Extending IR board connector wires

[7-11number1]

I assume everyone will be putting the IR received near the top of their robot. What type of connectors are you doing to use? Possibly DB9 (Serial) or would an RJ-45 network extensions? Running multiple PWM cables to the IR board doesn't seem like a good idea.

I'd like to put this connector either inside the tubing of the robot or protected by the robot PIC controller due to the potential for knocking off loose pieces in this years game.

Good Luck!
-Michael
Team Mentor: #1711

[Alan Anderson]

The IR decoder board has a ten pin ribbon cable connector. It came with a ten pin ribbon cable. I don't see a reason to use anything other than a ten pin ribbon cable to connect it. That's how we're doing it.

At the other end of the ribbon cable, we have a board with another ten pin ribbon cable connector, a pair of FAST-ON connectors for power, and spots for two PWM cables to plug in and carry the four digital signals to the RC. For the final wiring, I think we'll forego the extra connectors and solder the power and signal wires directly to that board.

[Abrakadabra]

Hi Alan -

Do you happen to have part numbers for the 10-pin ribbon cable connector and header? Not being well-versed in electronic parts, the number of potential matches out there seems overwhelming.

Thanks!

[Guy Davidson]

Hi Michael,

We also use the 10-pin connector, but we have it wired differently than Alan described. Our wiring guru wired one three-pin ("pwm") cable to the power, ground, and first signal lines, and another three-pin cable to the second, third, and fourth signal lines. The result is only using two three-pin cables while getting all the capabilities (the cables are connected to the RC in somewhat of an L shape - the first cable connects regularly to a digital IO pin, and the second one spans the next three signal pins afterwards).

Hope this helps.

[itsme]

Hi Michael,

We also use the 10-pin connector, but we have it wired differently than Alan described. Our wiring guru wired one three-pin ("pwm") cable to the power, ground, and first signal lines, and another three-pin cable to the second, third, and fourth signal lines. The result is only using two three-pin cables while getting all the capabilities (the cables are connected to the RC in somewhat of an L shape - the first cable connects regularly to a digital IO pin, and the second one spans the next three signal pins afterwards).

Hope this helps.

Liked your method.
just a small question: doesn't the IR board need between 7-15 volts?
Because from what I know the digital I/O brings only 5 volts, and you connected the power and ground to the digital I/O port.

[Alan Anderson]

Do you happen to have part numbers for the 10-pin ribbon cable connector and header?

http://www.newark.com/jsp/content/printCatalog.jsp?display=single&cat=cat125&page=681

The Amphenol 812 and 816 series look good. I think the parts I scrounged are actually made by 3M.

We also use the 10-pin connector, but we have it wired differently than Alan described. Our wiring guru wired one three-pin ("pwm") cable to the power, ground, and first signal lines, and another three-pin cable to the second, third, and fourth signal lines. The result is only using two three-pin cables while getting all the capabilities (the cables are connected to the RC in somewhat of an L shape - the first cable connects regularly to a digital IO pin, and the second one spans the next three signal pins afterwards).

That's exactly how I wired the signal connectors, with the exception of the power. The RC digital pins only supply +5v, which is why my connection board has separate FAST-ON tabs for +12v from the circuit breaker/distribution panel.

[JimS]

The IR decoder board has a ten pin ribbon cable connector. It came with a ten pin ribbon cable. I don't see a reason to use anything other than a ten pin ribbon cable to connect it. That's how we're doing it.

At the other end of the ribbon cable, we have a board with another ten pin ribbon cable connector, a pair of FAST-ON connectors for power, and spots for two PWM cables to plug in and carry the four digital signals to the RC. For the final wiring, I think we'll forego the extra connectors and solder the power and signal wires directly to that board.

I am confused.Do you need a seperate power supply for the IR board and do you connect the gnds together between the robot controller and the IR board and also which inputs to use digital or analog? For the inputs to the RC.

[marccenter]

I am modifying Chief Delphi Team#47 IR Board to accept separate power from robot distribution board (2 wires, +12 V and ground). As such, we will be gluing a small, two pin, connector to the board. Between the new connector and the existing 10 pin connector pins for power (pins 1 & 2), we will be soldering an inline 1N4007 diode for reverse battery protection. The new connector will also have add a small wire from the ground to ground (pins 3 & 4). Since the system will be connected to the 12V system, the 0.7 volt diode drop will not be an issue.
I will try to post a digital picture after the work is completed.
I haven't decided what to do yet about the 4 signals that need to come from the IR board to robot controller( 2 Pwm wires, one with 3 signals, the other with one signal and ground OR 4 PWM wires, one for each signal/ground).

[7-11number1]

Hi Michael,

We also use the 10-pin connector, but we have it wired differently than Alan described. Our wiring guru wired one three-pin ("pwm") cable to the power, ground, and first signal lines, and another three-pin cable to the second, third, and fourth signal lines. The result is only using two three-pin cables while getting all the capabilities (the cables are connected to the RC in somewhat of an L shape - the first cable connects regularly to a digital IO pin, and the second one spans the next three signal pins afterwards).

Hope this helps.

Does this leave the grounds pins on the digital I/O floating or are they connected back to ground? I thought about doing something similar to save cable, but I thought I would just keep it simple (KISS) and use 4-pwm cables. This will reduce the probability of the kids hooking it up wrong.