Chief Delphi - 8 volts over talons

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- - 8 volts over talons (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128331)

dipmeinaluminum

29-03-2014 19:46

8 volts over talons

Hi guys,
First, thank you to all of Long Island for having is this past weekend!

I'm having a weird issue, I'm using Talons to power CIM Motors for our shooter. When a button is assigned to them, the voltage reads 8Volts, when the joystick is applied I get the full volts, solid green and red lights.

After calibrations and such, I can't figure it out. Can we just not use assign buttons to talons?

We are using JAVA. Thank you in advance.
-Mike

Patrick Chiang

29-03-2014 20:36

Re: 8 volts over talons

Can you post the relevant part of your code?

Something like this should work:

Code:

if (joystick.getRawButton(SHOOTER_BUTTON))

    talon.set(1.0);

Sometimes a button on a joystick is read as an axis on the computer. For example, the xbox 360 controller finger triggers (bumpers or whatever they're called) actually count as axis and you'll get a variable value instead of a true/false.

TFleig78

29-03-2014 20:51

Re: 8 volts over talons

It seems like a code issue. Could you post the code? Also, are you using the command based model or the simple template?

JavaNoNothing14

29-03-2014 22:45

Re: 8 volts over talons

For the most part, when running a blank code it was essentially just a simple

Code:

if (js.getRawButton(11)){

   shooter.set(1);

}

After testing, it would only run at what seems to be 66% speed.

tStano

29-03-2014 23:08

Re: 8 volts over talons

Electrical resistance will make your voltage drop.

There is some resistance in a talon, but not that much. This particular talon could be a bad one though, with a greater resistance.

Wire has resistance as well. If you have long wire runs, the voltage could easily drop to 8v by the time it reaches the motor. This calculator shows you how severe that effect may be. http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html

There could be a loose or badly terminated wire somewhere along the path. This would increase resistance, further lowering voltage.

Also, it is possible the value you get is what the current battery voltage is. These batteries don't always output 12v, but I'm sure you knew that.

It could also be that your voltmeter isn't great, or has poor connections.

If the lights on the talons are flashing as you press the button, I'd think it was code. if their not, its probably something else.

Your code looks correct, assuming it runs every loop.

TFleig78

29-03-2014 23:24

Re: 8 volts over talons

You can debug by printing the values that the talons are set to.
You can do this by writing:

Code:

System.out.println(shooter.get());

Also, check the status lights on the talons.

JavaNoNothing14

29-03-2014 23:28

Re: 8 volts over talons

Its set to two talons, but for the sake of this i'm just writing the program as it would be if i only have one. The wire length is closer than any other motor control set up that we have.

So when I revised the program to have it read as such

Code:

if (js.getY()> 0)

{

shooter.set(1); 

}

so if i move my joystick forward my shooter will go forward. When i run this program i have no problem at all, robot works fine and it reads 12+ V.

I've even switched out these talons with other talons to eliminate as much as could be and for some strange reason, being set to a button doesn't give it full speed.

Jon Stratis

29-03-2014 23:31

Re: 8 volts over talons

Quote:

Originally Posted by JavaNoNothing14 (Post 1366417)

Code:

if (js.getRawButton(11)){

   shooter.set(1);

}

After testing, it would only run at what seems to be 66% speed.

First, I would personally supply "1.0" instead of "1" - I've had issues in the past (in other systems, not necessarily on an FRC system) with the conversion from int to double causing issues with stuff. This way you're supplying the double directly, instead of making the compiler convert it.

Try setting the speed to a variety of values (I would go 1.0, 0.9, 0.8, etc, all the way down to -1.0) and see what voltage you get out of the Talon for each value. Then do the same thing feeding in a joystick, printing out the joystick value as you go so you can get it at about the same values. This will let you plot two response curves, which may help us figure out what's wrong.

Jon Stratis

29-03-2014 23:32

Re: 8 volts over talons

Quote:

Originally Posted by JavaNoNothing14 (Post 1366430)

Code:

if (js.getY()> 0)

{

shooter.set(1); 

}

Ahh... more information, makes more thoughts... What other code do you have around this motor? I assume somewhere you're telling it to stop and/or go in reverse?

JavaNoNothing14

29-03-2014 23:38

Re: 8 volts over talons

I've stripped down the code, and removed it from all other variables, started a new file so all i have running is the button, and the js.getY(), (1 is being commented out when the other one is in use). And the results are still the same with the main program. It reads out 1.0 on the driver station, but shows a blinking light, and only reads ~8 volts on a voltmeter when done on a button.

Jon Stratis

29-03-2014 23:46

Re: 8 volts over talons

So with the striped down code, the only way to stop the motor is to disable the robot?

Try getting rid of the "if" part all together - just set the motor to 1.0 and see what happens. I would also try 0.9, see if the output value changes.

TFleig78

29-03-2014 23:50

Re: 8 volts over talons

Also, it would be helpful to post all of the code so we can see what else might be affecting the output

JavaNoNothing14

29-03-2014 23:54

Re: 8 volts over talons

yea as i essentially just have the shooters set up to the drive train so its just the wheels running forward, rather than an arm just swinging around I didn't want to risk any other method of coding to be part of the issue. I'll try putting it on different speeds and seeing if the output values change

Patrick Chiang

30-03-2014 02:04

Re: 8 volts over talons

Makes no sense that the axis is causing the Talon to give a different voltage than the button. If it were an electrical problem, you should see consistent and identical results for axis vs. button.

One problem I've frequently seen is:

Code:

if (js.getRawButton(SHOOTER_BUTTON))

    shooter.set(1.0);

System.out.println(shooter.get());

... 200 lines of code later ...

Code:

shooter.set(0.7);

Prints 1.0 but sets to 0.7.

If you're multi-threading, maybe something else in another thread is modifying the shooter?

It just doesn't make sense that the problem is electrical related. If you don't want to post your code, it's fine, but we can at least help you eliminate the possibility of the problem being your code.

JavaNoNothing14

30-03-2014 10:35

Re: 8 volts over talons

I tried opening a new project

Code:

public class WhyYouNoWork extends SimpleRobot{



        Joystick js = new Joystick(1);

        Talon shooter = new Talon(1);



public void robotInit(){



}



public void autonomous(){



}



public void operatorControl(){

   while(isOperatorControl() && isEnabled()){

        if (js.getRawButton(11)){

            shooter.set(1.0);

        }

   }

}

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