I am looking for someone to create a simple program to switch on/off and provide status for the Simple Motor Controller relay. Here are the specifications:
Hardware: Pololu Simple Motor Controller 18v7 (Fully Assembled)
Program Specifications:
Looking to use the Pololu motor controller to control a simple LED panel (12V). Switching will be on the DC side
The EXE takes one optional runtime command line parameter for action: a=on or a=off; a=on will turn the controller on so the output (12V) is switched on, a=off will switch it off
The EXE will always return the current status; if no “a” parameter is given, then the EXE is just returning the current status
EXE file will be compatible with Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems
EXE will have simple distribution (i.e. just give it in a simple zip file, no installer necessary, no registry tweeks, or path setups), i.e. all DLLs etc need to be contained in folders and it should be be able to run wherever it is unzipped
Our installer for the Simple Motor Controller windows drivers and software includes a command-line utility named SmcCmd, which might be good enough for you. You can try it out by opening up a command prompt and running these commands:
David, thank you very much for your reply. This looks promising (cant wait to try it as soon as i return from my travel). Have one question: Which one the files from the BIN folder do i need to distribute if I need to run the SMCCMD on a new computer (assuming that the new machine already has the .NET framework installed)
I see the following files:
1- InstallHelper.dll
2- Smc.dll
3- UsbBootloader.dll
4- UsbWrapper.dll
You should only need smccmd.exe, smc.dll, and usbwrapper.dll, but you will also need to have the .NET Framework 3.5 installed, as well as the drivers for the Simple Motor Controller. You can install our drivers by running the executable installer we provide or by copying the “drivers” folder to other machine, right-clicking on smc.inf, and selecting “Install”.
David, i attached a simple 24V power supply and a matching LED strip to the Polulo USB device. I notice that the output switches from ON state immediately to OFF state when i issue the following command:
smccmd --resume --speed 3200 -s
I would have expected the output to stay in ON state until a stop command is issued (–speed 0). What do you think i am doing wrong…
Hello. On Monday I will see if I can reproduce the problem here in at our office, but in the mean time I have some questions:
Could you describe the electrical connections you have made? Are you able to control the LED strip successfully using the Simple Motor Control Center (the GUI)? When you are using the Simple Motor Control Center, what “speed” do you set to get your system into the “ON” state?
Could you post screenshots of the Simple Motor Control Center’s status tab before and after you issue the SmcCmd command that you are having trouble with? Since only one program can have a handle open to the device at a time, you’ll have to temporarily disconnect from the SMC in the Simple Motor Control Center, then run SmcCmd, then reconnect.
