I currently have a project that uses a wireless transmitter to trigger an ardunio to rotate a servo around 90 degrees. It seems that the servo trigger will do the same thing but without the need for an arduino.
I have a few questions though. My wireless system outputs a 5v signal when a button is pressed they are momentary push buttons). I am planning to run the high signal from my wireless system through a hex inverter to make it a low, which should work to trigger the servo trigger board. Since the signal will be momentary, will the servo trigger board rotate back and forth since the input will be changing from low back to high? I know I need to change the firmware to the toggle mode (the servo needs to stay in its current position until the button is pushed) to get the servo rotation the way I want.
Can the servo trigger board receive the low from the hex inverter, rotate the servo 90 degrees and keep it there until the push button is used again to move the servo to the original starting point? I use high torque servos, can the board support the current draw from them? I plan on using 6v but run that through a 5v 1.5a voltage regulator to maintain the 5v the trigger board needs.
The default mode of the Servo trigger is “Bistable” so when the button is pushed down it will go to state ‘B’ and stay there until the button is released. In your case it will try to go to ‘B’ and then go back to ‘A’ when the state changes. The other configuration is “One-Shot”, so when the signal triggers the servo will go to ‘B’ then come right back to ‘A’.
I know I need to change the firmware to the toggle mode
We don't support the firmware changes, but it is possible using the ISP header pins. You'll have to program the ATTiny84 with those pins. I would suggest looking at products and tutorials we have available for ATTiny applications: [https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=attiny](https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=attiny)
Can the servo trigger board receive the low from the hex inverter, rotate the servo 90 degrees and keep it there until the push button is used again to move the servo to the original starting point?
That would have to be a custom adjustment to the programming of the chip.
I use high torque servos, can the board support the current draw from them?
I wouldn't suggest having loads pull more than 600mA-800mA. I would suggest doing unit tests before installing them in a final application.
I finally had a chance to play around with the servo trigger and I have a few more questions.
My questions are about the input that triggers the servo to rotate. The guide says to just hook up a NO switch or push button. Is the push button/switch closing a ground circuit to trigger the servo? I am wondering if I could use an arduino to send a Low signal to the trigger board in place of the push button/switch to rotate the servo to point B, then have the arduino send a high to the trigger board to rotate the servo to point A. Is something like this possible?
My project now uses an arduino to rotate a servo a amount when one momentary push button is pushed, then rotate the servo back to the original position when another momentary push button is pushed. I can get the ardunio to output different logic values by watching the change of state of the push button, is it possible to send a low to the trigger board to rotate and stay there, then have the trigger board rotate again with a different logic value?
I would like to use the trigger board in my project because it lets the end user select the start, stop, and speed of the servo rotation, which is not possible with my project as it is right now. As it sits right now, if the servo positions and speed needs changed, I have to go into my sketch and change them, which is not very user friendly.
The guide says to just hook up a NO switch or push button. Is the push button/switch closing a ground circuit to trigger the servo?
Yes, if you look at the schematic you can see a trigger input pin and a ground pin. Connecting the trigger input pin to ground causes the trigger to activate.
I am wondering if I could use an arduino to send a Low signal to the trigger board in place of the push button/switch to rotate the servo to point B, then have the arduino send a high to the trigger board to rotate the servo to point A.
Yep, that will work!
I can get the ardunio to output different logic values by watching the change of state of the push button, is it possible to send a low to the trigger board to rotate and stay there, then have the trigger board rotate again with a different logic value?
Logic only has two values, high or low. (or 1 or 0, on or off, etc.) You could connect two different buttons to your arduino and read the state of each to determine if the servo trigger should be in position A or B, but the servo trigger itself only has two states.
“You could connect two different buttons to your arduino and read the state of each to determine if the servo trigger should be in position A or B, but the servo trigger itself only has two states.”
This is exactly what I want to do. Would one of the arduino sketch examples be a good starting point for writing this sketch, is there is a good example, where would I find it? My sketch writing abilities is very low.
"Yes, if you look at the schematic you can see a trigger input pin and a ground pin. Connecting the trigger input pin to ground causes the trigger to activate. "
So I would only need one pushbutton connected to an arduino that would send the High and Low to the “in” on the servo trigger board and I would connect the “ground” on the trigger board to the ground for the entire circuit?
I am playing around with the trigger board, and the rotation is not very smooth. It’s a bit jerky and sometimes moves back and forth when I have both inputs set to ground, this isn’t normal is it?
I am coming back to this project and I have a couple of ideas, but I also have a couple more questions on the servo trigger. The servo I want to use is a high torque servo at 6v. I know the trigger is only 5v, so would it be possible to just send the PWM signal to the servo, and have the servo positive and negative power coming from the 6v that will be powering the circuit? I will be using an arduino to run some code (which is something else I will need help with) so I will be using the regulated 5v from the ardunio to power the 5v needed for the trigger, along with the 5v wireless receiver that will also be in the circuit.
So it looks like it works, although on power up, the servo rotates due to the input pin getting a new signal when the arduino starts up. I can live with that. I am going to use an arduino that has a 5v regulator on it power the servo trigger, so I think this porject is ready for the next stage. Thank you for your help, if I have any more questions I will post them