Roboclaw does not start wihtout usb-connedtion

[smagrob]

Dear ion-Team

I have a roboclaw 15A and i drive it in packet serial mode. Everything works fine, but i can't start the roboclaw without connecting it with the usb-cable to a computer.
When i switch on and don't connect the usb, the stat1 light is on and nothing happens.
When i plug in a usb-cable and connect it to a computer the stat1 light flashes. And then the roboclaw works with all the commands from the arduino mega i am using.
Interesting thing is: when i disconnect the usb-cable it works fine either. It seems like the roboclaw uses the power from the computer to start something.

Question:
how can i start the roboclaw without connecting to an usb-device?

thanks
smagrob

[Basicmicro Support]

I believe the problem will be resolved if you download our latest arduino library for Roboclaw. I just updated it on the server. We are now using the latest SoftwareSerial libraries included in the Arduino software(tested with Arduino v1.6.8) which have much better bit rate timings than the old newsoftserial library we based our old code on.

[smagrob]

Thank you.

That solved the Problem. With the SofwareSerial-library the roboclaw starts without a usb connection.

Another Question:

Is there a list of all commands (even the status and setting commands on page 46 of the manual) in packet serial mode for arduino?
If yes, where can i find it?

thank you

smagrob

[Basicmicro Support]

The arduino commands are listed in the Roboclaw.h file included with the library. It shows the syntax of each command. The arduino commands where named to closely match the Roboclaw manual packet serial commands.

[marcuso]

I think you should put a troubleshooting/FAQ on this site or in the docs, this is the sort of thing that catches a lot of people out, and they spend a long time trying to figure things like this out.

Something like :

1. Roboclaw doesn't work as expected with Arudino (through IDE) unless connected via USB to PC - update the Arduino libs to min version XXX

You get the idea. This would have helped me out a lot, when things don't work you get the feeling that the quality of what you have purchased is poor, and this is not the case with this product. It is complex, and has many modes of operation and configurations etc. Once you get it working everyone loves it, but the people who never get it working first time quickly lose confidence in it, and that's a shame.

[Basicmicro Support]

Yes. We are working on updated documentation. A trouble shooting guide is probably goingt o be a while though. There are a couple things like the arduino communications that are easy to document that way but many problems are individually unique which makes a simple trouble shooting list hard. Thats the main reason for these forums and our support phone number. People can post or call and get personal help with there particular problem. Luckily the amount of support is fairly minimal for such a complex product.