Using a dashboard switch node to activate motor/step counter

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I am trying to use a switch node on the dashboard and turn my stepper motor on and off. When I do implement a switch node, it sends through a boolean instead of the diameter value which is needed to determine the direction of the motor when it moves. I also want this switch to activate the counter so that both the motor and step counter activate simultaneously. How do I do this while maintaining the diameter value read from the serial port?

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@RGGabe welcome to the forum!

  1. what version of NR are you using?
  2. When you say 'dashboard' I think you are referring to the flow editor...correct?
  3. add a debug node (set to display the complete map object) to the output of the MoveMoterCode function node and run a test. Copy the output and put it in a reply.

There’s a great page in the docs (Working with messages : Node-RED) that will explain how to use the debug panel to find the right path/value for any data item.

Pay particular attention to the part about the buttons that appear under your mouse pointer when you over hover a debug message property in the sidebar.

BX00Cy7yHi

  1. Also export your flow and paste it in a response so people can see what you are doing.

In order to make code readable and usable it is necessary to surround your code with three backticks (also known as a left quote or backquote ```)

``` 
   code goes here 
```

You can edit and correct your post by clicking the pencil :pencil: icon.

See this post for more details - How to share code or flow json

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I suspect you need to interrupt signals being sent to your stepper when your dashboard toggle switch is "off" right?

Use Context to set a flag that you can then use to enable/disable messages passing to the stepper.

e.g.

flow 1

toggle --> change node (set flow.enable)

flow 2

data --> switch (is flow.enable true?) --> stepper nodes

Context

Beginner help

I recommend watching this playlist: Node-RED Essentials. The videos are done by the developers of node-red. They're nice & short and to the point. You will understand a whole lot more in about 1 hour. A small investment for a lot of gain.

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