Hi Gorf,
I've never tried that, but from the software perspective you can manage to move several servos "at the same time" if you use the command "Set Multiple Targets". This works on Mini Maestro 12, 18 and 24 only.
Regarding the power, depending on the servo consumption, you have to asure at least 1000 mA per servo from an external power supply connected right away to the board.

Hope this helps.

Nico.

Hi Nico, any luck trying to use 'Mini Maestro 24-Channel USB Servo Controller' with NetDuino?

I'm about to order one. Still considering. Coz, if its too complex i might get a bunch of ' Pololu Micro Serial Servo Controller's, though it will be more expensive, but not a big deal for prototyping.

Hi cyber-oleg, I got it few months ago and I must say it's really awesome! It will be suitable for you only depending on your needs because it has lot of extra features that maybe you won't need if you just want to "play with it by moving some servos around".
Regarding its complexity, again it depends on your project and specific needs but I've found it's really easy to handle. Just put some wires between your Netduino and the Maestro (for serial Tx Rx, Vin and ground) and after some serial coding you are moving servos at will. On the other hand, pololu delivers a free tool for controlling the board via USB. It allows you not only to do some (propietary) scripting but also storing preset movements in the board's memory that you can "invoke" later via serial commands or let it to run them automatically.
Lastly, if you want to get a bunch of Maestros, the good news is that you can daisy chain them

Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Nico.

Many thanks for the advice! Honestly, electronics is not my strength so I think I'll need to read everything slowly and twice.

Hi Mario,
The MacGyver-way sounds pretty good to me at least for starting point.
I also did my research and I've found a Logic Level Converter in SparkFun that seems to meet my needs.

Thank you very much for your prompt reply!

Nico.

As long as the device uses TTL levels(~0 and ~5V) you are fine since the uart pins on the netduino are 5V tolerant and that resistor is not required

Sorry for refloating this thread... I've a similar (but inverse) case.
I need to send TX commands from my N+ to a device's RX that only supports TTL input at 5v. Having in mind that N+ only delivers 3.3v on TX, will I need to boost TX voltage up to 5v? How?
Here's the device's specs: Pololu Maestro Servo Controller.

The RX line is used to receive non-inverted TTL (0–5 V) serial bytes, such as those from microcontroller UARTs. These bytes can either be serial commands for the Maestro, arbitrary bytes to send back to the computer via the USB connection, or both. For more information about the Maestro’s serial interface, see Section 5.a. Note that the Maestro will probably be able to receive 3.3V TTL serial bytes, but it is not guaranteed to read 3.3V as high on the RX pin, so you should boost 3.3V TTL serial signals to above 4V if you want to ensure reliable operation.

I'll really appreciate your thoughts about this.
Thanks!!!

Hi embarous,

If you want to keep things as easy as possible, I'd humbly suggest to switch to a Serial Enabled 16.x LCD. You'll only need to write a driver that internally just deals with UART and the most important thing: avoid using lots of IO...

Hi Nico and welcome at last to the forums

Nope. I have a mini maestro somewhere around here, but it works in a different way and I just haven't written a driver for it yet.
But you could try to make a driver? A challenge

Hi and thanks for your prompt reply.
If it could be managed by my N+ somehow I'll order it and start putting my fingers on it. Furthermore, I'll try to manage my self in order to end up with a suitable driver for all of us (challenge accepted! ) .
Lastly and since it seems you have tried it, would you recommend that newer version of the device?

Thanks again!

Just finished the code and placed a download-link in the first post

I think that's often a smart case indeed. A PIC IC has better timing, but a Netduino has a bigger brain indeed. This way, it's like a limb that's connected to the brain and working together just fine

Hi Stefan,
Since this is my first post, I'd like to say Hi to this great community. During some time I was intently reading all your posts in order to learn some basics before bothering someone with extremelly newbie or "self answered" questions.
I recently bought a N+ and I cannot explain how much fun I'm having with it since I got it. During some time I was playing around with some basic examples gotten from here and other places but now I just want to go further... How about building some robot stuff? Well... Something really fun to start with: controlling some servos and see what happens!
I was doing some research and I found that pololu has enhanced its "Micro Serial Servo Controller" to a new stage: "Micro/Mini Maestro USB Servo Controller". This version has got many features that I'm really interested on.

So, my question is:
Will your code also work for Mini Maestro 24-Channel USB Servo Controller?

Many thanks in advance!

Nico.