Servos power a wide range of robotics projects. While extremely useful, ensuring they’re working correctly is a bit trickier than simply hooking up + and -. Additionally, wiring, along with pulse timing, may get a bit cumbersome if using several together.
The I2C servo add-on concept, featured here in November 2020, takes care of much of the wiring hassle and processing overhead of these devices by shifting control to the I2C bus. Now creator Statorworks is back with a tester that helps you set up and test servos in this I2C-enabled configuration.
The tester features a potentiometer to set the power/ramp, along with a second potentiometer that varies the actual servo position. A series of DIP switches allow you to set the I2C address, and there’s even a set of auxiliary contacts that allow you to work with a standard servo if that’s what you have available.
While this concept looks great for testing servos, if you’re a little unclear about the concept of a servo vs. stepper vs. DC motor, then check out this explainer post. I’d be embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve accidentally swapped motor terminology around!
