Trying to figure out why a simplest of commands isnt working

still doesnt work(

Start with something that works (you said an example works). Show that example. Describe what you observe the example doing. Describe what you would like to change in the example.

Use meaningful descriptions.

1 Like

Details, details. In a tech forum, details are everything. What power bank? What's it capacity? how is it connected to the circuit?
Servos draw lots of current even when you're not changing the servo angle, thus, if you have maybe a 600mAh rated power bank and two servos attached, then walk away for an hour with the project running, there's a pretty good chance your power bank needs recharged.

here is the example:

/*************************************************** 
  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

  Pick one up today in the adafruit shop!
  ------> http://www.adafruit.com/products/815
  
  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 50 // 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
}

the example, makes my servo rotate back and forth, randomly, (i assume) untill the pulselen is fixated on one number; and thats it. also its hard to use more meaningful description when all im currently experiencing is literally nothing, the script that isnt the example does literally nothing, thats what im trying to fix.

Question about your code, not the example code. When you run it, are you seeing the

Serial debugging messages repeat?

And the servo is connected to PWM port 0 on the driver board?
I have mine up and running now. It appears to be working.

yes, they are constantly repeating

yea it is on port 0

again, the servo DOES move, but only once, i just dont understand why the loop doesnt work

Moves only once? One move or one complete cycle?

one move

it only does the pwm.setPWM(servo, 0, 599); part of the moving, and thats it, i can change the value spcesifically in this part of the scipt and the next time i upload it, the servo will move once, according to that change, and then stop, the

Serial.println("Mid-loop");
Serial.println("End of the loop");

work just fine. so im confused why is the servo not working like that.

Try this. It ramps the value up and down. Seems to be working here. I'm using an LED brightness to check. I'll see if I can find one of my servos.

#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);

// 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)

// our servo # counter
uint8_t servonum = 0;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println("16 channel Servo test!");

  pwm.begin();
  
  pwm.setPWMFreq(60);  // Analog servos run at ~60 Hz updates

  yield();
}

// 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. its not precise!
void setServoPulse(uint8_t n, double pulse) {
  double pulselength;
  
  pulselength = 1000000;   // 1,000,000 us per second
  pulselength /= 60;   // 60 Hz
  Serial.print(pulselength); Serial.println(" us per period"); 
  pulselength /= 4096;  // 12 bits of resolution
  Serial.print(pulselength); Serial.println(" us per bit"); 
  pulse *= 1000;
  pulse /= pulselength;
  Serial.println(pulse);
  pwm.setPWM(n, 0, pulse);
}

void loop() {
  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);
}

You need to find your servo's min/max pulse widths.

I'm using this watching my servo cycle back and forth.

#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_PWMServoDriver.h>

Adafruit_PWMServoDriver pwm = Adafruit_PWMServoDriver();

#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)

uint8_t servonum = 0;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(38400);
  Serial.println("16 channel Servo test!");
  pwm.begin();
  pwm.setPWMFreq(60);  // Analog servos run at ~60 Hz updates
  yield();
}

void loop() {
  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);
}

Could you please provide a web link to the exact servo you're using?

So the program loops as expected. Those Serial.println() statements wouldn't run if the program wasn't looping as intended. That's what makes them so useful for debugging: you can easily see where your program gets stuck, or in your case, doesn't get stuck.
So here are your possibilities:

  • the values sent to the servo are meaningless to that particular servo.
  • the power supplied to the servos is insufficient.

As others are indicating, you need to find out the min/max for your model servo (Google the specs/datasheet for the model printed on the side of it) and adapt that range to the library you're using.

Thing about your library is this: Adafruit is an excellent company with lots of useful stuff, but in this case the library for that servo driver is written unconventionally compared to the typical way most folks use servos with Arduino (Arduino's standard Servo library). Compare the two libraries and you'll see what I mean.

It could be the OP's servo won't go stop-to-stop in one operation.
Maybe ramping it is best.

Wouldn't know without a servo datasheet, I guess

If so, the servo should be tossed.

It may not make it end-to-end in the time provided, but it should certainly be hustling off to where it was last told to go at its maximum sweep rate.

The delays could be increased until it is observed that the servo has reached its current goal. One half second should be enough to see it trying.

a7