Hi, I have bought the SSC32 servo controller. But unluckily, i connected 9v to VL and kept the jumper Vl=VS1, i didn’t remove it. And i ran a servo motor in channel 1 from signal of an arduino mega 2560. it ran sometimes , but after sometime everything seemed dead. I am very much shocked because I live in very far from usa and I bought this controller with the help of my uncle who lives in usa. So i am very much shocked because my project submission is near.
Can anyone please help me?? I tested the atmega168 mcu and saw it’s dead. I want to know is it possible to make the board active by changing the mcu and loading the firmware for that?? will atmega 8 do or i must need atmega 168??
if it is possible then please suggest me how to do it. i don’t know even how to load firmware in this chip. will avr programmer will do it or i have to use the DB9 cable to PC and use terminal program Lynxterm??
We are sorry to hear that you are having problems with your project. However, can you clarify a few things for us because we’re not sure we understand entirely.
We understand that you connected 9V to VL and left the VL=VS1 jumper. Did you plug your servo motor directly into channel 1 of the SSC-32 or did you do something else with an Arduino Mega? If the later, can you give us more details about the setup? If you had plugged the servo directly into the SSC-32, the servo would have been receiving the 9V supply and depending on the servo it would either continue to work or might be damaged by too high voltage.
Either way, this setup should not have damaged the ATmega chip of the SSC-32 itself, but is that the one that you’re saying is dead? If that’s the case, you can purchase the SSC-32 ATmega168 Upgrade which has the bootloader and firmware installed. Unfortunately, there isn’t a procedure to install the SSC-32 bootloader on a new blank ATmega168 or even ATmega8.
We hope this helps but please give us clarifications if we understood anything wrong,
Hi, I connected the servo directly into ssc32 channel 1. from arduino mega i just connected the tx and ground pins to the servo controller board. the servo can’t withstand more than 7v.
i think there might be a way to download bootloader and firmware. i found this ssc32.125mb.com/
please help. i can’t buy from usa now. it’s impossible
Is it possible that the SSC-32 board is still working fine and it’s just the servo that is damaged? We’re still uncertain how the SSC-32 board could have been damaged: there is a 5V regulator on the board, and the way you connected the power should not have damaged the board itself…
Can you try connecting the servo to a 6V power source and to a servo pin of your Arduino Mega, and use the Arduino to send it a servo signal and see if it works? The Servo > Sweep example that comes with the Arduino IDE would be sufficient for the test.
i tried to read the atmega 168 chip by putting it out on a breadboard and using another avr programmer. but it showed that reading failed. same connection works for another atmega 8, means just removing the mcu mega168 and putting another mega8, it reads.
is there any possibility that the mega 168 is unreadable by using avr programmer???
the onboard led doesn’t flash when 9v is given on VL
We haven’t tested the MCU of the SSC-32 with an AVR programmer… The recommended test would be to reinstall the ATmega onto the SSC-32 board, plug the board into your computer via serial (or a serial to USB adapter), and then use a program like LynxTerm to send it the VER command to which the SSC-32 will respond with its firmware version number, something like 2.03XE.
If it were me, I would try to plug it back into the board. Remove all wires from the board except for the power wires and RS232. Make sure the jumpers are set properly.
In the diagram: lynxmotion.com/images/html/build136.htm make sure the baud and communications jumpers are correct (#9#14). Also check voltage jumpers #3 and #5. The voltage ones may not be important yet, other than to make sure you have power going to the processor…
Apply power and connect to PC. Use the Lynxterm program that you can download from their site and configure it to the right comm port and make sure the baud rate is 115200. You should be able to to type in the VER command and it should echo back the version number of the firmware installed on the chip.
If it does not work and you believe the rest of the board is working, the easiest thing to do is to purchase a new chip (ssc32.125mb.com/
I have not personally downloaded these sources nor tried programming an Atmega168 chip, so don’t know if their stuff works or not. Again the easiest and best approach is to get the chip preloaded!
kurte already explained in good detail the process we’re recommend to test your SSC-32. Thanks kurte!
As for burning the bootloader and firmware onto a new chip, we do not currently have any instructions or resources to do that. The easiest thing to do would be like kurte suggested and get a new ATmega168 chip for the SSC-32 that has the bootloader and firmware already loaded.
The first thing I suspect when one of these boards is not working is power. Have you checked your battery?
Do you have a multimeter (voltage meter)?. If so maybe check to make sure what voltages are at what point. Example at the power terminals(battery voltage). Also in the diagram I mentioned in previous post at the ± terminals at #10… Should hopefully be getting 5v. If not could be voltage regulator.
When you first apply power to the board, does the led on it come on? If you type the ver command or anything else, does the led on the board go off and blink with each character? …
Probably need to wait until Monday before Lynxmotion people are around, but my gut now says punt. Again best option would be to get a replacement chip (link in earlier posts), but again this assumes the rest of the board is OK. Other potential options mentioned in earlier post.
Can you measure the voltage between the screws next to #4 in the following image? Also, can you measure the voltage between the + and - pins next to the #10? lynxmotion.com/images/html/build136.htm
Also, when you reconnected the ATmega, did you verify that it has the right orientation with pin #1 (identified by the small dot on the top of the chip) next to the serial connector? If the voltage at #10 isn’t around 5V, can you try removing the ATmega chip and trying again?
Can you remind us what is your current power configuration? Which batteries are connected where, and whether or not the VL=VS1 and VS1=VS2 jumpers are present?
I am very much shocked because I live in very far from usa and I bought this controller with the help of my uncle who lives in usa. So i am very much shocked because my project submission is near.