How to hook up the router without a WAGO connector.

[Maximillian]

I am on a rookie team and we are trying to wire up the wireless bridge and we dont have the WAGO connector for the PD board. Can you hook up the 12v to 5v converter to the normal part of the PD board using a breaker or do you have to use the special 12v connector at the bottom of the PD board?

Thanks for the help.

[ksafin]

Originally Posted by Maximillian

I am on a rookie team and we are trying to wire up the wireless bridge and we dont have the WAGO connector for the PD board. Can you hook up the 12v to 5v converter to the normal part of the PD board using a breaker or do you have to use the special 12v connector at the bottom of the PD board?

Thanks for the help.

You CAN hook it up with a 12v to 5v inverter but that'll cause you a lot of headaches.

The special 12v connector at the bottom of the PDB is meant to be dedicated to the router so that you don't lose connection. Standard power ports can lose power when drive motors pull too much current, which will reset your router.

That specific port is meant to avoid this problem by ensuring that power to the router doesn't drop during even the most demanding power draws.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Maximillian

I am on a rookie team and we are trying to wire up the wireless bridge and we dont have the WAGO connector for the PD board. Can you hook up the 12v to 5v converter to the normal part of the PD board using a breaker or do you have to use the special 12v connector at the bottom of the PD board?

Thanks for the help.

CAN you hook it up to a breaker? Sure you can.

SHOULD you? Generally no. The normal breakers supply battery voltage, and when this dips down to maybe 6 or 7 volts, the router resets. The special 12 V connection maintains 12 V even when the battery voltage drops pretty far. (I don't remember the exact specs, you can look them up yourself).

So if you can deal with an occasional router reset, go for it. Otherwise, remember to NOT LOSE THE WAGO CONNECTORS next time, OK? (I know you're rookies. It's OK. Just remember for next time)

Just remember that at competition, you need to connect it according to the rules.

[Maximillian]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

CAN you hook it up to a breaker? Sure you can.

SHOULD you? Generally no. The normal breakers supply battery voltage, and when this dips down to maybe 6 or 7 volts, the router resets. The special 12 V connection maintains 12 V even when the battery voltage drops pretty far. (I don't remember the exact specs, you can look them up yourself).

So if you can deal with an occasional router reset, go for it. Otherwise, remember to NOT LOSE THE WAGO CONNECTORS next time, OK? (I know you're rookies. It's OK. Just remember for next time)

Just remember that at competition, you need to connect it according to the rules.

This is just a practice bot that was lent to us by a team in the area. They didnt have all of the parts so what they gave us was missing some stuff. We had to buy our own router so thats why we dont have the WAGO connector. This will never ever be in competition, its just for driver practice and showing to potential sponsors. It will also be a temporary thing till we can get the part.

[Maximillian]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Really? I find that hard to swallow.

Originally Posted by Jared

The normal 12 volt connectors on the power distribution board won't work. The 12 volt supply at the bottom is always 12 volts, no matter what the battery voltage is. The normal ones with breakers can drop as low as 8 or 9 volts during driving. If you're looking for a quick solution, it's possible to skip the 12 volt to 5 volt converter and connect the radio directly to the 5 volt supply on the bottom of the board, but make sure you get the polarity correct!

Is it possible to hook up directly to the 5v connector at the bottom of the PD board? If so why doesnt everyone do that? Is it just because that port is meant for the camera?

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Maximillian

Is it possible to hook up directly to the 5v connector at the bottom of the PD board? If so why doesnt everyone do that? Is it just because that port is meant for the camera?

The short answer is... Because the rules say so. The PDB was originally designed when we used a radio that ran off of 12V. When we switched to our current 5V radio, we added the converter to maintain the same functionality we previously had.

Go ahead and hook it up to a 20A breaker for now and it should work just fine for a little practice and demos, especially if you have a fresh battery in the robot. But as others have already said, when you get the Kit of Parts in 9 days make sure you hook up your competition robot correctly! It's extremely frustrating to go out to a match and have your robot die for 30 seconds while the router resets, although it's a mistake we've seen from many teams.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Maximillian

Is it possible to hook up directly to the 5v connector at the bottom of the PD board? If so why doesnt everyone do that? Is it just because that port is meant for the camera?

That 5v port does not have the same level of dropout protection that the 12v port has. However, it has better protection then the 12->5v converter connected to a normal terminal. The 12v port drops out at 4.5 volts, the 5v port drops out at 5.5 volts, while the 12->5v converter drops out at around 7 volts.

[Maximillian]

Thanks all of you. I will hook up the robot now and then change it so that its right when we get the part. I will make sure that everything is hooked up right for our actual competition robot.

[Chris_Ely]

You should get the proper connector and connect the radio to the proper place on the power board. See the Power Distribution Diagram for details. The 12V output where the radio is supposed to be connected is a regulated output, meaning that when the battery voltage fluctuates during robot operation, the voltage coming from this output will stay at about 12V. If you connected the radio to one of the unregulated ports, the battery voltage could drop below the minimum voltage required for the radio to operate, causing it to turn off. You can get the proper WAGO connector here.

[Jared]

The normal 12 volt connectors on the power distribution board won't work. The 12 volt supply at the bottom is always 12 volts, no matter what the battery voltage is. The normal ones with breakers can drop as low as 8 or 9 volts during driving. If you're looking for a quick solution, it's possible to skip the 12 volt to 5 volt converter and connect the radio directly to the 5 volt supply on the bottom of the board, but make sure you get the polarity correct!

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Jared

The normal 12 volt connectors on the power distribution board won't work.

Really? I find that hard to swallow.

[Jared]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Really? I find that hard to swallow.

It'll work, but if you stall any motor for any period of time, the radio will reset. A few teams did this at the CT regional, and died on the practice field. Using the 5 volt camera supply is a much better quick solution, but it's not legal for competition.