Product Overview
Simple Step SSQE Bipolar Stepper Translator and Driver Board, 7-50 V DC at 2 A Per Phase
Condition
Used and in good condition. Removed from a working system, clean and fully functional. The photographs show the actual board you will receive. The green PCB is clean with no corrosion, cracking, or burn marks, and the silkscreen reads XA, SIMPLE STEP L.L.C., SSQE, SSQEXAO1PA-E. A Philips PXAG49KBA microcontroller sits in its PLCC socket marked 1C649200JJ AeD0225 G, a Linear Technology LTC491CN dated 0239 sits in the socket at U2B, and the adjacent socket position at U2A is unpopulated. Component date codes of 0225, 0239, and 0241 are consistent with a 2002 build. The solder side carries two black hook and loop pads left from its previous mounting, normal hand-soldered through-hole joints, and all four corner mounting holes intact. A wiring harness is visible in the photographs, so please read the included items question below.
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Product Overview
The Simple Step SSQE SSQEXAO1PA-E is a single-board stepper motor translator and driver for 4-wire bipolar motors, folding current control, step generation, and position tracking into one module that answers to a plain ASCII serial command set. It accepts 7-50 V DC input, with 15-50 V DC recommended, and drives 0.1 A to 2.0 A per phase on an adjustable current setting in full-step or half-step mode at rates up to 7,000 steps per second. A 16-bit position counter tracks 0 to 65,534 steps, with an optional firmware upgrade for 32-bit positioning. Selectable PWM decay modes, slow, fast, and mixed, let you tune how the motor behaves, while short-circuit protection and thermal shutdown near 165 C guard the output stage. The board is built around a socketed Philips PXAG49KBA microcontroller with XA silkscreened alongside it, and carries a 4-position DIP switch, a crystal at X1, resistor networks RN1 and RN2, green screw terminal blocks, and several IDC pin headers for motor, power, and signal connections.
Key Features
- Model: Simple Step SSQE SSQEXAO1PA-E
- Function: bipolar stepper motor translator and driver board
- Input voltage: 7-50 V DC, 15-50 V DC recommended
- Phase current: 0.1 A to 2.0 A per phase, adjustable
- Stepping modes: full-step and half-step
- Maximum step rate: up to 7,000 steps per second
- Position counter: 16-bit standard, 0 to 65,534 steps
- Firmware option: 32-bit positioning upgrade available
- Interface: ASCII serial command set for direct motor control
- Motor connection: 4-wire bipolar motor via terminal block
- PWM control: selectable slow, fast, and mixed decay modes
- Protection: short-circuit and thermal shutdown near 165 C
- Cooling: fan recommended for high-current continuous duty, 24 to 37 CFM
- Visible in photos: socketed Philips PXAG49KBA processor, Linear Technology LTC491CN at U2B, unpopulated socket at U2A, 4-position DIP switch
Applications
- A maintenance tech swapping a failed axis card in legacy Simple Step driven positioning equipment
- A lab automation engineer commanding a bipolar stepper stage from a PC over serial with plain ASCII strings
- A CNC or small gantry retrofitter who wants step generation and position counting on the drive board instead of in the host
- A designer prototyping a motion axis that needs adjustable phase current up to 2 A without building a driver from scratch
Frequently Asked Questions
What does used and in good condition mean for this board?
It means the board came out of a working system rather than off a shelf. It is clean and fully functional. The photos show the honest evidence of that history: two hook and loop pads still stuck to the solder side and a wiring harness that came off with it. No corrosion, cracked traces, or heat damage are visible anywhere on the board.
Why does the socket at U2A look empty?
Because it is. The photographs show an 18-pin socket at U2A with no device in it, while the neighboring socket at U2B holds a Linear Technology LTC491CN. Whether U2A is a factory build option left unpopulated on this configuration or a part that was pulled is not confirmed. Check the Simple Step documentation for your interface option before putting the board into service.
How do I send commands to it?
The SSQE uses an ASCII serial command set, so a terminal program or any host that can write text out a serial port can drive it. We do not reproduce the command syntax here. Get the Simple Step SSQE command reference for the exact strings, and verify the DIP switch settings against that document before you power a motor.
What is included?
You get the Simple Step SSQE SSQEXAO1PA-E stepper motor control board only. No cables, fans, power supply, or motor are included.
Why buy one board here instead of a multi-piece lot somewhere else?
Because one is usually all the job needs. PartsMine sells the exact quantity a repair or a prototype calls for, one or two pieces, instead of forcing a lot of 10 or 50 on you. Shipping is $8 flat rate and free over $28, and orders leave Idaho the same or next business day. For a single control board, that beats buying a forced-quantity lot and shelving the rest.
Motion control used to answer in plain text: a few ASCII characters down a serial line and the SSQE turned the motor exactly as far as you asked it to. The board still speaks that language, and the next axis it moves is yours to name.
