You can’t burn a servo out that way.
You need to tie the ground together. Not doing so will put a break in your circuit and cause it to fail.
all right… ok, encouraged by your post, (!) I have continued to test the servos:
the situation is thus: we don’t know that there is a problem with the wireless, because my grounds (servo& arduino) were not connected when i tried it. what I -am- trying now is getting the servos working just with the arduino alone, because I noticed way back then that they didn’t seem to (work).
what I am trying now is the (absolutely simple) servo code and wiring that can be found on the arduino site. I know it works because one of my servos works. perfectly? it works quite well. now, I un-plug this servo from the circuit (is there a right way to do this?), and plug in another servo. the other servo does not work. it might come alive for a second, but then it falls dead.
I then dis-connect this servo, and re-connect the first one. the first one works fine, like before. I dis-connect this one, and connect yet another. the other doesn’t work. I re-connect the first. It works perfectly.
second behavior: I have the second servo connected, and it is dead. I click on tools, to check if the com port is alive. as soon as I click, the servo comes alive, and this time goes crazy for about 5 seconds, vibrating in place, perhaps moving back and fourth 10 or 20 degrees or so, then goes quiet. I click elsewhere, de-selecting tools, and the thing wakes up again for a few seconds.
I have tried many things, with many different results. It seems I can always manage to get the first servo working again, even if frequent switches have left it confused, but the big one (the third one we won’t bother with) sometimes responds sometimes not, almost never seeming to respond to the potentiometer.
so, the big servo would seem not to be burned out because it -can- move, but there are some major communications issues with it.
so, if you want to test different servos with one circuit, what do you folks do? do you ever do such tests?
and yes, these are the servos: http://www.robotshop.ca/gws-mini-std-servo-motor.html
the pico works, the mini has the attitude, the dagu isn’t worth talking about.
and here is the code, from here: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Knob :
// Controlling a servo position using a potentiometer (variable resistor)
// by Michal Rinott <http://people.interaction-ivrea.it/m.rinott>
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo
int potpin = 0; // analog pin used to connect the potentiometer
int val; // variable to read the value from the analog pin
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
}
void loop()
{
val = analogRead(potpin); // reads the value of the potentiometer (value between 0 and 1023)
val = map(val, 0, 1023, 0, 179); // scale it to use it with the servo (value between 0 and 180)
myservo.write(val); // sets the servo position according to the scaled value
Serial.println(val);
delay(15); // waits for the servo to get there
}
just curious, the baby picture is starting to annoy me a tad… is there a way of changing it that I haven’t found? I didn’t bother before, but just did a search, and didn’t find anything.
I presume this is what you are refering to: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=MAX7456EUI%2B-ND
and your panda board: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?WT.z_header=search_go&lang=en&site=us&keywords=panda+board&x=0&y=0 ?
definite price difference from the arduino uno, but there is also a whole hell of a lot more stuff on it… I notice there is the possibility of getting it free… I wonder if my project would qualify…
does the panda board include the max7456 chip? from this: Redirecting... doesn’t look like it…
ok… time to say some stuf?
about my project, you are obviously going whole-hog cramming in a ton of hardware and software to get all the bells and whistles going! good on you! my project is (is supposed to be) much simpler. Really, all I want is the raw video back. I want to see what my plane sees. no gps, no data of any kind other than what the picture tells me… it might come to pass that I will become more ambitious, but for the moment, that is it.
… for this minimalist project, what are your recomendations for what I actually need? do I need the 150$ panda board? or only the 13$ max chip? I need a video camera and transmitter, and a reciever, and a display, and a controler to get the signal from the reciever adn put it on the display… I presume your code would be highly useful even if I don’t use all it’s bells and whistles? Do I need some kind of micro-controler in the vehicle to connect the video camera to the transmitter?
-mike
ok, now this one… 1) honours bachelors in theoretical physics (almost totally useless for these projects)
2) masters in mechanical engineering (not electrical, so again almost totally useless)
3) misselanious experience in many programing languages, c, c++, java, fortran…
4) extensive experience with web programing, particularly php, although you will never catch me claiming to be an expert, or anything beyond amateur.
I have had one course in mostly theoretical electronics, and it has only been in the past year or so that I have had any contact at all with micro-controllers. asking me to select the right micro-controler for a given application is like asking you to select the right dress for the princess of shiba.
I -do- have a dad who is a proff of computer science, hence the web programing experience. He also teaches advanced courses in assembly, so while I may not have much experience now, there is a chance I might make my way through the maze yet. 
he of course, has no more knowledge of what is out there in terms of micro-controler boards than I do, but given shematics, and technical explanations, he can help me work through stuf, and can identify the right questions in times of need.
my last post might be a little to self-depricating… it is also long. put it this way: I am not very familiar with the lingo used with micro-controlers. with normal computers, a user rarely worries about processor speed, memory, etc. at least I don’t. with these controlers, all this technical information very suddenly becomes very important, and the only way to get a feel for what the numbers actually mean is to either ask, or get started doing projects, and finding the limitations of the hardware. Which is why I am here 
That’s the part. It’s a surface-mount component, so if you’re not comfortable soldering that to a break-out board, you can buy it pre-made from Sparkfun.com (search for MAX7456).
I have a Parallax Propeller Backpack on order to try that for OSD as well. It’s a little overkill but it has more flexiblity (fonts, graphics, color, interface). I’ll post here when I get that going (probably late this week or over the weekend.) If it works, the component cost would be < $10.
all right, a phylosophical question: my dad is a programer, a prof of computer science. as such, almost by definition, from what I can tell, he hates windows, and loves linux. You could say that open-source exists because of the policies of microsoft. these boards are based on a microsoft framework. so where does that leave us? I have to say that this bothers me, but I am sure you can find a way of re-opening my mind… Sort of similar to my boy-cot of mcdonalds…
better wait until I have read through the faq. that will save all of you a lot of time. I will let you know when I finish.
yup, more stuf
OSD. this is a term we need to get straight. this is basically a re-iteration of an earlier post, conserning what I actually need… according to wikipedia:
‘‘An on-screen display (abbreviated OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time.’’
it seems to be defined as the superimposed image. If I don’t want the superimposed image (I don’t, not yet), does that change the hardware/software I will need for viewing live video wirelessly?
[quote]That’s the part. It’s a surface-mount component, so if you’re not comfortable soldering that to a break-out board, you can buy it pre-made from Sparkfun.com (search for MAX7456).
[/quote]
ok, now this, from their site: [quote]Just plug in your video signal to “Video In”…[/quote]
this seems to confirm that osd is not what I really want… I just want the video… ?
So, Gus, you are one of the engineers who helped invent all this stuf? and the rest of you?
sounds pretty impressive… my question about microsoft/open-source still stands… is this a ploy to repair microsofts public image? or rather… image in programer circles, or will these things still experience compatability issues with other tech? you can tell i’m feeling a bit lost here.
I want to answer your questions but you have too many questions and they are all not related! I am not sure where to start. I am not even sure what you are trying to accomplish! Do you have FEZ? Do you have other devices? Have you tried NETMF? Do you know C#? Do you have project you want to make?..too may questions but important information are not provided 
There are many very active users that usually answer everyone’s questions and GHI support guys do a fantastic job too but you are not helping us to help you! Please slow down and post one question at the time, and when someone answers you, please read the answer before posting the next question.
Again, this is only for us to be able to help you better
We look forward to understanding your needs and helping you achieve your goals.
Yeah I agree with Gus, you’re pretty scattered in what you’re asking. And please, while you’re just verbalising what you’re thinking it’s probably worth taking a step back and thinking about what you want.
If all you want is a “remote” display of video that’s coming from a capture that happens to be on a plane or other device, then all you need is a remote video sender unit (look on ebay for 2.4ghz video senders). They take the camera input on one end, and send it to their remote end, and at that end it plays it out to a TV device. Simple.
OSD is only needed if you want to overlay textual information on top of that video. You will still need to transmit this, so for a first step, just get the video sender, it’ll be the basis of what you want.
@ mike… if you want to get started with video flying (FPV) and don’t do much programming or electronics right now, the best place to start is reading the FPV forum on RCGroups: FPV Equipment (FS/W) - RC Groups
I haven’t been in it that long but I learned a ton quickly just reading there.
This thread will be particularly helpful: FPV Beginners Reference Mega Thread... - RC Groups
When you get past the FPV basics, tinyclr commuity here is unmatched for helping you take steps into designing, building and programming your own electronics.
all frustrations understood, all feedback appreciated. if and when I return to the forum, I will keep all this in mind.
however, for now, Brett has identified and answered the most important, and consequently -only- really important question:
sounds like that’s my solution, depending on price, of course. 
if for some reason, it is in-sufficient, I will come back and ask again.
thank’s Brett! Thank’s all of you!
-mike