DSP Robotics Support

I want to report a bug. When trying to start multiple servos on the Phidget Advance Servo board, Flowstone 1.5 fails. Only allowing one servo to be engaged at a time. Sometimes when trying to engage or trigger multiple servos the app crashes.

I connected directly to the board from my pc through the USB to test the problem. I concluded it was a software bug because I tested it with the phidget test software and with an older version of Flowstone version 1.1 and I did not have the same problem. I was able to engage or trigger multiple servos at the same time and send them commands with the older software.

Not the case here, the new version FlowStone works fine with the Phidgets Servo Controller?

I can control all 8 of the servos with FS V1.1.5 (the latest Version).

Maybe you are doing something wrong? or maybe you don't have the latest version of the Phidgets software installed?

Check that you have the Phidget21.dll (Date 15/06/2011) in your Windows/System32 folder. Also check that you don't have another copy of this dll in your FlowStone folder. This happened to me, I had the latest Phidget21.dll installed in the System32 folder but had an old version in my local FlowStone folder. This was the one FlowStone was picking up and was unstable with the new version of FS.

Here is my test app:

Ok your right, your example works fine. I guess I am a little clueless on how to shift the index of the servo I want to send commands to based upon where the outputs are originating. For example I am mapping leftxbox controller joystick x and y to servo 0 and 1. At first I was trying to have two PhServo primitives in the same schematic for each servo. But looking at your PhMotor control example in the examples forum. I see that you somehow have a trigger pulse module defining the index number of the DC motor that should be getting the inputs. I see the schematic but I don't understand how that is working?

It's just a little FS trick, because in FS can connect different data types together and they auto convert (Int to string etc.). You can do the same with triggers, secretly each time a number changes there is also a trigger signal used to indicate it has changed. So in the case of the example as the knob changes the servo number you also get a trigger each time.
The Phidgets module requires that you enable each servo (ON) every time you change to that servo, so the ON input needs to be set to true. The easiest way to make this happen is to set a bool to True then just trigger the ON input every time the servo address changes.

I hope this makes sense?

Yeah I got it down now, also I figured out it is not such a great idea to map directly the slightest changes of a joy stick to a bunch of servos. I need to create a system where the changes in the joystick gradually makes changes to the servo position so that way the servo position stays static when the joystick is centered.
Thanks again for your help!

What you need is a PID algorithm!

http://www.dsprobotics.com/support/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=32

Thats awesome!, thanks!