Datasheet

brushed, DC motors. A wide operating range of up to 5.5–40V and the ability to deliver up to several
hundred Watts in a small form factor make these controllers suitable for many motor control
applications. With a variety of supported interfaces—USB for direct connection to a computer, TTL
serial for use with embedded systems, RC hobby servo pulses for use as an RC-controlled electronic
speed control (ESC), and analog voltages for use with a potentiometer or analog joystick—and a wide
array of configurable settings, these motor controllers make it easy to add basic control of brushed DC
motors to a variety of projects. Although this motor controller has many more features than competing
products, a free configuration utility (for Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP, and Linux) simplifies initial
setup of the device and allows for in-system testing and monitoring of the controller via USB.
Additional Features:
• Adjustable maximum acceleration and deceleration to limit electrical and mechanical stress on the
system.
• Adjustable starting speed, maximum speed, and amount of braking when speed is zero.
• Optional safety controls to avoid unexpectedly powering the motor.
• Input calibration (learning) and adjustable scaling degree for analog and RC signals.
• Under-voltage shutoff with hysteresis for use with batteries vulnerable to over-discharging (e.g. LiPo
cells).
• Adjustable over-temperature threshold and response.
• Adjustable PWM frequency from 1 kHz to 22 kHz (maximum frequency is ultrasonic, eliminating
switching-induced audible motor shaft vibration).
• Error LED linked to a digital ERR output, and connecting the error outputs of multiple controllers
together optionally causes all connected controllers to shut down when any one of them experiences an
error.
• Field-upgradeable firmware.
USB/Serial features:
• Controllable from a computer with native USB, via serial commands sent to the device’s virtual serial
(COM) port, or via TTL serial through the device’s RX/TX pins.
• Example code in C#, Visual Basic .NET, and Visual C++ is available in the Pololu USB Software
Development Kit
• Optional CRC error detection to eliminate communication errors caused by noise or software faults.
• Optional command timeout (shut off motors if communication ceases).
• Supports automatic baud rate detection from 1200 bps to 500 kbps, or can be configured to run at a
fixed baud rate.
• Supports standard compact and Pololu protocols as well as the Scott Edwards Mini SSC protocol and
an ASCII protocol for simple serial control from a terminal program.
• Optional serial response delay for communicating with half-duplex controllers such as the Basic
Stamp.
• Controllers can be easily chained together and to other Pololu serial motor and servo controllers to
control hundreds of motors using a single serial line.
RC features:
• 1/4 µs pulse measurement resolution.
• Works with RC pulse frequencies from 10 to 333 Hz.
• Configurable parameters for determining what constitutes an acceptable RC signal.
• Two RC channels allow for single-stick (mixed) motor control, making it easy to use two simple