Hey guys,
Not sure if this is an arc-32 thing or BAP in general. I just stripped the gears in two servos until I figured out what was happening. I wanted to center my servos slowly so not to yank out my control cables and had the line read:
hservo [p0\0\100]
This will cause the servo to want to go all the way around and strip the gears!
Also the servos must be centered first. I wanted my default to be off center so started with:
hservo [p0\3000\100]
Stripped another servo!!
Smitty
LOL. Thanks Robot Dude.
So basically if the servos are not where you want them to be upon start you have to endure a full speed jerk to get them there. Is this something that will be fixed or changed?
Smitty
Yes and no… It’s easy to determine where you want the servo to turn on and off, call it a home position. Just make sure the bot is manually set to the desired starting point before turning the thing on. The SSC-32 can store initial positions and can initialize them automatically on start up. Oops this is about the ARC-32…
It can’t be fixed because the hobby servo is a receive only device. It can’t report its position to the ARC-32.
They are going to change the command to ignore speed when it’s used before the servo is initialized. So this is going to be fixed. But the underlying cause remains.
As of the last release speed is ignored if the servo is current off(one first powerup or if you manually turn it off). This will stop it from trying to move way out of position. However Jim is right. The problem is inherent to RC servos in general. There are few RC servos that have the ability to report back their current position and ALL of them are custom methods incompatible with anyone else. Also the few servos with that functionality are the high priced digital servos(relatively speaking).
I assume you were using some micro servos. Those are the only servos I’m aware of that can strip their own gears. Which model servos are they? I think the metal gear micro servos can’t strip their own gears, but the plastic geared ones can.
Yup, Hitec Hs-55 servos. They actually stripped where the pot goes into the bottom of the output gear. I am currently making adjustments so that all my servo horns are centered. Its just a bit of a hassle just because its not your average bot. Its my 12" animatronic Indiana Jones. 
Smitty
