Wixel and Mini Maestro 12-Channel

I’m very new to micro controllers so probably asking daft questions but here goes!

I’m looking to control a rover that’ll be using servos for drive as well as steering. I want it to run like the Mars rovers where I send it a set of instructions for it to follow then wait for more instructions. I like the idea of the Mini Maestro 12-Channel as I can build sequences with the Maestro Control Center and hopefully trigger them wirelessly with a Wixel setup . I under stand I can’t program the Mini Maestro wirelessly with the Wixel but well I be able to trigger sequences on the Maestro with it? Also how many sequences can I store on a Maestro?

Another thing I want to do is run probably 2 robot arm’s mounted on the rover. Can I use a second Wixel on a different channel mounted on the rover and control it with the same Wixel connected to the PC I’d be using for drive control?

A the moment I’m just wanting to know if what I’m wanting to do is possible before jumping and learning how to hook it up and program it all!

Cheers

Dave.

Hello, Dave.

You cannot trigger sequences on the Maestro, but you can use the “Copy all Sequences to Script” button to add a set of subroutines to the end of the current script, where each subroutine represents one of the sequences. You can then send the Maestro serial commands to trigger those subroutines. How many sequences can be stored on the Maestro depends on the size of the sequence. The 12,18, and 24-channel Maestros can each fit a script size of 8KB.

As for your last question, I do not see a problem with controlling multiple Wixels that way, but you would have to write your own program that does that. This post by David features a link to a wireless_serial_channel app, which allows you to change the radio channel at run time to communicate with more than one Wixel. The post also has other apps that you might find useful.

-Jon

Hi Jonathan

Thanks for your reply. Pity you can’t do quite what I want with the Maestro but it sounds like it’s something that can be worked round. Maybe it’s a feature that could be implemented in the future. With 8KB storage on the them I’d guess that would hold a rather long sequence! I’ll check out the link regarding the Wixel and see if I can follow it! lol

Cheers

Dave.