Re: SOLO no longer detected by Windows
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:41 pm
Ok, makes sense - Thank You!
To Summarize how I managed to kill this SOLO (Presumably applies to all RoboClaws):
When using only a Power Supply instead of a battery to power a RoboClaw, and the battery voltage is set in Motion Studio to match the power supply voltage - the SOLO will send energy generated when the motor is slowing back through the power leads (energy recovery).
Since almost all but the most exotic power supplies will reject this reverse voltage by going high-impedance
- and there is no shunt diode/resistor to dissipate it into a resistor
- and there is no battery to absorb it (which would recharge the battery)
… the voltage will continue to build during slowing and eventually become too high, damaging the electronics on the SOLO.
The damage can present as unexpected behavior, lack of USB connectivity or otherwise malfunction.
-
There are 3 recommended solutions and 1 work-around from BasicMicro.
1) Use a shunt circuit which will send all voltage in excess of the shunt voltage through a resistor to be dissipated as heat - protecting the power supply and RoboClaw.
2) Use a battery as a power supply - excess voltage will be absorbed by the battery (and subsequently, recharge the battery) - protecting the RoboClaw
3) Use a battery in parallel with a power supply - useful during development since you will not need to constantly recharge a battery. The power supply will provide most of the power - but in the case of excess voltage, the battery will absorb it.
One work-around would be to have the SOLO dissipate this excess voltage by braking the motor (power would be dissipated into the resistance of the motor coil as heat) - to do that, you can "trick" the SOLO by setting the main battery voltage to 1 to 2V above the power supply voltage (use the voltage as read by the SOLO since it may be slightly different than a multi-meter). This solution is not ideal, but free.
-
More information about the voltage-clamp / shunt is provided here: https://resources.basicmicro.com/using- ... -roboclaw/
In the RoboClaw SOLO getting started page, this problem is mentioned (but in my opinion, could be emphasized)
"A battery is the better power source if the Solo will be driving a large load or suddenlt starting and stopping. A battery is better able to handle the regenerative voltages created under these circumstances. The battery settings for the Solo should be set according to this https://resources.basicmicro.com/config ... -settings/"
To Summarize how I managed to kill this SOLO (Presumably applies to all RoboClaws):
When using only a Power Supply instead of a battery to power a RoboClaw, and the battery voltage is set in Motion Studio to match the power supply voltage - the SOLO will send energy generated when the motor is slowing back through the power leads (energy recovery).
Since almost all but the most exotic power supplies will reject this reverse voltage by going high-impedance
- and there is no shunt diode/resistor to dissipate it into a resistor
- and there is no battery to absorb it (which would recharge the battery)
… the voltage will continue to build during slowing and eventually become too high, damaging the electronics on the SOLO.
The damage can present as unexpected behavior, lack of USB connectivity or otherwise malfunction.
-
There are 3 recommended solutions and 1 work-around from BasicMicro.
1) Use a shunt circuit which will send all voltage in excess of the shunt voltage through a resistor to be dissipated as heat - protecting the power supply and RoboClaw.
2) Use a battery as a power supply - excess voltage will be absorbed by the battery (and subsequently, recharge the battery) - protecting the RoboClaw
3) Use a battery in parallel with a power supply - useful during development since you will not need to constantly recharge a battery. The power supply will provide most of the power - but in the case of excess voltage, the battery will absorb it.
One work-around would be to have the SOLO dissipate this excess voltage by braking the motor (power would be dissipated into the resistance of the motor coil as heat) - to do that, you can "trick" the SOLO by setting the main battery voltage to 1 to 2V above the power supply voltage (use the voltage as read by the SOLO since it may be slightly different than a multi-meter). This solution is not ideal, but free.
-
More information about the voltage-clamp / shunt is provided here: https://resources.basicmicro.com/using- ... -roboclaw/
In the RoboClaw SOLO getting started page, this problem is mentioned (but in my opinion, could be emphasized)
"A battery is the better power source if the Solo will be driving a large load or suddenlt starting and stopping. A battery is better able to handle the regenerative voltages created under these circumstances. The battery settings for the Solo should be set according to this https://resources.basicmicro.com/config ... -settings/"