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Unread 20-03-2010, 21:00
ajd ajd is offline
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FRC #3238
Team Role: Alumni
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Rookie Year: 2010
Location: Mount Vernon, WA
Posts: 46
ajd will become famous soon enough
I2C Cable Length issue?

Our team is using a HiTechnic color sensor made for the Lego NXT. We are able to use it with a standard NXT cable plugged into the jack on the digital sidecar.

We wanted to put the sensor somewhat farther away from the sidecar than our NXT cables could reach, so we cut an NXT cable in half and soldered PWM-gauge wires across corresponding colors. However, when we plugged it in and rebooted the robot, the cRIO reported that the sensor did not respond when it was asked for its name and manufacturer.

We are fairly certain that our solders are good and that the right cables are soldered together - we used a multimeter to check continuity, etc. Since the wiring is essentially identical to the original cable, the only thing we can think of being a problem is the high cable length interfering with the signal. Has anyone else had any problems with trying to extend NXT cables?

Also, when we tried our soldered NXT cable with an ultrasonic sensor on a real NXT, things seemed to work fine (i.e. the sensor was usable). We haven't tried a color sensor on the real NXT yet; we will when we get back to the lab on Monday.

Thanks for any advice, information or experiences anyone can share.
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