Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

Can you drive the Spike Relays Forward and Reverse on the Digital Breakout Board or do you need a different connection point?

We can drive relays forward but get no response to reverse. Please advise

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

If the Spike works in FWD, it's probably not a wiring problem. Let's see your code. I can think of two different simple programming errors that could cause it not to work in REV.

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

I've attached a .jpg of our begin.vi and teleop.vi where we are simply trying to drive the relays to a state of forward or reverse. We can get forward to work but no LEDs come on for reverse state. We are using the relay output of the digital breakout.

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

The attached picture is too blurry for me to read it.

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

Mind sending me your email and I'll send you the hi-res version.

mark.gryzwa@bsci.com

Mark Gryzwa
Director R&D
Boston Scientific

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

Which relay port is the spike *actually* attached to? It can't be attached to all of 2, 3, and 4. Unless.. Did you wire the PWM cable so that the BLACK wire is under the blue thing that will hold the cable in, the red is a little closer to the rest of the board, and the white/yellow is closest to the center? You must wire it like that. Then it will only be attached to relay port 2, not port 3 or 4. I think right now you have it wired parallel to the long side of the board; it needs to be perpendicular.

Then only open up one relay (there is only one, right?). Set it to both directions. In teleop, you have to do something more complicated than what you have. You need to tell it what to do based on both joystick buttons, not have two selects with one button each. The easiest way to do that is to have one select wired to one button, that selects either OFF or FORWARD. Then have another select that selects either REVERSE, or the output of the other select. This will give you all three cases. Wire this to your relay set.

For future debugging, if you look at the digital sidecar you should see a red and green LED next to each relay port. The green will light up if going forward, the red will light up if going backward. The light on the spike should do the same.

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

Thanks. We never get the red light on the digital board. We only get green

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

With the code you have posted you should definitely be getting the red light on Relay Channel 4 when you hold Button 9 on Joystick 2. If you are not I'd check that all 3 of the status LEDs (5V, 6V and BAT) are brightly lit on the digital Sidecar, that the 37 Pin cable is well seated in both the cRIO module and the DSC and that the power wires for the DSC are securely connected. If none of those solves the issue, I would try changing out the DSC.

If you are really stuck I can get you the contact info for the lead mentor of 2175, the Fighting Calculators, out of the Woodbury Math and Science Academy. I'm sure either one of their programmers or one from 3130 based out of East Ridge (both teams share shop space at East Ridge), or both would be glad to stop by sometime and help you get things sorted out.

Re: Using Spike Relay in Both Directions?
 

Thanks for the help.

We replaced the digital sidecar and now everything is working.