Pololu Simple - Manual (Page 18)

Motor Limits
The Motor Limits box in the Status tab shows the current limits on the movement of the motor. These limits will be
equal to the hard motor limits specified in the Motor Settings tab, unless you have temporarily changed the motor
limits using the command-line utility (SmcCmd) or a serial command. For more information on these limits, see the
section that documents the Motor Settings tab.
Input Channels
The Input Channels box in the Status tab shows the current status of the RC or Analog input channels of the device.
The Raw Value is the raw, unscaled value of the input channel. For RC channels, the Raw Value is the width of pulses
received on the input line (RC1 or RC2). It is typically between 1000 μs and 2000 μs, and it is stored internally as
an integer in units of quarter-microseconds (6000 corresponds to 1500 μs). For Analog channels, the Raw Value is
the average voltage measured on the input line (A1 or A2). It is always between 0 mV and 3300 mV, and it is stored
internally as a 12-bit integer (0 corresponds to 0 mV while 4095 corresponds to 3300 mV).
The Scaled Value is a number between -3200 and 3200 that is determined entirely by the Raw Value and the scaling
parameters in the Input Settings tab. If the scaling parameters are set up correctly, then the Scaled Value should be 0
when the input is in its neutral position (if it has a neutral position), and they should be ±100 % (±3200 internally)
when the input is moved to either extreme.
The Status column summarizes the state of each channel. Here are the different things you might see in the Status
column:
• Valid: There is an RC or Analog input connected to this channel and it is working.
• Invalid (disconnected): This message is shown for Analog channels when the controller detects that they are
disconnected. If you do not intend to use this channel, you do not need to worry about this message. Otherwise,
to correct this situation, make sure that all three pins of your potentiometer or analog joystick are connected
correctly to the three analog interface pins (see
Section 4.4 ). The controller toggles the power supply on the
Analog + pins in order to detect when your potentiometer is disconnected. This feature can be turned off in the
Advanced tab, in which case you will not see the “Invalid (disconnected)” message.
• Invalid signal: This message is shown for RC channels when the controller detects no signal or a bad signal
on the RC input. If you do not intend to use this channel, you do not need to worry about this message. Otherwise,
to correct this situation, make sure that your RC receiver is powered and connected correctly (see
Section 4.3 ),
and check your RC pulse detection settings in the Advanced tab.
• Invalid (too high) and Invalid (too low): These messages are shown for Analog channels when the voltage
read on the A1 or A2 pin is outside of the normal range, as specified by the Error min and Error max parameters
for that channel in the Input Settings tab. To correct this error, you can re-configure the range of your analog
input by clicking the “Learn…” button for that channel, or you can manually adjust the scaling parameters.
• Invalid (high signal) and Invalid (low signal): These messages are shown for RC channels when the pulse
width measured on the RC1 or RC2 pin is outside of the normal range as specified by the Error min and Error
max parameters for that channel in the Input Settings tab. To correct this error, you can re-configure the range
of your RC input by clicking the “Learn…” button for that channel, or you can manually adjust the scaling
parameters.
Conditions
The Conditions box in the Status tab shows miscellaneous information about the current state of the controller:
• VIN: This is the voltage of your power supply, measured on the VIN line. When your power supply
is disconnected, this should read 0.0 V. This reading is continually compared to the VIN thresholds in the
Pololu Simple Motor Controller User's Guide © 2001–2014 Pololu Corporation
3. Getting Started Page 18 of 101