Friday, December 21, 2012

Proportional pan servo

A more logical method for pan is to use a larger gear on an unaltered servo with a smaller gear on the pan bolt. With the correct ratio (5:2 in my case) you can achieve +/- 180º rotation (=360º)  from a +/- 45º servo.

Also by changing the transmitter pan lever for a rotating pot or variable resistor (more about that later) you can make the rig pan position match the transmitter pan knob position.

This means you always know which direction the camera is pointing by looking at the transmitter pan knob.

A note of caution. Small movements of the pan knob give large movements of the rig. You need to be prepared for a sudden rotation of the rig when it is turned on. It's a good idea to turn it on to align the rig before hanging from the kite line and with no tension on the picavet. This way the picavet will spin on start up rather than the rig.

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