Are there ranges of values for Time and Speed? I read in the manual that the max for Time is 65535, but I don’t see a minimum value anywhere.
The time value is 1 to 65535. Obviously there are physical limitations as to how fast a servo can move. It’s not useful to command a servo to move from 1mS to 2mS position in 1uS. So the real limit is what is practical. As for the S command, I don’t have a limit as far as the SSC-32 firmware, but the same practical limit applies. Moving at a speed of 1000uS per second provides no speed reduction at all. So technically there is a practical limit of 1000 for the speed value. A speed value of 1uS per second and a move from 1mS to 2mS would take 1000 seconds, or 16 minutes. Probably way too long for a robot part to move, so there is a practicle limit there as well. Just off the top of my head.
Thanks Jim!
Is there a possibility of damage to my servo and/or controller if I issue a speed or time command with the first instruction? I read in the manual that I shouldn’t do this, but I was curious what the reason for this was.
The manual says that “It will assume that it needs to start at 500uS and will zip there as quickly as possible.” That’s a bit ambiguous, so what exactly does “it” refer to? I’m assuming that the first “It” is the controller, and the second is the servo, but I’m not for certain. I don’t mean to pick at the grammer, I’m just a little confused:(
If my assumptions are correct, then does that statement mean that if I send a Time and/or Speed command with my first instruction, then my controller will automatically send a signal to the servo to move to position 500uS regardless of what I told it to move to?
Ug, both it’s are referring to the servo controller.
Ok, servo control 101. in order to be able to move through the full range of any connected servo from numerous manufacturers, we expand the range of 900uS to 2100uS (normal RC equipment range, roughly 90°) to 500us to 2500uS (roughly 180°). This means it is possible to command a servo past it’s mechanical limits. This will not damage a good quality standard size servo. They normally just hum and draw a lot of current. There is a possibility of damage to micro servos, or off brand servos that cannot withstand being commanded past it’s mechanical limits. Now the warning. If you tell a servo to move to 1500uS in 5 seconds as the first move, it has no current position. So to the best of my knowledge it starts at 500uS real fast, then slowly moves to 1500uS in 5 seconds. So it is a good idea to make the first commanded position 1500, or some previously tested known good position.
Sweet, thanks Jim! My apologies for the rookie questions, I just haven’t interacted with servos on this level before.
Hopefully this is all I need to finish my class:)