GhostRacer 2DOF

do I need to upload anything to Describe it seems to be in RC mode

I have mine set exactly like this as in
SMC3-SPS Sabertooth Packet Serial PID motor driver w/SoftStart tutorial
Sabertooth dip switches are 1&2 off 3,4,5 & 6 on
Baud rate set in device manager for Com port 1 Arduino 115200
Buad rate set in device manager for Com port 3 Sabertooth 115200
Baud rate set in Describe 115200 uploaded to Sabertooth 2x32
SMC3_SPS with softstart loaded into Adruino, get green flashing comms
lights on Ard for 3 secs then lights go out and red light near green lights comes on,(red power light is always on)

I give up, 5 days of trying and still no joy, tried on different pc, bought another Arduino uno, still the same
when I load SMC3-SPSw/softstart into Arduino the motors turn on there own with no input from me in SMC3 utils.
I cant afford another Sabertooth so lost now dont know what to try next.

I dont know about sketches so if someone would be kind enough to send me one that would work with my setup that would be brilliant

GHOSTY

This is driving me bonkers

its not a windows 10 thing is it ?

I need to find another way, cos this just is not working

I have re-wired everything, un-installed and re-installed everything, tried two pc's, tried two Ardunio's, tried swearing, tried sobbing, I've run out of ideas and talent !
WHY WONT IT MOVE

Going by the windows SMC3Utils screenshot earlier I would say your POT is not working or wired in reverse direction?

Run SMC3Utils (exit simtools first if running - only can use one or the other at a time). Disconnect power to the motor and turn the POT being displayed by SMC3Utils by hand and check that the charted green line moves smoothly as the POT is turned and is in the center of the chart when the motor is in your center position.

Next follow the steps in the SMC3 post to make sure it is wired in the correct direction. See how you go.

Make sure you have proper control of the motor in SMC3Utils before worrying about using simtools.

Hi @GhostRacer where in the uk are you based ?

I also had this behavior (motors return to "off" immediately after turning them "on") when I started configuring my Arduino/Sabertooth setup two days ago.
I found the solution on page #7 of the tutorial thread by browsing all pages for the word "off": Here is the problem description and here is the solution:
So I just had to manually turn the potentiometer until the green line was between the red 'limit' lines. Besides I had to reverse the pot wires (see step 17 of the step-by-step instruction of the tutorial). From this point on everything works perfectly, including the Output Testing in SimTools.

So I agree with @RufusDufus that the issue is probably caused by your pots.

I will try all this tonight, thank you so much for your replies, I am in Bicester Oxfordshire

cheers Ghosty

Hi Mate, hopefully you will solve this issue, in any case you did not I will have a look at it.

Fantastic thanks, just did a quick check before leaving for work, and I am able to get pots to a steady green line in the center of SMC3 with power to motors disconnected and turning the pots by hand, I dont know how to get my motors to where I want center point to be as they cannot be turned by hand.

First you need to follow all steps of the first post in the tutorial.
After doing this, the motor line in the SMC3 Utils program should be in line with the corresponding potentiometer line.
When you now change the "Out Mode" from "Monitor" to "Sine", the SMC3 Utils program will produce a sinus line, and the currently selected motor will try to follow this line.
However, It will probably move too slowly, so that you have to increase the PWMax and Kp values. You can find details about all parameters here.
I suggest you do at least an initial rough parameter tuning, so that the motors follow the sinus movement without much delay.

Now about your question:

1. Disconnect the pot from the motor axis (probably by loosening a screw).
2. Slowly(!) turn the pot by hand. The farther you turn the pot, the faster the motor will move. So just turn the pot a little bit to allow slow motor movement.
3. When the motor reaches the position that you want to be the center position, turn the pot into the opposite direction, until the motor movement stops.
4. Connect the pot again with the motor axis. That's it.

Ok proved so far,all wiring checked , double checked and triple checked for crossed wires, dry joints and spanner in the works.
Taken power off motor 1 and pot mechanically removed from motor 1, so only testing motor 2 (cos its closest to my laptop)
Sabertooth has 115200 baud, check
Arduino has SMC3 with softstart loaded into it, check
With no power connected to motor 2 turn pot so green line is exactly in the middle(Target) check
Re-attach pot to motor 2 watching green line stays in the middle,check
apply power to motor 2,set SMC3 to sine and turn motor 2 on in SMC3 motor now does a very jerky but sort of sine wave............

Please tell me I am making progress

Now plug in motor 1 following all the same steps as above and all hell breaks loose, motor 1 just goes round and around with green pot line going bonkers

what do you think , THE SPANNER MIGHT BE BACK ?

decided to turn everything off, now with PC shutting down and restarting,motor 2 sounds like a fog horn

decided to have another 7 beers and forget the whole damn motion project for tonight

GHOSTY

anyone want to buy a part finished race simulator ?

Its acting like motor 1 is running opposite of the feedback. Try reversing the +/- leads to motor 1 and try again. Also when you attempt to use Simtools be sure SMC3 utilities in not running.
p.s. Sounds like you're making progress. Motor 2 may just require changes to its pid settings now.

Is this jerky movement like the red line in the following picture?

This is how the initial movement was in my case. If it is similar, please follow my previous advice:

1. Increase the PWMax value. (By following the tutorial steps, you have carefully increased this value until the motor started moving. For following the curve, you need to increase it.
2. Increase the Kp value.

As already suggested: Before blindly changing the values, learn about their meaning by reading this post.
After this initial tuning, the motor curve should follow the sine input rather precisely, at least if the motor is not under too much load. (When I did my tests, my motors were not connected to my rig.)

If the jerky movement looks different, a screenshot may help to find the reason.

I agree with @BlazinH that this is very likely caused by reversed wires. You need to reverse either the motor wires or the +5V and GND wires of your feedback pot (see again step 17 of the tutorial).

if I was going to try different pots, which ones should I buy ?