I am trying to connect to what is evidently a Micro Maestro 6-Channel USB Servo Controller (my 8 year old son brought it home from group he belongs to, I’m not sure of the exact model).
The PC is running Windows 7 64-bit. When I connect the USB, a green light lights up on the controller, though I am not prompted to install a driver. My son said that when he first plugged it in he was prompted to install drivers and that it apparently worked – he saw the device listed in the Maestro Control Center. But at some point the CC stopped recognizing the device.
When I started troubleshooting, I found no evidence of the driver in the device manager. No Pololu USB section at all and no entries under Ports.
Unplugging and plugging in the controller has no effect apart from the green light turning on and off on the controller. Windows doesn’t react at all. I uninstalled the CC software and drivers and restarted the computer. I reinstalled the CC software but got identical results. This holds for all USB ports on the computer.
Any help or suggestions would be highly appreciated!
When you plug the Maestro into the computer, it will probably not prompt you to install drivers. You need to install the drivers and software for the Maestro from the download given on the Resources tab of the Maestro product page. We generally recommend installing them on the computer prior to connecting the Maestro. (If you don’t do that, you will need to disconnect and reconnect the Maestro once they are installed.) Did you make sure to install the drivers like this when trying the Maestro on your other computer? If the drivers are not installed, the Maestro should still show up in the device manager as an unknown device. When you tried it on the second computer, did you see any new entries in the device manager at all, including unknown USB devices? Did Windows make any sounds recognizing that a device was plugged in?
If you make sure that you have the drivers installed properly and there are still know signs or recognition from your computer, could you post pictures of the inside of the USB connector on the Maestro? It is possible that a pin was bent out of place.
I did install the SDK and drivers before plugging the device in (on both computers). I tried it twice, i.e. I uninstalled, rebooted, installed and tried to plug the device in again. I also checked for unidentified devices in the device manager and there are none there.
I’ll take a picture of the inside of the USB connector and post it.
You should not need any of the files in the SDK download to install the drivers. The drivers should be in the download file labeled “Maestro Servo Controller Windows Drivers and Software”. Please check that this is the file you downloaded and installed the drivers from.
Some of the things connected to the Maestro might be affecting the USB connection (it looks like you might have the RX pin connected directly to ground). Could you try removing everything from the Maestro except the USB cable and connecting it to a computer?
The first time I connected it the green light lit up but the device was not visible in the device manager and I wasn’t prompted to install any drivers. After that the green light doesn’t come on, it looks as if the board is dead.
Any other suggestions? As an aside, my son told me that none of the other kids in the group managed to get their devices working either…
It sounds like you are still expecting the computer to prompt you to install the drivers. You should not expect it to do that. Instead, you should install the drivers from the download on the Maestro’s product page before connecting the Maestro to your computer. If your computer you are using does have those drivers installed, could you try another USB cable again, just to be sure.
If the LEDs on the Maestro are not coming on when you plug the Maestro into the computer, it means the Maestro isn’t getting power. This could be caused by a bad USB cable or port or the Maestro being damaged. If the Maestro is damaged, it could have been caused by something like a static shock, a short (like if the glue you used is conductive), or making bad connections while powering the board (from your pictures it looks like you might have plugged in your board power incorrectly).
If you email us at support@pololu.com with a reference to this post, we might be able to help you with a discount on a new Maestro.
