cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Im probably an idiot and not reading the right part of the manual, but what fuse should I use for the cRIO 180 pwm thingey? I know I have the wiring and everything right, but ive no clue of the right fuse to use.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

I do not know what you mean by "cRIO 180 PWM thingey". What does the label on the module say?

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

The cRIO does not need a fuse. At the end of the Power Distribution Board (PDB) opposite the main + and - terminals there is a place for dedicated 5 volts and 12 volts which are to be used for the camera and gaming adapter and a dedicated 24 volt plug that fits the same plug that also plugs into the cRIO for power. This is where you should be powering your cRIO from and it does not need a fuse. The wiring instructions for the cRIO as well as the rest of the control system can be found on usfirst.org under Control System Documentation, not under the game rules.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

are you talking about the sidecar?

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

"cRIO 180 PWM thingey"

is not very descriptive. The cRIO itself goes to 24v without a fuse as i can tell.

http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/200...%20diargam.pdf

http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/200...%20diagram.pdf

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Keen, Sean, and Lead -

Thank you for trying to help bob.

However, I must ask you to be careful in this instance. There is a very good chance that bob has not read the appropriate materials, and is therefore much more likely to damage his control system. In the future, please answer questions of this nature with direct hyperlinks to the appropriate section of the manual, with a page number or range included.

Thanks!

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Your cRIO definitely should be plugged into the fuseless (well, I believe its internal to the PD board, but that's irrelevant) 24V port. The sidecars, and breakout boards should be fed a 12V supply from one of the PD board's many other outputs, through a 20A Snap Action circuit breaker. Other than that, you should not be applying 12V to anything attached to the cRIO. I suspect you're referring to the Digital Sidecar (it attaches to the cRIO with a large DB-37 cable). It provides the familiar PWM outputs to connect to speed controllers. It should be fed 12V from a 20A circuit breaker.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Thank you guys for helping me, and yes, i am talking about the sidecar. I knew everything but the right fuse to use.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

i don't think that the manual says anything about the fuse on the side car, but i would use the 20 amp because the sidecar probably wont pull that much amps, and in the past we have used 20 amps on the old contollers. so you should be fine with a 20 amp.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

From the data sheet, available in chapter 3 here: http://usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=10934

This typical application uses a 5A breaker... i doubt you'll need 30A for a FIRST robot.

Also, the worst that can happen if you use too small of a breaker - the breaker pops, and you put a bigger one in, after determining that it didn't pop due to a short or other hazardous electrical condition. The worst that can happen if you use to big of a breaker - your digital side car, and possibly anything attached to it, could go up in smoke.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Try to keep in mind that circuit breakers are intended to protect the wires, not the components. If the Digital Sidecar itself pulled enough current to smoke something, it was probably already broken.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Thank you guys, I have connected it and now it works fine. I think this new controll system is awsome, and I cant wait to learn all of the capabilities. Now I just got to look at our selection of sensors. I have made a test panel with a moter, basic pneumatic circuit, and all the electronics ecxept for the sensors, I want to make something for them too on the board as practice for our programmers while everyone else is working on the robots.

Re: cRIO fuse??? 20 or 30?
 

Yes, but burning out a wire isn't the worst that can possibly happen :) I find with the students it's always best to start with the absolute worst, then back into the most likely worst case - it causes them to be a little more cautious when working on the robot, which keeps things neat, clean, and safe.