Hi, I have one of the maestro mini 24 servo controllers and i have rigged it to 24 continuous rotation servos. I have unfortunately encountered a problem that created a problem i would not like to repeat. when the servo controllers usb is plugged into my computer and then the power to the controller is plugged in everything works fine, but when the servo controller is disconnected from my computer and the power is still in the controller the entire rig goes haywire and the servos start spinning without anything controlling them throwing everything off. Is there something i could do so that if the connection to the computer is lost this doesn’t happen?
Thanks
It sounds like you might have a power issue. When the Maestro is plugged into USB, its microprocessor is getting its power from USB. If you have the blue shorting block connected to the pins labeled “VSRV=VIN”, then when you unplug the USB, the Maestro gets its power from the same source as your servos. When too much current is drawn from your power supply, the voltage it supplies can drop to lower than needed to keep the Maestro on. If multiple servos are trying to draw power at various times, this voltage can change erratically, powering the Maestro off and on, and causing the behavior you are seeing. You should make sure the power supply you are using can source enough current to run all of the servos and the Maestro. In general, you should budget about 1A per standard size servo. Additionally, with 24 servos connected, you will probably need to power the servos in banks to prevent too much current draw through the Maestro power rails. You can learn more about that in this forum post.
-Derrill
