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I'm looking for a servo or motor that will rotate back and forth (about 180 degrees or less) constantly. Basically, imagine a light that scans back and forth...well I need the motor/turn mechanic for that. I've attempted to navigate various servo sites but it's all pretty much Greek to me. So....does anyone have any modeling ideas where to get such a mechanic (or knowledge of servos to point where I might buy one)? Thanks!

try contacting that guy,he has amazing stuff:

http://bobpanda.de/warhammer/

hes building fully rc tanks,he even has rotating(very fast rotating) assault cannons ^_^

If you want it to be automated you may be looking at having to program a PIC (or similar chip) to get the servo (or whatever other sort of motor you want to use) to act as you want. This could be a quite complex project.

Of course there may be kits out there which provide exactly what you need.

Wow, that guy's stuff is amazing. I'll have to shoot him an email.

maybe shredding a fan might work, the mechanics inside let the fan turn left and right. sounds just what you need...

I can see three options:

1. Use a crankshaft to convert the motion of a continuously rotating motor into a constant backwards and forwards movement, which pulls and pushes a lever arm on the turret to make it turn back and forth. This would let you bypass the need for any kind of electronic control circuit, instead using a mechanical connection to do your work for you. For the layman, this is probably the easiest option, since you'll probably find it easier to work out what the system is doing wrong with a mechanical system than an electronic system.

2. Direct electronic control, without feedback. This uses an electronic control circuit to tell the motor what to do, and that circuit has to say "send positive voltage for x seconds, then send negative voltage for the next x seconds, and so on". I would not go for this option, simply because working with timers is more difficult than switches or direct mechanical linkages.

3. Direct electronic control, with feedback. Again, this uses an electronic control circuit to tell the motor what to do, instead of leaving it constantly running in one direction like the first option. The control circuit for this one would be something like a flipflop (a chip that toggles from one output state to the other and back when triggered), controlled by two micro-switches. Your turret would turn until it bumps the switch, which triggers the flipflop and turns it in the other direction, until it bumps the other switch, which triggers the flipflop again to go back in the other direction.

If you want more information, just ask.

If this is what I think you want to do: make a searchlight-type light that scans in front of the mini (not sure what your mini looks like)

you could have it go 360 degrees. The light could be inside a kind of tube, with a slit of 180 degrees at the front, making the light visible only at that part. this would be more like a siren light, but another option.

Hey all,

It's going to be a searchlight mounted on a building. I'm also wanting to do gun turrets (Think WW2 AA turrets) that randomly scan the sky so to speak. I don't care about regular motion, it can be irregular as hell (Probably look more realistic if it is irregular turning).

The crankshift idea has merit although it would definitely have a pattern to it. I keep trying to think of a kids toy that turns randomly...or some kind of kit...