Serial command for max/min - Offset?

Support Servo controllers and servos
1

HI,
i’m using a micro controller with a Mini Maestro 18, and the PDF reference doesn’t appear to list a value for addressing the max/min - offset registers or data structure via serial TTL, is this possible?

thanks

adam

2

Hello,

There are no serial commands for changing any of the permanent settings on the Maestro - in fact, one of the reasons we have these settings is to protect you from accidentally destroying your servos when a buggy program sends incorrect serial commands. Why would you want to change the maximum and minimum with a serial command, anyway?

-Paul

3

hi Paul,

like most servos the ones i have have a range larger than 1-2ms, ie. 0.6-2.4ms, the project i’m working on needs to be calibrated and as servo horn splines have a large change in position, if a servo at home position 0 (or 4000) and is not high enough, my servo could position as far as 2400 but i can’t program that far… as equally if i could set offset i could calibrate (this would be ideal),… there must be a value to access these registers because the pc app is using it.

is it possible to setup the servo controller with the pc and controll it from a micro controller, i did try, but once i had set some stuff with the pc it wouldn’t connect via the micro controller and more? (i had to reset it so it would work again.)

thanks

adam

4

Hello,

The Maestro Control Center uses low-level USB commands to program settings onto the Maestro. Can you try setting your parameters that way, and if you run into trouble again, let us know what specific error you get?

-Paul

5

hi, thanks for you’re help.

so i hooked it back up to the pc app, and only set a new 8bit neutral, and it applied ok, and could still run from the micro controller, but, am i right (as it looks like, and it’s called) it’s only setting an 8 bit neutral, so if i use the Compact Protocol it doesn’t use the 8bit neutral? my initial program starts up and shuts down using Mini SSC Protocol, then the main program uses Compact Protocol as i can multiple target, and i can see a shift in servo position at those points in the program?

so the offset(neutral) and end stops are saved to ‘eeprom’ and don’t need to be written every start up?

adam.

6

Hello,

The 8-bit neutral and range settings only apply to the Mini SSC Protocol, so if you want to use multiple targets you will need to do the offset on your main controller instead.

All “Channel Settings” are saved in persistent memory on the Maestro, so you do not have to configure it every time you power it up.

-Paul

7

ok thanks paul

,. just thought i’d add other than this small bit of more control i’d like, i’m really enjoying the unit, it’s very capable, small and at a good price.

(but if there is an upgrade list, it would be good to see the ability to offset/trim any channel for 16bit integer with a non-persistent setting at start up)

Very handy for standardising programs

adam

8

Thanks for the suggestion. That is definitely something to add to a future servo controller, though I do not think it is very likely to happen in a future version of the Maestro.

-Paul