2009 Control System Pictures

[kE7JLM]

http://picasaweb.google.com/Falcon.Media.Man/2009ControlSystemFreshOutTheBoxFalconRoboticsTeam8 42#


Here is a Google docs pres. -
http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dfddbtns_78cvdgfsfv&invite=cjmgw9m

[EHaskins]

Thanks for posting these.

[willson.thomas]

Thanks for posting these.

Finally some decent pictures of the control system.

[dlavery]

Here is at least one configuration of the assembled system.


http://www.team116.org/Images/2009/ControlSystemSm.jpg (http://www.team116.org/Images/2009/ControlSystem.jpg)
(click on the image to link to the full-size version)

-dave



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[kE7JLM]

Here is at least one configuration of the assembled system.


http://www.team116.org/Images/2009/ControlSystemSm.jpg (http://www.team116.org/Images/2009/ControlSystem.jpg)
(click on the image to link to the full-size version)

-dave



.

Any idea why we got two side cars? overkill, right?

[popo308]

Well each sidecar can only hold up to 10 PWM outputs...

I know last year on our robot we had 13 Victors and 2 Servo's

So not necessarily overkill. It depends what your are going to try to do with the system i guess

[waialua359]

I guess it aint overkill if you build two bots or have one bot/one prototype. ;)
Makes the spare parts we buy, that much cheaper. We just got ours yesterday afternoon and noticed the double sidecars also.
I like it a lot already, circuit breaker board and all.

[kE7JLM]

I guess it aint overkill if you build two bots or have one bot/one prototype. ;)
Makes the spare parts we buy, that much cheaper. We just got ours yesterday afternoon and noticed the double sidecars also.
I like it a lot already, circuit breaker board and all.

Totally Agree, seems like the only negative this year is the weight.

[seanl]

do the jags have a indicator light? all the lights are on but i don't see any light on the jags.

[IndySam]

do the jags have a indicator light? all the lights are on but i don't see any light on the jags.

There's a LED right in the middle.

[EricVanWyk]

Well each sidecar can only hold up to 10 PWM outputs...

I know last year on our robot we had 13 Victors and 2 Servo's

So not necessarily overkill. It depends what your are going to try to do with the system i guess

Exactly. Most teams can fit into 1 DSC, advanced teams can use 2.

[yodameister]

Totally Agree, seems like the only negative this year is the weight.

And the footprint.

[typharn91]

To me the jags look like they can be used for more than one object but I haven't gotten a chance to look at my teams yet can any one answer this for me

[Daniel_LaFleur]

To me the jags look like they can be used for more than one object but I haven't gotten a chance to look at my teams yet can any one answer this for me

I don't believe they can be used for more than 1 object. I believe that the screw terminals on the bottom of the Jaguar (in the picture) is the only output that is controlled. I believe that all the other ports are inputs and sensor return ports.

Also the plastic hooks on the left of the Jaguars ... are they strain relief and wire guide hooks?

[Kevin Sevcik]

Also the plastic hooks on the left of the Jaguars ... are they strain relief and wire guide hooks?Yes, they're strain relief for pwm/ribbon style cables, per the actual designer of the Jags. I thanked him profusely for saving my electronics team a lot of hot gluing.

[dlavery]

do the jags have a indicator light? all the lights are on but i don't see any light on the jags.

Yes, they have an indicator LED in the center of the plastic enclosure. When the full control system is powered up for the for the first time after complete assembly, the Jaguar indicator LEDs will be blinking. These were, and they just happened to be "off" at the instant that the picture was taken.

-dave



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[Karthik]

Here is at least one configuration of the assembled system.

Dave,

What are the dimensions of the white sheet that the control system is mounted to?

[dlavery]

Dave,

What are the dimensions of the white sheet that the control system is mounted to?

I would love to tell you that it is a ridiculously expensive piece of space qualified, diamond impregnated, titanium substrate, multi-layer wonder polymer composite structure that was designed for use in -100 to -150 °C temperature regimes, and that there was no way in the world that any mere mortal could possibly obtain another sample of this miraculous material. But if I did so, I would be even more full of it than usual (insert your own response here).

The reality is that it is a piece of modular shelving material that I happened to have sitting in the corner in my basement, unused from the installation of a bunch of cheap base storage cabinets obtained from Home Depot. It is a piece of 1/2 inch chipboard covered with Formica, and measures about 23 by 25 inches.

-dave



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[EricVanWyk]

Does anyone have a picture of the setup they had at the demo stations at NI? It would be nice for this thread to accumulate a bunch of different pictures.

[bmarick]

hey does anyone now why there is two spikes on this picture?
and what is the wieght diffrence on this set up?
Both are out of curiosity and my understanding that we would only require one spike?

[Russ Beavis]

It may not be a pretty comparison but an IFI-based equivalent (including the old Rockwell blocks and breaker panels) shown side-by-side may be useful if, for no other reason, than to give the teams some idea about how much extra space they need to provide for the new electronics.

Why two Spikes? Why not? Many actuators can be driven just as well using on/off control with a Spike or relay versus variable voltage or speed control with a Victor, Jaguar or similar. A good engineer always searches for the optimal solution (emphasis on "optimal" which isn't always the smallest and lowest cost version).

Assuming that pneumatics are provided as in previous years and the rules are equivalent, many teams will probably only need 1 Spike (ie for driving their compressor). The Solenoid Breakout and cRIO 9472 module can be used to drive up to eight 0.75A loads (eg the solenoid pneumatic valves).

Russ

[Kevin Sevcik]

You require zero spikes if you're not using the air compressor. Or such was the case last year. There were two provided in the early ship kit, so I suppose Dave decided to mount just about everything he received in the kit. I mean, there's two breakers on there that aren't even connected to anything.

[WikiY]

From the back, the I2C connector on the digital sidecars look a lot like the right-aligned modular jack (http://mindsensors.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=67&MMN_position=29:29) used on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT sensor ports (same color/shape), but is it? The NXT supports I2C sensors, so just wondering...

[EricVanWyk]

From the back, the I2C connector on the digital sidecars look a lot like the right-aligned modular jack (http://mindsensors.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=67&MMN_position=29:29) used on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT sensor ports (same color/shape), but is it? The NXT supports I2C sensors, so just wondering...

Yes, it is the same.

If you look at the datasheet (Starts at Page 26 (http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/3-FRC%20Control%20System-Component-Datasheets-Rev-0-4f.pdf)) of the DSC, it mentions in several places that it is for use with NXT style I2C sensors.

[Tom Hand]

Top shot. Battery gives you relative size.