View Single Post
  #12   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 24-02-2005, 01:58
ace123's Avatar
ace123 ace123 is offline
Registered User
AKA: Patrick Horn
FRC #0008 (Paly Robotics - http://robotics.paly.net/)
Team Role: Programmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Rookie Year: 2004
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Posts: 50
ace123 has a spectacular aura aboutace123 has a spectacular aura about
Send a message via AIM to ace123
Re: PWM cables: too fragile? what fixes/precautions?

I rarely have any problems with PWM cables aside from them falling out.

My team's worst problem last year is when a PWM cable fell out of an upside-down Victor during a round, causing the robot to only turn one direction and creating a hard struggle to plug it in afterwards.

This year, if one of them falls out (it's a Y-cable), it could ruin our gearbox, which would basically prevent us froom competing. I think that we should hot-glue them in.

My biggest problem with cables this year is the camera cable.

I already shipped the camera, so I will have to fix it at the competition, but the Camera cables are the worst. They keep getting bent because they have to wrap around to the front of the camera, and the TTL Serial cable is bad because a little bit of plastic on the tiny circuit board got chipped off, and causes it to fall off a lot.

Part of this problem was because some people on our team decided to mount the electronics upside-down on my test bot!

The reason this is so bad is that it causes the code to freeze when the camera stops responding, giving a red flashing "Program State" (Code Violation) error on the RC, stalling the program for the rest of the match. The remote reset button might work, but definately only after Autonomous mode.

If there is any cable I'll be hot-gluing in, it's the TTL and the camera power!
There's still always a switch on the camera itself.
__________________
-Patrick Horn, Paly Robotics

Check out the space simulator called Vega Strike, modelled after the space simulator games Elite and Wing Commander. It's Open Source too!
If you have ever played Wing Commander, or especially Privateer, and had a feeling of nostalga derived from the you will enjoy these two Vega Strike mods: Privateer Gemini Gold and Privateer Remake!
I'm working on adding multiplayer support this year...