Need a new IR board

[Jim Zondag]

We are going to the IRI and we are in need of a new IR board. Somehow at the MARC 2 weeks ago, something got shorted and ours no longer functions. I just discovered this last night. These can no longer be bought and I don't have enough time left to order anything else. Does anyone who is going to the IRI have a spare part? OR does anyone in SouthEast Michigan who is not going to the IRI have a part they could lend us?

[Joe Ross]

If you can't get an IR board, and you have a little available time for interrupts, you can use Kevin's IR code to directly decode the IR signal.

After our IR board died at a regional, we cut the traces to isolate the IR receiver, ran a cable to the RC, and used Kevin's code. We did have a little bit of trouble finding a remote that would work with the Sony protocol that Kevin assumes. We ended up using a cheap universal remote programmed to a Sony TV.

[Chris_Elston]

Just wondering...

Ours died too getting ready for IRI. However it was the first time we ever used it. Thanks to Bob Grieb, we got the updated HEX code for the PIC chip on the IR board from the FIRST archives documents website, and we just happened to have a programmer and we flashed our IR board with the new HEX code, and it came back to life.

I bought 4 spare PIC chips from Bob just in case, but for now ours is working.

So I wonder, have you ever had your IR board updated to the latest software at a regional? If not, you just might need it re-programmed. If your voltage is OK, check your voltage regulator output make sure it's 5 so volts, and your getting power from the 7.2 PWM header pin, and of course you've got a charged up back up battery. If you have your IR board powered from the 5V input or output port, try moving it to the 7.2 PWM pin header.

We are already bringing our programmer to IRI for another team to flash their IR board, come see us Team THRUST 1501 if you want us to try and flash yours too, but check it out from an electrical stand point first and make sure it's ok. I know you probably don't wanna to come to IR on the assumption that our programmer will flash your IR board back to life, but I'd make sure it's ok electrically if you can. Chances are if everything is ok from the voltage and circuit stand point, it just needs a new program.

When the IR board dies because of a program, it just plain appears dead. No lights or LEDs even when you try and power it up. This happened to us.

If you have other information you can post, maybe I can help direct you in more troubleshooting being that we just spent a week troubleshooting the board ourselves two weeks ago. Letmeno.

Again, we plan on bringing our programmer to IRI.

[Jim Zondag]

Thanks for the suggestions, I was going for the lowest effort solution, which would be a simple board swap.

Basically, the input port on the PIC micro was somehow damaged. It is always pulled low to ground, which squashes the output of the IR reciever IC. If I disconnect the output of the IR reciever from the board , I can then see the waveform with an oscilloscope. If I reconnect it, dead. Result is the micro cannot read the input and thus will not ever work.

If no one has a spare board for a simple swap, I will pursue implementing Kevins solution.