have been using a TV remote control to switch on and off a series of relays. I have a single servo on this project already that is just to swing a 90 when triggered on and back to 0 when off. Now, I would like to add a pan servo and tilt servo (the reason for the pots). You made me think a little, I don't think a pot is going to work out on this seeing the Arduino will need to remain localized, and this project has to be IR. I might have to reconsider my plans on the control of the pan and tilt, by coming up with a way to make the TV remote do it instead of the more desirable pots. I really don't want to buy another arduino to make a remote, but I'm not going to say I wont... This project needs to be perfect and if I feel like I need to make a remote I might consider purchasing a mini or something like that. Maybe I'll go big and buy a mega, then use my Uno for the controller. Well, thank you for the posts and everyone's help. If you have any suggestions that you would like to throw my way, I'm open for ideas. As for now, I think I will try to keep the TV remote alive until I can come up with something better. Again, thank you!!!!
Thank you,
Peter
You are looking to have direct position control of a servo, the way R/C channels work. I'm not sure IR has the same currently available multiple "channels".
Anyway, IR would let you easily have velocity buttons, rather than position pots. You would use a switch type joystick to pan/tile L, R, U, Down.
Also you could use a ready made X-10 device like this pan/tilt cheapie:
http://www.x10.com/promotions/airsight_wireless_ip_camera.html?YBINT
X-10 is easy to control via Arduino - (Google Arduino X10 )
I'm not sure IR has the same currently available multiple "channels".
I'm sure it would be possible to cobble together an R/C-like PPM protocol, but I think you'd want to use wider pulses than the usual R/C 1 to 2ms, to allow sufficient 38kHz cycles per pulse.
AWOL:
I'm not sure IR has the same currently available multiple "channels".
I'm sure it would be possible to cobble together an R/C-like PPM protocol, but I think you'd want to use wider pulses than the usual R/C 1 to 2ms, to allow sufficient 38kHz cycles per pulse.
Well the only issue I see with that is when you send an IR transmission it's a single signal, if you hold a button down it will go from the code (ex. 20EFM776D) on the first press of the button then, as you hold it down it just keeps showin (FFFFFFFFF). This is the case with any button pressed and held. So, being able to hit and hold say button #2 to go up, it will not give you a nice fluid motion. Instead, for it to read the signal to go up (20EFM776D), you would have to keep hitting the #2 key to transmit the proper signal. Unless there would be a way around this, maybe to program the FFFFFFFF to be a hold of the first transmission. However, I would have no clue how to do this in code.
Well the only issue I see with that is when you send an IR transmission it's a single signal
Sorry, I assumed you had control of the IR LED and could send what you liked.
OK, forget that one then.
No, thank you for the reply! You know it might be different if I wasn't using a TV remote, and just went about making my own remote for the project. But if I did that, I think I would just go the the pots. There has to be a way to do it. At this point I'm determind to figure it out.
The thing that I don't understand is, if you hit a button on a remote to control your TV and you hold a button down. it will continue inserting the button you are pressing (Volume). So, why when you go into the serial monitor and you hold a button down it changes it to FFFFFFFFF? So, if that's the case does the TV process it as FFFFFFFFF and if so there has to be a way to program the button hold to act as the original hit button.
I'm going to have to look into this more.
If you hold a button the remote, its micro is programmed to send an FFFFFFFFF.
On the receiver side, it's programmed such that any FFFFFFFFF means to repeat the last function, whatever that was.
Presumably there's a time-out between the "last function" and any ensuing FFFFFFFFF.
Yea, that's what I figured. I will have to look into programming that into a sketch.