I have been thinking about buying the Hitec HS-311 Servo Motor but I was reading the manual and it says that all hitec servos rotate clockwise (I think that is what it said man I’m tired) but I am new to robotics and thought that servos rotate both ways. See I was going to use it for steering my robot so if it only turns that way you can see my problem. Could some one tell me if it turns only clockwise or not, if all servos do that, and explain to me how servos work.
Thanks for the help even on the dumb question like this one.
The datasheet states: “40 degree/ONE SIDE PULSE TRAVELING 400usec”
What this means is that the potentiometer is guaranteed to provide best results 40 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise, even if the servo will do ~180 degrees out of the box.
And if you look at this: “CLOCK WISE/PULSE TRAVELING 1500 TO 1900usec” you could easily think it only rotates clockwise, but this only to represent the 40 degree rotation one way. For the full rotation capabilities, as Coleman stated, clockwise range is controlled with a 1500 to 2500 microsecond square wave PWM signal. Counter-clockwise goes from 1500 microseconds to 500 microseconds where 1500 is centered.
All motors can rotate both clockwise and counterclockwise (there are always a few exceptions). A servo motor is made up of a DC motor, electronics, a potentiometer and gears. If you connect a DC motor directly to a power supply, it will rotate in one direction; if you switch the leads, the motor will rotate in the opposite direction. In a servo motor, the electronics take care of this. The three wires that you connect are GND, voltage (4.8 to 6V for most servo motors) and signal. The onboard electronics interprets a signal sent at 5V for between 500ms and 2500ms as an angular location (the equivalent thereof). So to answer your question - servos rotate CW and CCW.
