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16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Driver - I2C interface - PCA9685 (ID: 815)

SKU 1855
£16.00 inc VAT
£13.33 ex VAT
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More available in 5-7 days.
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With this 16 channel 12-bit PWM servo driver, using only two pins, you can control 16 free-running PWM outputs! You can even chain up 62 breakouts to control up to 992 PWM outputs!

The board is an I2C controlled PWM driver with a built-in clock. That means unlike the TLC5940 family, you do not need to continuously send signals to tie up your microcontroller, it's completely free running!

This product comes with a fully tested and assembled breakout as well as 4 pieces of 3x4 male straight header (for servo/LED plugs), a 2-pin terminal block (for power) and a piece of 6-pin 0.1" header (to plug into a breadboard).

Please Note: 

  • A little light soldering will be required to assemble and customize the board by attaching the desired headers but it is a 15-minute task that even a beginner can do.
  • It is 5V compliant, which means you can control it from a 3.3V microcontroller and still safely drive up to 6V outputs (this is good for when you want to control white or blue LEDs with 3.4+ forward voltages)
  • 6 address select pins so you can wire up to 62 of these on a single i2c bus, a total of 992 outputs - that's a lot of servos or LEDs
  • Adjustable frequency PWM up to about 1.6 kHz
  • 12-bit resolution for each output - for servos, that means about 4us resolution at 60Hz update rate
  • Configurable push-pull or open-drain output
  • Output enable pin to quickly disable all the outputs

Board extras

  • Terminal block for power input (or you can use the 0.1" breakouts on the side)
  • Reverse polarity protection on the terminal block input
  • Green power-good LED
  • 3 pin connectors in groups of 4 so you can plug in 16 servos at once (Servo plugs are slightly wider than 0.1" so you can only stack 4 next to each other on 0.1" header
  • "Chain-able" design
  • A spot to place a big capacitor on the V+ line (in case you need it)
  • 220-ohm series resistors on all the output lines to protect them, and to make driving LEDs trivial
  • Solder jumpers for the 6 address select pins

Specifications:

  • Dimensions: (no headers or terminal block) 2.5" x 1" x 0.1" (62.5mm x 25.4mm x 3mm)
  • Weight: (no headers or terminal block): 5.5grams
  • Weight: (with 3x4 headers & terminal block): 9grams
  • This board/chip uses an I2C 7-bit address between 0x60-0x80, selectable with jumpers