Reading Servo Data?

[Gary Dillard]

Has anyone put a meter across the signal wires on a HiTech Servo, turned the shaft manually, and seen an output that could be used for feedback in lieu of a pot?

<Gee, why would anyone want to do that?>

[Matt Krass]

If I understand servos correctly, the feedback potentiometer is connected to a control board inside the circuit, the 3 wires are simply power and signal to command the servo, while you may receive some back EMF from turning it, when idle you won't get any information from it, and it could be bad for the servo.

If any (or all) of that is incorrect, somebody please correct me, but I'm pretty sure about this one.

[Alan Anderson]

I honestly cannot imagine any hobby-type servo being able to do what you're asking of it.

[Gary Dillard]

Yeah, that's kinda what I gathered from searching threads but thought I'd ask anyway. We'll probably go ahead and have a couple students do the experiment tonight - if we get any results worth mentioning I'll post here.

[KenWittlief]

You might be able to take a servo apart, and use its internal pot as a feedback sensor

if you could pull it off you would have a nice mechanical package, with a splined shaft and all those neat little arms and levers that screw to the shaft.

Interesting idea! I think you would have to take the electronics out, and connect the 3 pot wires to the 3 pwm pins.

If you could get the servo motor and gears out of the thing then it would be easier to turn.