Pololu Micro Serial Servo Controller constant red and yellow LEDs

Support Servo controllers and servos
1

Hello,

I’m having some trouble with my Micro Serial Servo Controller and would like to ask a few questions, maybe anyone can help me with this.

I’ve connected the controller to a linux pc via a usb-serial adapter and now I’m not sure, if the controller needs an initialization, or if I can set the absolute position in pololu mode right from the start?

I have an external 6V voltage + ground connected to power the controller. The Tx pin of the serial output is connected to the RS232 input of the controller. The serial port is initlaised with a baud rate of 9600, 8N1 and there is no hardware flow control. Sending commands over the serial port was tested by using a loopback device.

When I connect the contoller, the red LED and the yellow LED are constantly turned on. Sending commands to it for instance a 6 byte command to set the absolute position does not make any change.

According to the manual, only the yellow LED shall be turned on. Do I need to make a special initialization, or might the controller even be damaged?

I would be thankful for any help.

2

Hello.

You mentioned when you “connect the contoller, the red LED and yellow LED are constantly turned on”. That makes me suspect that you might be getting some noise on the serial line. Can you describe the on-board LED behavior when you reset the board? You have to reset the board in order to recover from an error; could you try that? Also, can you post pictures clearly showing all your connections? What serial terminal program are you using?

By the way, if you do not have a specific reason for using the micro serial servo controller, I recommend using on of our Maestro servo controllers which are newer and better in almost every way (including documentation).

- Amanda