Overvolting servo

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nebulous

New Member
Hi everyone, I'm a blue boarder who just bought his first (couple, since they're so inexpensive) picaxe kits. I'm planning on building Yet Another Motorized Window Blinds Setup. I have a couple of Futaba s3003 servos attached directly to the rotation rod, but could use a bit more torque. So my question is:

can servos be run at a higher voltage than 6v (perhaps even 9v) accurately and without damage?
 
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Rickharris

Senior Member
Short answer no. The servo has an electronic board inside to control the position all/most are designed for 5 volt operation max

If you need more power use an external gear box.
 
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Andrew Cowan

Senior Member
You may be using the servos as continual rotation servos.

In that case, you could use an external driver (L239D?) instead of the prebuilt one. If this is the case, for a low duty cycle (30 seconds on, several hours off) as you have with blinds, 9V may be OK. However, don't connect the servo straight to this - only the motor.

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Wrenow

Senior Member
Methinks the Futaba is the wrong tool. As I recall it only has about a 90 degree normal throw and a top voltage ratriong of 6v.

The Vex Robotics motor http://www.vexrobotics.com/vex-robotics-motor-kit.shtml is a proportional speed drive in a servo fomat, using servo signals to control it. It uses a 1/8" square drive and comes with a clutch, so it may actually be easier to mechanically connect as well.

Cheers,

Wreno
 
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