I am trying to control a single motor in a somewhat unusual way using a 24V12 controller.
I want to be able to control the forward and reverse speeds independently using two separate potentiometers.
I have one potentiometer connected to analog input 1 and the other to analog input 2. I have a rocker switch that connects a potentiometer to analog 1 when pushed forward, and the other potentiometer to analog 2 when pushed backwards. At rest both analog inputs are grounded (0V).
So I would like to motor to turn one direction when I rock the switch forward, and the other when I rock the switch back. And I would like to use the potentiometers to control the forward and reverse speeds independently. I hope that makes sense.
I have been playing around with the mixing options in the Motor Control Center, but without any luck so far. I would appreciate any insight or help into this problem.
You should be able to achieve that kind of control with the Simple Motor Controllers. What kind of behavior are you seeing? Can you post the settings you are using in the Simple Motor Control Center? (You can generate the settings file by clicking File > Save Settings File.) Can you also post pictures that clearly show your connections?
Thanks for your reply. I am not at work yet but once I am I will post the settings file. I will also try to take pictures of the connections, but I’m not sure how much that will help as everything is already soldered down (dumb I know). I can tell you that the connections are not faulty, as I can clearly read the analog input values for both channels when I press the rocker switch.
I realized that perhaps a simpler way of explaining what I want is this: I want to control the throttle using both analog inputs (no steering). I want one input to control the forward throttle, and the other input to control the reverse throttle.
Ok after looking at the problem with fresh eyes this morning I believe I have found a solution. The settings file is attached for anyone who may be interested.
However, I now have a new problem. I have tested the motor controller with the motor disconnected and verified that it is outputting + or -24V depending on the state of the rocker switch. But when the motor is connected, it does not turn, and the controller does not seem to output any voltage. I assume the controller does not want to go from stopped to full speed so quickly. I don’t have any acceleration limits currently. I have verified that the motor works normally with a different power supply. Any idea what’s going on?
Alright scratch that. There is nothing wrong with the motor controller. Turns out I had a bad deans connector. Everything is working fine now. Thanks for your help.
