Servo - August 2008

microcontroller and then read the pin as you would any switch closure.

• PC joysticks use potentiometers to proportionally measure the position of the joystick. There are a variety of ways of interfacing these to a microcontroller, including via an analog-to-digital input pin (if the controller is so equipped), through a resistor and capacitor (a simple form of go/no-go analog measurement), or a 555 timer where the position of the potentiometer changes the pulse width and/or duration of the timer output. All three of these techniques are fairly well documented on a number of websites; use Google or Yahoo to search for “IBM PC joystick interface” (without the quotes).

Abacom Technologies offers transmitters, antennas, and everything in-between for radio communications.

• An Atari style joystick is a simple switch contact controller. These are among the easiest to interface to your robot. Push the joystick up and the Up

switch closes. Push it to the left and the Left switch closes. You connect the wires for each switch to a separate input pin on your robot’s

Lemos International specializes in Bluetooth, ZigBee, and RF data modems, with numerous products in each category.

• Playstation remotes use a controller for the Sony Playstation 2. You may use wired or wireless controllers. The controller outputs a complex digital datastream that needs to be decoded using a microcontroller. Lynxmotion sells a low-cost adapter cable for the PS2 remote, so you don’t have to cut off the connector and solder the wires directly. They also provide a programming tutorial on interfacing the PS2 remote with the popular Basic Atom microcontroller.

Sources

In addition to the sources listed below, check out online and local hobby store retailers that specialize in radio control model airplanes and cars, where you can find numerous transmitter/ receiver packages for operating R/C servo motors via radio remote control.

Abacom Technologies

www.abacomdirect.com

Full resource of wireless communications technologies, including data modules (receivers, transmitters, transceivers), antennas, RF remote control, and more.