Actuators
The moving arm (servo motor)
Intermediate30 min
Drive an SG90 servo by angle, understand the signal that controls it and its current budget.
What you get
An arm sweeping precise angles, driven by a potentiometer, without resetting the board.
Parts (simulated)
- Arduino UNO board
- SG90 servo motor
- 10 kΩ potentiometer
- External supply
Nothing to buy: every component here is simulated in the browser.
Project steps
- 01Connect the servo to a PWM pin and power it properly.
- 02Send an angle command and watch the movement.
- 03Read a potentiometer and map its value to an angle.
- 04Handle the inrush current when the motor starts.
What you learn
- Servo control signal
- map() and value ranges
- Inrush current and decoupling
Other projects
- ⌚ Smartwatch
Build a complete watch: OLED screen, DS3231 real-time clock, navigation buttons, then the printed board that goes with it.
- 📺 Mini colour TV (SPI TFT)
The finish line of a 10-project display series: from a single pixel to a colour panel driven over SPI.
- 📻 Digital PMR446 walkie-talkie
A full radio link on the PMR446 band: modulation, channel, noise, demodulation and quality measurement.
- 📱 4G/LTE cellular phone
Understand how a phone attaches to a cell: OFDM modulation, mobility, echoes and useful throughput.