BASICS / CAMERA CRADLE / 360° SERVO CONVERSIONS

Method 1 - Geared Output

Figure 3 This method does not require that you open the servo case. If your servo rotates 90° when connected to the receiver and transmitter the gears in Figure 3 should have a 4:1 ration. Attach the large gear to the output shaft of the servo and a small gear to the shaft that the rig will rotate on. The large gear has 48 teeth and the small gear has 12 teeth which is a 4:1 ratio. If your servo has less than a 90° rotation then measure the angle that the servo rotates when connected to the receiver.

(Remember that the servo will rotate more when turning it by hand than when operating it plugged into the receiver).

Divide 360° by the angle you measured. The ratio of this answer to one is the gear ratio you will need.

Example: If your servo rotates 70° when connected to the receiver then 360 divided by 70 = 5.14 so the gear ratio needed to achieve 360° rotation will be 5.14:1 the large gear should have 5.14 or more teeth for each one tooth on the small gear.

Advantages-
No modifications to the servo.
The control stick can be calibrated so you know the pan angle by looking at the joy stick.
Will work with "mini" and "micro" servos that have partial gears.


Disadvantages-
Care must be taken when mounting the components so that the gears mesh properly.
The servo which already turns fast will now turn at least four times faster. This makes aiming the camera more difficult.
You need to disconnect the springs inside your transmitter unit that cause the joy stick to return to the center position.