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I have a variable PWM signal at 13.2 kHz. I want to control a servo with this signal, but the servo needs a much lower frequency, at most 80 Hz. My first idea was to use two binary counters, a NOT gate, and an AND gate. That should do the trick, but it's definitely not the best solution. It requires a lot of ICs with a lot of unused pins. Also, the servo is looking at a pulse about 1-2ms wide, not a full PWM, so only about 8% of the PWM range would be useful.

Using an RC filter, I can just convert the original signal to an analog voltage. Is there any way I can use this analog voltage to control a 555 to get the signal I need?

My only experience with the 555 is using a pot to adjust the duty cycle.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This is a job for an MCU. I'd probably select the cheapest, smallest thing with peripherals that met the need. In this case, I think you could get by with a PIC10F20x or PIC10(L)F32x device. An RC filter will be a trade-off between allowable ripple and settling time. At 80 Hz, your settling time should be well less than 10 ms, I'd imagine. Say 5-6 ms? \$4\tau\$ might be good enough. But if so, remaining high frequency peak-to-peak ripple will be about 2%, too. Can you accept that? \$\endgroup\$ – jonk Oct 31 '18 at 5:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'd love to use an MCU but they are forbidden for my application. I need to use discrete components. I'm not working with high tolerances or anything here, I could settle for a 300ms setting time if I need to. \$\endgroup\$ – griffin175 Oct 31 '18 at 7:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'd recommend using a better filter than RC, to start, though it's possible you can get by with the RC. You decide that. But a low-pass will convert PWM to a voltage. I think you could get by with a 555 running at a low duty cycle for 80 Hz. You'd need a voltage-controlled current sink/source to adjust the duty cycle within a 1-2 ms adjustment range. It would take a little thinking to work out exactly how to get what you wanted. \$\endgroup\$ – jonk Oct 31 '18 at 14:30
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This is definitely a task for a microcontroller, but if you are bound not to use one...

PWM signals can be generated by creating a triangle wave, and taking the output of a comparator, which has the reference input set by the control input. enter image description here

This image is from here

To get your control input a simple RC integrator is all that is needed, given that the control PWM is so much higher than the output.

Since you mention using the venerable NE555, there's a section in the datasheet (section 9.2.2) that describes a PWM generator. Since this uses just the standard RC arrangement, the triangle wave isn't exactly linear, it's the exponential decay, but if you use a small enough ratio of the trigger voltages to the supply voltage, the linearity is tolerable. enter image description here

The datasheet example requires a clock for the PWM generator, which you can do with a second 555 - the 556 is a 2 in 1 package to minimize component count.

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