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RC resets itself when robot tries to move
This problem popped up after we returned from the Seattle regionals.
Anytime the joystick is moved to move the drive motors, the robot controller will reset itself, often before the wheels even start turning, so I'm quite certain it's not some sort of jarring issue. Strangely enough, moving the motor for the arm does not present the same problem. I've tested and swapped breakers, and those seem to be in working order. Pretty much stumped on this; any help would be greatly appreciated. |
The first thing I'd check is that the batteries you're using are properly charged. If the voltage supplied drops below +9VDC, approximately, the RC will reset.
Hmm. Other than this, I'm not sure what to think. |
Dude, your battery is dead. We had the same thing happen. The drive motors draw much more than the arm motor and will cause a big voltage drop which causes the RC to reset. Leave the battery on an automatic charger overnight or use a manual charger and watch the gauge.:)
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If your battery is good and charged...
Turn off all power. tip the robot on it's side and try and move the wheels by hand. A trashed gear box can give you the same type of response (the controller can reset before the CB trips). |
Assuming you have tried everything mentioned above and still have a problem. I would think about the joystick - it may have a short or a loose connection. Try another joystick. Inspect the port on the OI.
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like everyone else has pretty much said, charge the battery, check the joystick to see if theres a short. And check to make sure the oi pins on the comp port or any port are not damaged, you could have a short also somewheres in your bot thats causing a chrge to build up and create an impulse to the comp port. Also take a voltmeter and make sure you are getting flow to the motor, then you will definitly know if it is an electrical or mechanical problem... Other then that blame the programmer (j/k).
~Mike P.S.~ the prgramming joke is that if its not mechanical then its got to be programmings issue... |
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MOVE THE RADIO!!!
That was our HUGE problem this year!! We found out where we mounted the radio on the robot caused a huge RF interference problem which led to us doing the same exact thing at NYC this year!! Move the radio!! If that doesn't work.... rebuild the robot!! lol |
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~Mike |
It sounds like you may have a short somewhere after a speed controller. As mentioned earlier, it might be posible that a short in the leads between a motor and a speed controller could draw enough current to drop the system voltage beyond the RC reset point before a breaker has time to trip. What happens if you only push the stick forward slightly? Check the resistance between the motor terminals and the M+ and M- terminals of the speed controlers to the V+ and V- terminals. What are they?
[EDITED TO CORRECT MY DUMBNESS.] |
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~Mike |
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~Mike |
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The power supply might work but it's got to be good enough to supply the current needed. |
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~Mike |
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Your books probably say that bacause motors have a very high inductace and will have dirrerent resistances depending on a number of conditions such as mechanical load, frequency, etc. At the very low DC voltages used by most ohmeters, the inductance is negledgable and an ohmeter can be used to test for shorts if you know the resistance of a good motor of the same type. And by the way i use an variable current limited bench power supply to test motors. |
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Ahh! Didn't think of that. It is true many ohmeters don't perform too well or at all when measuring very low resistances. Just out of curiosity what book is it? I might want to read it.
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http://homepages.which.net/~paul.hills/ |
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Sealed Lead Acid batteries are still lead acid batteries. The electrolyte is a sulphuric acid compound and the plates are lead. When batteries are stressed the electrolyte heats up and the lead deforms both of which contribute to the swelling case. You can interpolate the result if the deformation was rapid, an explosion would be the result. Hot, gelled sulphuric acid and plastic shrapnel are not my idea of fun. I would try this, start by removing all of the circuit breakers that feed motors. If the controller still shuts down, it is not the motors or controllers. (assuming you have wired them according to electrical rules.) If all is OK, then insert one breaker and try again. Continue until you find the offending device. My suspicion is a wayward connector that will be obvious under visual inspection, or a damaged drill motor. Please let us know what you find. |
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OK, we have discussed this before but to prevent any further confusion... When a motor is in stall, one or two windings are in contact with the brush assembly. Each winding has some resistance which limits the amount of current flowing. For the drill motor this year, stall current was rated at 129 amps. However, the SLA battery is capable of supplying in excess of 400 amps in short circuit! That is sufficient to weld wire, sending sparks (fire and skin burning hazard) bright arcing light (retinal burns) high temperature on the conductor (creating poisonous gasses) and the possible explosion of the battery. High temperatures are not only generated in the wire you use. Remember that the circuit is a series one. Current, everywhere in a series circuit, is the same. 400 amps flowing through a wire is also flowing through the battery. That amount of current will rapidly raise the internal temperature of the battery, resulting in damage to the case if you are lucky. When high currents are flowing in the battery, you boil the electrolyte and deform the lead plates. Use circuit protection when testing motors! Hot sulphuric acid and plastic shrapnel is not my idea of a fun time. Now back to the problem. Something is drawing the power supply down below reset on the RC. Remove all the circuit breakers that feed motors and repower the robot. If moving the joystick still causes reset, then suspect a bad PWM cable or a bad PWM input on a controller. You can isolate this by removing PWM cables one at a time and repeating the joystick test. If the RC does not reset with all the breakers removed, then add the breakers back one at a time until you isolate the bad circuit. I think you will find a wire or connector has come loose and/or is touching another contact. There has been trouble with the drill motor brush assembly and it is possible to cause a short in this area if the plastic at the brush end of the motor is damaged or out of alignment. |
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Adam,
Read carefully when you are checking the spec sheets. A fully charged battery has an internal resistance of 10 milliohm. By Ohm's Law I=V/R=12/.01=1200 Amps. Now asume some variables creep into the calculations like not fully charged battery, some resistance in the wire (#10 is .001 ohm/foot) and a high resistance connection on the wire doing the short and 400 amps is pretty easy to get. Let us remember that the current through the internal resistance causes a voltage drop and that lowers the terminal voltage at the outside of the battery. A stalled motor is still a higher resistance than a dead short and therefore lower current when at stall. Teams stall motors all the time during competition and do not damage batteries or motors unless the stall condition continues for a great length of time. The brush assembly on the drill motor can easily be damaged and the brushes can be out of alignment without any obvious damage. I came across several in Houston where the brushes were not touching the commutator or were severely misaligned enough to be be damaged by the wire contact at the edge of the commutator. Sorry for the double post, it had something to do with the spell checker and I am still trying to work that out. |
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