One servo that will rotate back and forth over a range of 5 deg or so at 1 deg/sec.
The load is very low.
Small package.
I’ll have a toggle switch to turn it on/off. Turn it on, and it will start it’s motion.
Easily programmable.
Is the Phidget Advanced Servo Kit 4-Motor (RB-Phi-56) a good way to go? Will the servos plug right into the motor controller or will I need jumpers? robotshop.com/phidgets-4-servo-kit-2001.html
Any other simple options? Needs to be as small as possible. Smallest servo and smallest controller.
So the Arduino can save its programming after power is removed correct? Then when I give it power, it will run through the loop that was previously programmed? Can it work like this?
I don’t need a board that small I guess. How is the Arduino Uno? Will that give me more flexibility? How do the servos connect to this? Do I need jumpers?
Welcome to the forums. That Phidgets kit might not be what you need because it needs to remain plugged into a computer, and the board doesn’t have an input where you can plug your toggle switch. However, if your switch is a two-position toggle, you could put it on the power input to the board as an alternative.
If this is not what you need, we would recommend to instead use an Arduino board. If you want the smallest footprint, we would recommend the Arduino Nano USB: it can either be powered by its USB port, or by an external regulated 5 volt source. If you’re looking for a servo motor with the smallest footprint, we would recommend the Hitec HS-55 Micro for your needs. This servo can even be powered with the Arduino off of the USB port since it consumes low enough current.
If you get these parts, you can attach a switch to one of the Arduino’s digital inputs, the servo motor to one of its PWM outputs and then upload your own code.
That’s correct: the Arduino will save its program and start it up automatically when power is applied.
The Arduino Uno would be sufficient too, but if you don’t want to have to work with cables, we would recommend instead the BotBoarduino board it’s the equivalent of the Arduino Duemilanove with ATmega328 and has headers that will allow you to connect the servo directly to it.
If you’re servo isn’t consuming a lot of power – which should be true in your case – you can power the servo from the regulated onboard +5V instead of needed a separate VS external regulated 5 volt source.
6 volts is better than 9 volts, especially if you also power your servo motor from that supply. If we say that the servo motor consumes about 200 mA, the voltage regulator would need to emit P = IV = (0.200)(9 - 5) = 0.8 watts of power (with a 9 volt supply) as opposed to (0.200)(6 - 5) = 0.2 watts of power (with a 6 volt supply).
Here’s the manual for the BotBoarduino. You will want to plug your 6 volts into the VL terminal, keep jumpers 13 and 17 as displayed, and change the three jumpers next to 7 to use VS instead of 5V.
