Hi all,
I am having quite a bit of trouble attempting to use a PCA9685 to control a servo. While my project calls for 28 servos, I am struggling to get even a single servo to sweep.
Hardware: I am using an Arduino Uno as the microcontroller along with Miuzei SG90 servo motors. The PCA9685 is an Adafruit clone from Hiletgo .
Wiring:
Here is a link to some pictures of my wiring: Imgur: The magic of the Internet
In case those images are not clear, I have VCC <-> 5v, SCL<->A5, SDA<->A4, GND<->GND. Additionally, I have a 5v5a additional power supply screwed into the terminal block (to power the servos).
Code:
I am using the Adafruit PWM ServoDriverlibrary. Documentation Link
I have tried both the "servo" sample example code as well as custom written code, neither of which seem to do the trick.
/***************************************************
This is an example for our Adafruit 16-channel PWM & Servo driver
Servo test - this will drive 8 servos, one after the other on the
first 8 pins of the PCA9685
These drivers use I2C to communicate, 2 pins are required to
interface.
Adafruit invests time and resources providing this open source code,
please support Adafruit and open-source hardware by purchasing
products from Adafruit!
Written by Limor Fried/Ladyada for Adafruit Industries.
BSD license, all text above must be included in any redistribution
****************************************************/
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_PWMServoDriver.h>
// called this way, it uses the default address 0x40
Adafruit_PWMServoDriver pwm = Adafruit_PWMServoDriver();
// you can also call it with a different address you want
//Adafruit_PWMServoDriver pwm = Adafruit_PWMServoDriver(0x41);
// you can also call it with a different address and I2C interface
//Adafruit_PWMServoDriver pwm = Adafruit_PWMServoDriver(0x40, Wire);
// Depending on your servo make, the pulse width min and max may vary, you
// want these to be as small/large as possible without hitting the hard stop
// for max range. You'll have to tweak them as necessary to match the servos you
// have!
#define SERVOMIN 150 // This is the 'minimum' pulse length count (out of 4096)
#define SERVOMAX 600 // This is the 'maximum' pulse length count (out of 4096)
#define USMIN 600 // This is the rounded 'minimum' microsecond length based on the minimum pulse of 150
#define USMAX 2400 // This is the rounded 'maximum' microsecond length based on the maximum pulse of 600
#define SERVO_FREQ 60 // Analog servos run at ~50 Hz updates
// our servo # counter
uint8_t servonum = 0;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("8 channel Servo test!");
pwm.begin();
/*
* In theory the internal oscillator (clock) is 25MHz but it really isn't
* that precise. You can 'calibrate' this by tweaking this number until
* you get the PWM update frequency you're expecting!
* The int.osc. for the PCA9685 chip is a range between about 23-27MHz and
* is used for calculating things like writeMicroseconds()
* Analog servos run at ~50 Hz updates, It is importaint to use an
* oscilloscope in setting the int.osc frequency for the I2C PCA9685 chip.
* 1) Attach the oscilloscope to one of the PWM signal pins and ground on
* the I2C PCA9685 chip you are setting the value for.
* 2) Adjust setOscillatorFrequency() until the PWM update frequency is the
* expected value (50Hz for most ESCs)
* Setting the value here is specific to each individual I2C PCA9685 chip and
* affects the calculations for the PWM update frequency.
* Failure to correctly set the int.osc value will cause unexpected PWM results
*/
pwm.setOscillatorFrequency(27000000);
pwm.setPWMFreq(SERVO_FREQ); // Analog servos run at ~50 Hz updates
delay(10);
}
// You can use this function if you'd like to set the pulse length in seconds
// e.g. setServoPulse(0, 0.001) is a ~1 millisecond pulse width. It's not precise!
void setServoPulse(uint8_t n, double pulse) {
double pulselength;
pulselength = 1000000; // 1,000,000 us per second
pulselength /= SERVO_FREQ; // Analog servos run at ~60 Hz updates
Serial.print(pulselength); Serial.println(" us per period");
pulselength /= 4096; // 12 bits of resolution
Serial.print(pulselength); Serial.println(" us per bit");
pulse *= 1000000; // convert input seconds to us
pulse /= pulselength;
Serial.println(pulse);
pwm.setPWM(n, 0, pulse);
}
void loop() {
// Drive each servo one at a time using setPWM()
Serial.println(servonum);
for (uint16_t pulselen = SERVOMIN; pulselen < SERVOMAX; pulselen++) {
pwm.setPWM(servonum, 0, pulselen);
}
delay(500);
for (uint16_t pulselen = SERVOMAX; pulselen > SERVOMIN; pulselen--) {
pwm.setPWM(servonum, 0, pulselen);
}
delay(500);
// Drive each servo one at a time using writeMicroseconds(), it's not precise due to calculation rounding!
// The writeMicroseconds() function is used to mimic the Arduino Servo library writeMicroseconds() behavior.
for (uint16_t microsec = USMIN; microsec < USMAX; microsec++) {
pwm.writeMicroseconds(servonum, microsec);
}
delay(500);
for (uint16_t microsec = USMAX; microsec > USMIN; microsec--) {
pwm.writeMicroseconds(servonum, microsec);
}
delay(500);
servonum++;
if (servonum > 7) servonum = 0; // Testing the first 8 servo channels
}
Custom Code
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_PWMServoDriver.h>
Adafruit_PWMServoDriver pwm = Adafruit_PWMServoDriver();
#define FREQUENCY 60
#define SERVOMIN 122
#define SERVOMAX 590
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("Moving the damn servo!");
pwm.begin();
pwm.setPWMFreq(60);
}
void loop() {
int angle = 180;
int pulse = map(angle,0,180,SERVOMIN,SERVOMAX);
pwm.setPWM(0, 0, pulse);
delay(1000);
}
Things I've tried:
- Confirming voltage of both board and servos using multimeter
- Verified servos work independently (swapped 12 in total)
- Changed all wires 3x to ensure no faulty connections
- Swapped Arduino Uno for a spare to ensure it was not the microcontroller
- Confirming I2C device was found at 0x40 using I2C Scanner
- Tried 6 total PCA9685 boards (on third set now)
- Calibrated the SERVOMIN and SERVOMAX to my servo specifications
- Using a breadboard, wired up a singular LED to try GPIO functionality, which was successful
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know - I am out of troubleshooting options on my end.