Simple Motor Controller 18v15 w/ PWM output from Arduino?

Hello:

I have a Pololu Simple High-Power Motor Controller 18v15 (product 1376).

It works just fine with serial, USB, or even a pot hooked up. But, I really want to hook up to the Arduino using a PWM output.

I tried using a PWM input to RC Ch-1 w/ (5v from Uno to RC power) and (GND coming from the Uno). Used the analogWrite function. That didn’t seem to work. I believe I configured it correctly in the GUI. I am wondering if the RC input is a very different protocol/format.

Do I need to use the Servo library - or is the device just not that compatible because it is ‘simple’? If this has been done before is there any schematics or source code example around?

-T

Hello, T.

PWM and RC hobby signals are different. You can use the Arduino Servo library to send those RC hobby signals to the Simple Motor Controller. You can see more about implementing and sending signals from the Servo library here.

You can learn more about RC hobby signals in this blog post

However, sending RC hobby signals is probably more taxing on the Arduino than serial communication; we would typically recommend serial for this kind of setup.

-Derrill