Hello Everyone,
I am working on a project in which I have a Raspberry Pi 3 connected to a servo hat (PCA9685) which is then connected to an RC car. The RC car has ECS which I am sending the signal from the servo hat. Every time I run my code nothing happens and I am not sure why. Does anyone have any suggestions?
additional notes:
I am using the adafruit libraries for the circuityPython PCA9685.
I am using the wiring shown in the doc on page 21:
Can you check the signal with an oscilloscope? That would be ideal.
Another good option is plugging a servo there and checking if it moves (servos DO NEED external power though).
Possible issues are:
raspi-config
Hi Willian,
Unfortunately I do not have an oscilloscope but I was thinking about using an LED to check the PWM; however, I was not sure if I was able to check the PWM from the servo hat. Do you know anything about using servo hats? I have already enabled I2C on the pi. Also I believe the ground is fine because I am able to get the RC car to change the direction of the car now I just need to get the car to move. If the PWM signal is to low what would I need to do to increase it? The servo hat had that it uses up to 6V.
It depends on what ESC is in your car. It might not even take PWM signals or signals in the range that you expect (it probably does, but without a logic analyzer or scope you can’t be sure).
To convert a 3.3V signal to a 5V signal, you need a level shifter.
Hi Jacob,
This is the RC car that I am using:
https://latrax.com/sites/default/files/76064-5%20LaTrax%20Desert%20Prerunner%20Owners%20Manual-R02-EN.pdf
I want to say that the voltage should be fine becaue I have gotten the car to move once but the code I had was using old libraries and caused other things to break I had to update to the new libraries where the code does not work anymore.
Hi,
You should be fine to test it with LEDs, remember that the PCA board has a OE pin, if the problem is with the raspberry GPIO, you can try to put OE in GND and run the example.