Pololu Simple - Manual (Page 54)

this means that you will no longer have to center your inputs in order to restart the motor after an error. This option
makes it more likely that the motor will start when you are not expecting it.
The Ignore ERR line high option disables the ERR line high error, which is described in Section 3.4 . This allows
your motor to run even if the ERR line is being driven high by some external device.
The Ignore pot disconnect option disables the disconnect detection for analog channels. Enabling this option means
that the device will stop toggling the positive (+) analog power pins in order to detect whether your potentiometer is
connected. The analog channel will still be considered invalid if the voltage goes out of the acceptable range specified
by the Error min and Error max parameters for that channel. This option is necessary if you are connecting a limit
switch or other device to the analog input in a way that prevents the disconnect detection from working.
The Never sleep (ignore USB suspend) option prevents the device from going in to deep sleep mode in order to
comply with the suspend current requirements of the USB specifications. Checking this option will make the device
non-USB compliant, but will allow it to perform some functions while connected to a sleeping PC via USB and
the VIN power supply is disconnected. Note that the Simple Motor Controller can not drive a motor while VIN is
disconnected.
The Command timeout error occurs if you are controlling your motor using a microcontroller or a PC (Input Mode is
Serial/USB) and the Command Timeout period has elapsed with no valid serial or USB commands being received
by the controller. The default value of Command Timeout is 0, which means the error is disabled. The Command
Timeout can be specified with 0.01 s resolution and can be as high as 655.35 s. The purpose of the Command timeout
error is to ensure that your motor will stop if the software talking to the controller crashes or if the communications
link is broken. For more details about this error see
Section 3.4 .
5.4. Upgrading Firmware
The Simple Motor Controller has field-upgradeable firmware that can be easily updated when Pololu releases bug
fixes or new features.
Firmware Versions
• Version 1.00: This is the original version.
• Version 1.01: This version fixes a bug that made the ASCII Get Variable serial command malfunction for
negative numbers.
• Version 1.02: This version fixes a bug that caused the controller to detect the wrong baud rate if the baud rate
detection byte was sent during the first two milliseconds after a reset.
• Version 1.03, released on 2010-11-18: This version fixes a bug that caused the yellow LED to flicker
sometimes.
• Version 1.04, released on 2012-08-09: This version fixes some bugs with error handling. The effect of the
Exit Safe Start serial command now lasts for 200 ms instead of ending immediately and the ERR line high error
now works in RC and analog mode.
Upgrade Instructions
You can determine the version of your controller’s firmware by running the Pololu Simple Motor Control Center
software, connecting to the controller, and selecting “Device Information…” from the Device menu. If you do not
have the latest firmware, you can upgrade the firmware by following these steps:
Pololu Simple Motor Controller User's Guide © 2001–2014 Pololu Corporation
5. Configuring Your Motor Controller Page 54 of 101