My Script on my Maestro Mini 12 no longer runs an animation without the USB connection, even with a 6v power source. I’m making the Raven Kit from Mr. Chicken.
It used to run my script when disconnected, jumper in place, now it just makes the servos click a little and the bird doesn’t move. What do we think might be the issue?
Hello.
Could you make sure that the “Run script on startup” box is enabled in the “Script” tab of the Maestro Control Center? If that box is enabled and it is still only working when powered through USB, could you post some pictures of your setup that show all of your connections (including how you’re powering the Maestro)? Additionally, could you post a copy of your Maestro settings file? You can save a copy of your settings file from the “File” drop-down menu of the Maestro Control Center software while the controller is connected.
Brandon
Ok. So It’s still just vibrating when I try to run it without the USB. It is set to run automatically. It worked before. Maybe something changed with my power or I damaged the Maestro. Here are some images and a video of the malfunction. It does a full animated sequence when plugged into USB.
It looks like your power supply is only rated for 300mA, so I suspect the servos are drawing enough current to cause it to drop lower than 5V, which resets the Maestro (the USB power prevents this from happening when it is connected to the computer). It looks like the yellow LED on the Maestro is off and the red LED is blinking, which indicates a brown-out reset.
Could you try a different supply with a higher current rating (we typically recommend budgeting around 1A per standard size servo)? Alternatively, if you do not have one on-hand, you might try measuring the voltage to see if you can confirm that it is causing the problem (although it might be too fast for a multimeter to catch, so ideally you could look at it with an oscilloscope).
Brandon
Is there a brand or type of power supply you recommend?
Also, It appears that the yellow light, next to the red light, is flashing.
I do not have any specific recommendations for a type or brand of power supply. It looks like this product page for the raven kit on the Chicken Props website generally recommends a 6V, 5A supply; however, as it mentions there, it will ultimately depend on the specs of the specific servos you use.
As far as the LEDs, the yellow LED is used for indicating the control status, so it’s behavior changes based on what the Maestro is doing. Additionally, if the Maestro is reset in some other way than being initially powered up, the yellow and red LEDs will indicate the reset condition. You can find additional details in the “Indicator LEDs” section of the Maestro user’s guide.
Brandon
