Servo can't hold weight of rangefinder

[NegativeEleven]

When you guys have your rangefinder up, is the servo constantly having to buzz to keep it up because of the weight? I got it to stop exactly at the top. If it's balanced straight up, it's fine, but if I tilt my head slightly forward, the rangefinder would fall, so the servo starts trying to put it back. I cannot walk around for hours with a buzzing motor right above my ear.

Did i buy a kit with the wrong Servo? Is there some spring or something people use to counter the weight?

I also have a problem with the range of motion being slightly more than the space available. So, when it goes down, the servo is buzzing, trying to go further than the stalk can rotate. Is there a way to adjust that, or do I just need to file down the earcap until it is big enough?

 

[Darth Voorhees]

i had the same problems, my solution was to take it out and forget it lol. I know this is no help, but just wanted you to know your not the only one with those issues.

For the range of motion i did file doen the earcap part a little and that did the trick for that issue. But the constant buzzing while its up drove me nuts so i just canned thw idea. I realized i had it for a while and hardly used it anyway.

 

[Funkyred]

Is your servo fitted correctly inside the lid ? Sounds like the rangecfinder hadn't returned to the up position . When the ear cap is off and thecrange finder is up is it touching anything ?

 

[NegativeEleven]

no, it's not touching anything. It's straight up, close as I could get to the back edge. If it was trying to go further, I would know. It's silent in the straight up position, but if I tilt the helmet forward so that the rangefinder weight isn't centered above, it wants to fall and the servo is trying to get back to its upright position.

Do people have a latch or a bump or something that sort of stops it at the top, but the servo can push past to go down? I have been trying to think of a way to spring load it like a garage door to counteract the weight.

 

[robotzo]

would a magnet that sits behind the stalk be enough to hold it in place?

 

[Fett 4 Real]

I had this issue with RKDs setup originally....with the salamander king setup. I think this is due to the setup not the weight of the stalk as with the JC27 kit I did after that it didn't have that issue. Its possible the servo is too weak and needs to be of a higher rating.

would a magnet that sits behind the stalk be enough to hold it in place?

Aluminium is not Magnetic....

 

[Grimstuff]

I'm completely unknowledgeable of the servos used in RF kits, but sounds like the motor has very weak or non-existent holding torque. Since you said it tries to grind itself into a higher position than it can reach, maybe it's not reaching it's 'stop' point and thus never locks a position and stays dangly. I would imagine it has a way to adjust it, so maybe worth trying to figure that out and see if it clears up. Otherwise, yeah, could be a improper or underpowered servo too.

 

[NegativeEleven]

would a magnet that sits behind the stalk be enough to hold it in place?

The stalk is aluminum, so I would have to put a magnet inside the stalk as well. That would be tricky without breaking it.

 

[NegativeEleven]

I'm completely unknowledgeable of the servos used in RF kits, but sounds like the motor has very weak or non-existent holding torque. Since you said it tries to grind itself into a higher position than it can reach, maybe it's not reaching it's 'stop' point and thus never locks a position and stays dangly. I would imagine it has a way to adjust it, so maybe worth trying to figure that out and see if it clears up. Otherwise, yeah, could be a improper or underpowered servo too.

Maybe i am not explaining it right. The top is where the servo stops. Its not hitting the top edge of the helmet. Like i said, if the helmet is in a position where the rangefinder is directly up/down, meaning the weight is pushing directly down the stalk, it stays put and it's quiet. Tipping my head forward slightly makes the weight off center, pulling the servo, rotating it to the down position.

"Holding torque" is a term I haven't heard before. I got another servo that's got a higher torque rating, but its range of motion when attached to the same board is close to 180, so without some soldering resistors in-line (I'm told the voltage determines how far it goes in either direction), I don't think I can swap that one. The 2nd servo is also bigger and would probably bump against my head.