Hello. I’m fairly noobish at programming and wiring electrical components when it comes to making a hexapod move, so my intention in building my own one was to make the mechanical parts myself but use source code available for the
SSC-32U Servo Controller and the Botboarduino to make my life easier. 
I have read a fair amount on communications between these parts but would like to use a PS3 controller instead of the PS2 controller with the small receiver module since I own a PS3. My question is that since the Botboarduino is a Arduino Duemilanove with Shield Connections, could I just follow this tutorial (and others similar to it)?:
Using a host shield with a bluetooth dongle to connect PS3 to Arduino
youtube.com/watch?v=9oNMqMQrMnA
How much of the current code available for the SSC-32U and the Botboarduino would I have to change to accomodate for the PS3 controller, if I can theoretically do this.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Hi,
This is an interesting project and certainly doable, but it is not trivial. For reference, you can find the sample code for the BotBoarduino here.
The main file that deals with the PS2 controller is here. Since this is an embedded project and the source code is mostly tightly coupled, you may have to make modifications in other places, too.
Another solution may be to simply have a second Arduino-based board connected to a USB host shield and have it take inputs from the PS3 controller and convert it into compatible PS2 signals and send those to the BotBoarduino. While it does sound complicated, it may be simpler then modifying the code-base for the hexapod control if you are new to programming.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Thanks for responding Scharette.
I have another question but it is completely unrelated to the PS3 and such. I have 18 HS645MGs and a SSC-32U Servo Controller for them. I am planning to power VS1 and VS2 separately with two 6V 5A 3800mAh batteries (one for each side) because the spec sheets for the motors say that they draw 450mA max so I want to provide as much current as possible. My question is would it be good to supply the logic board separately with lets say a standard 5V battery? I’m afraid that sudden jumps in current draw from the motors might short out the logic board on the SSC-32U or am I just being paranoid.
jimchamp110
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Hi,
Using two battery packs is a good idea if you expect high current drain. One thing to make sure is to remove the VS1=VS2 jumpers when you have two power sources connected (technically before you connect them ). You can read more on this on page 10 of the SSC-32U manual. Also, make sure the VS=VL jumper is never in place.
Normally, the SSC-32U electronics are powered by an on-board low voltage dropout regulator that is fed through the VS1 input. As you may notice, the board as two large capacitors at the back. These serve to prevent brownout issues when high current is needed by the motors. In all of our tests with our newer hexapod kits, the BotBoarduino and SSC-32U are powered directly by the same battery pack that powers all the motors (usually 1 pack through VS1) and do not exhibit issues.
So, for your concern of shorting something, you can be confident this should not happen since the power is not fed directly to the SSC-32U’s microcontroller. But, it is possible that a high-current drain situation with the battery pack (VS1) at a low charge can cause a brownout (though this is very unlikely).
If you are still concerned about this, you can easily add a 6 V DC (or more, up to 9 V DC) battery pack to the VL input. The on-board circuitry will automatically select this power source instead of going through VS1 if it is present.
You can find many low-cost 6 V DC battery packs here. Something like the RB-Pol-162 should be more than sufficient for a long duration (quite probably over 1 hour at full-charge).
Sincerely,
