Hello, posting here because it is one of the higher google hits for maestro + arduino
and perhaps someone out there will also be as clueless as me.
[edit jun 27 fixed multiple errors as suggested in following post]
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newsoftserial should be downloaded from the internet and the folder inside the zip put in (path to where you unzipped arduino)/arduino/libraries/
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what the code from https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J40/5.e or from above means:
a. BYTE is a parameter that specifies the base (format) to use http://www.arduino.cc/en/Serial/Print
b. target is a non-negative integer less than 8192 (it can be written in binary notation with 14 or fewer digits)
c. 0x7F is 01111111 in binary, which infinity zeros to the left, so "&"ing (bitwise AND) it masks out all the digits in target (when target is written in binary) except the last 7 digits (only 1 AND 1 == 1. all other combinations == 0)
e.g., from pololu docs, 6000 = 01011101110000
01011101110000
& 00000001111111
= 00000001110000d. >> right shift operator, shifts last seven digits (numbers 7 through 13) in target off into empty space and so now the “new” last seven digits were originally bits #0 to 6 (see color-coded pololu doc). Mask with 0x7F again.
01011101110000, >>7 to:
00000001011100, then
& 00000001111111
= 00000001011100
mySerial.print(0xAA,BYTE); //start byte a.
mySerial.print(0x0C,BYTE); //device id
mySerial.print(0x04,BYTE); //command number
mySerial.print(servo,BYTE); //servo number
mySerial.print(target & 0x7F, BYTE); //b. c.
mySerial.print((target >> 7) & 0x7F,BYTE); //d.
[size=50]also, tangentially, setting the VSRV=VIN jumper seems to current limit the power to the servos or something [/size]
(please remove post if it violates some sensibility somewhere)