Installation Issues

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Post here for queries regarding setup problems.

We recommend you try using the troubleshooting instructions here first if you have not already.

Please try to list as much about the problem as you can (OS distribution, versions, motor setup et cetera), the more we know the easier it is to help :)

piborg's picture

In this case getting a syntax error usually indicates that the script is being run with Python 3 instead of Python 2. UltraBorg's scripts were written for Python 2 and need altering to run with Python 3 instead.

It seems like the latest version of Raspbian uses Python 3 as its default version now and does not have Python 2 installed by default. You may need to install Python 2 like so:

sudo apt-get install python2
sudo apt-get install python-tk

Once installed you can check the script is working like this:

cd ~/ultraborg
python2 ubTuningGui.py

If this works then you can fix the desktop shortcuts and the other examples by changing them to run with the python2 command instead of python. All you need to do is open each example in an editor (such as nano) and change the top line from

#!/usr/bin/env python

to

#!/usr/bin/env python2
piborg's picture

Powering a single TowerPro SG92R should be fine in most cases, I think we have powered two in the past in this way without issue.

It largely depends on the power supply to the Raspberry Pi providing the 5V, namely:

  • Can it supply enough current to both the servo(s) and the Raspberry Pi when they are both doing work?
  • Does the supply have enough smoothing capacity to deal with the power draw spikes from the servo(s)?

In both cases bigger servos and more servos will demand more from the power supply. If the supply cannot handle the demand and the output dips far enough it will cause the Raspberry Pi will reset. If you start seeing random restarts then it is not coping and you should get a separate 5V supply for the servo(s).

I'm using Ultraborg to control a single servo with a Pi Zero. I get it to move once every 20 mins via cron, works great!

I've got the tiniest of niggles - I can hear a sound coming from the servo while it's idle. It isn't loud, but I guess it's consuming a little power. Is it possible to code to cut power to the servo during its idle period? Without resorting to a relay or transistor.

I fixed it by bringing the max and min limits in a bit. Silent. No need to cut the power now.

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