Mini Maestro 24-Channel USB Servo Controller (Partial Kit)

Diagram for connecting a button or switch to the Micro Maestro Servo Controller.

First, decide which channel you would like to connect your button or switch to. In the Maestro Control Center, under the Channel Settings tab, change that channel to Input mode and click “Apply Settings”. Next, wire a pull-up resistor (1–100 kilo-ohms) between the signal line of that channel and 5 V so that the input is high (5 V) when the switch is open. Wire the button or switch between the signal line and GND (0 V) so that when the button/switch is active the input will fall to 0 V. The picture to the right shows how to connect a button or switch to channel 0.

You can test your input by toggling the button/switch and verifying that the “Position” variable as shown in the Status tab of the Maestro Control Center reflects the state of your button/switch: it should be close to 255.75 when the button/switch is active and close to 0 when it is inactive. Now you can read the state of the button/switch in your script using the GET_POSITION command or over serial using the “Get Position” command. These commands will return values that are close to 1023 when the button/switch is active and close to 0 when it is inactive. Warning: The Maestro’s I/O lines can only tolerate voltages from 0 to 5 V, so if your power supply is more than 5 V be careful not to connect it to the signal line.

Most standard radio control servos (and all RC servos we sell) have three wires, each a different color. Usually, they are either black, red, and white, or they are brown, red, and orange/yellow:

• brown or black = ground (GND, battery negative terminal)
• red = servo power (Vservo, battery positive terminal)
• orange, yellow, white, or blue = servo control signal line

Please check the specs for your servo to determine the proper power supply voltage, and please take care to plug the servo into your device in the proper orientation (plugging it in backwards could break the servo or your device).

To find the settings in the Maestro Control Center that make your servo rotate as much as it can, first set the Min and Max values on the Channel Settings tab to a wider range. Then use the lowest possible supply voltage at which your servo moves and gradually move the slider on the status tab until the servo does not move any further or you hear the servo straining. Once you reach the limit, immediately move back from it to avoid damaging the servo. Finally, return to the channel settings tab and configure Min and Max so that the servo will never go past the limit.