- Servo Monitor
- Input Voltage Range: 3.3 – 15 VDC
- Current Drain: 20 mA
- Pass through Current Max: 10 A
- PWM Range: 0 – 3200 μsec
- Frequency Range: 1 – 1000 Hz
The goBILDA Servo Monitor allows you to easily check servo vitals. Just plug a servo controller into one side and a servo into the other. The screen will display the value for the selected mode in real-time. Press the pushbutton to cycle through the modes:
Modes:
Voltage: As the name implies this mode will display the voltage being sent to the servo. This wire is used to supply power to the motor within the servo. Sending the correct voltage to a servo is important. Seeing this can help determine if you are sending too high of a voltage or just help you keep an eye on the battery’s charge level.
Current: In this mode, the Servo Monitor will display current in amps. This can give you an indication of how hard the servo is working to maintain its position. You can never have too much potential current in your battery. For example, a battery with a million mAh rating will not burn out your servo, it will just run the servo for a very long time between charges. However, a battery that cannot supply enough current will not allow your servo to live up to its strength and speed potential.
Power: This mode displays the amount of power (in Watts) that the servo’s motor is using. While the power in watts could be derived by multiplying the voltage by the current, this mode makes it much more convenient if this is the metric you are interested in seeing.
Pulse Width: In this mode, the Servo Monitor will display the width of the pulse of the signal being sent to the servo. This value is displayed in microseconds (μsec). This is the core of how servos are controlled. This value is what the servo looks at to determine where to rotate to (or for continuous rotation servos, what speed and direction to achieve). Knowing what value is being sent to the servo can be very valuable. For example, you can determine what PWM range your transmitter is sending or confirm that code you wrote for your Arduino is working correctly.
Pulse Frequency: In this mode, the Servo Monitor will display the frequency of the Pulse Width Modulation Signal. This value is displayed in hertz (how many pulses per second). This is generally a less critical value than the pulse width but can still be useful in troubleshooting.
