When I connect my Simple Motor Controller g2 24v12 to my computer it is recognized by the system but not by the SMC Center software. (reports “Not connected” )
I have tried on various systems, all Linux based (different distros) using SMC Center software Version 1.1.0.0. Nothing is connected to the board but the usb cable which
I have verified is a data cable. I have also verified that the udev rule is in place and have booted and rebooted a number of times.
These results below are consistent across the distros I am using:
lsusb sees the device as: Bus 001 Device 020: ID 1ffb:00a5
dmesg reports:
[ 8129.818903] usb 1-1: new full-speed USB device number 20 using xhci_hcd
[ 8129.947499] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=1ffb, idProduct=00a5
[ 8129.947516] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=4
[ 8129.947527] usb 1-1: Product: Pololu High-Power Simple Motor Controller G2 24v12
[ 8129.947537] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Pololu Corporation
[ 8129.947620] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 34FF-7206-4D55-3433-1722-2443
[ 8129.952463] cdc_acm 1-1:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
The device is showing three leds: yellow blinking at one second interval, solid red, solid green (usb)
Any suggestions? Thanks.
Wayne
Update:
I connected to a Windows 10 machine with the same behavior – system sees board but software does not.
I also connected to an Arduino with a simple sketch to get the error code and I see the error code 0x23 on the serial line.
We do not provide a configuration software for the Simple Motor Controller (SMC) G2 for Linux; the Simple Motor Control Center G2 only works on Windows. If you are using a configuration software for the SMC provided by Pololu, then you’re probably using the Simple Motor Control Center (without G2 in the name) which is specifically used for the original version of the SMC boards and explains why the software cannot detect your SMC G2 board.
Since you’re having multiple issues, let’s first focus on getting the SMC G2 to be recognized on your Windows computer. On your Windows computer, can you make sure you downloaded the correct software and drivers for the SMC G2 and let us know if you are still having trouble getting the software to recognize your board? You can download the software and drivers from the Resources tab of your controller’s product page.
I was indeed using the older version of SMC. I corrected that and can now use the SMC Control Center to connect to the board.
So here is where I am at. The board is connected with USB. Nothing else is connected to the board. The status lights are as follows: flashing yellow once a second, solid red error light, and the green USB light is showing traffic.
All my board settings are set to the default values. In the Control Center I have the following errors; Safe start violation and Low VIN. Also in red letters at the bottom of the screen it says “Motor stopped because of low VIN.”
I just unplugged the board from the usb and attached a motor and power. When I plugged the board into the usb port I see the red led is off on the board. In the Control Center I can control the motor speed manually. When I stop the motor the red led comes back on and I get the Safe Start Violation error and a Limit/kill switch error but not the Low VIN error.
Am I seeing normal operation?
In a fit of optimism I am going to go ahead and reinstall the control system in the robot tomorrow. The motor I tested tonight is the one I will be using. Fingers crossed.
