Electronic – I cannot move a servo manually

pwmservo

My servo is classic SG90. I connected +5V and gnd correctly to a dc power supply. Then I connected output of a signal generator which generates 0-5 V pulses at 50Hz (checked by oscilloscope).

I know that the duty cycle determines the position of a servo motor. I can vary the duty cycle between %20 and %80 from the settings of the signal generator and I can observe that pulse is changing accordingly via the oscilloscope. However, servo does not responds. What am I missing?

Best Answer

Based on your question, your PWM may be way too high. A typical hobby servo might need a signal at 50-60 Hz. Let's take 50Hz as an example. That means that every 0.020 second, it might need a pulse around 1.5ms (0.0015s) to seek "center" position. So, that equates to about 7% duty cycle. Try a lower PWM range to get pulses of 0.0010s to 0.0020s at 50Hz.

And as the comment suggests, the GND connections must be common.