Can the Maestro save the last position

Hi,

I love this servo controller. It has saved me with my almost regrettable purchases of HSRM9382 servos that don’t return to “true” home in power down when using 7 turn mode, or any mode other than 1 turn mode. I have to manually push my robot arm into all home positions before powering it back up, or I have new home positions which wreak havoc.

I’m using the esp32 to run code thru rx/tx, so this won’t be hooked up to the PC with the Maestro controller. And the delicate EEPROM on the esp32 wouldn’t survive long saving it that way with so many writes.

Is there any way to save the last position to the Maestro itself every time I move a servo? What would the Arduino code look like?

Or is there some way that, if I lose all power unexpectedly, the servos will return to the last position they were in without wrecking my robot arm?

Even a low power mode I can place a separate rechargable battery (i.e. coin cell or tiny lithium) would be helpful, preferably without the LED blinking. I really hate this option, and would probably just hook the battery to the esp32, but I hate destroying servos or arm joints even more.

Thank you.

Hello.

Unfortunately, the Maestro does not have a way to save the last position like you’re describing.

If you powered the Maestro logic separately, you could leave it powered when you power down the rest of your system. However, it is generally not good practice to send logic signals to unpowered devices, so partially powered systems like that can be somewhat unpredictable and possibly cause problems.

Brandon

I was afraid of that, I was at least hoping the maestro had a standby or low power mode I could keep powered via battery.

I’m thinking an SD card and shield may be a better alternative.

Thanks for the response Brandon :blush:

1 Like