Jaguar and Spike Problems

[huskyrobotics]

I'm one of the lead student programmers/technichians for Team 848. We had a working electronics board, but since the first time we've tried to deploy code to the CRIO, the Electronics Board has stopped working, specifially at the Spike Relays and the Jaguar Speed Controllers. When the wiring looks like everything should work, the Jaguars are still flashing yellow. We were able to successfully benchtest this setup, but since the firsat time we deployed code to the Robot, there seems to be a problem somewhere with the signals. Any helop would be greatly appreciated.

[excel2474]

Originally Posted by huskyrobotics

I'm one of the lead student programmers/technichians for Team 848. We had a working electronics board, but since the first time we've tried to deploy code to the CRIO, the Electronics Board has stopped working, specifially at the Spike Relays and the Jaguar Speed Controllers. When the wiring looks like everything should work, the Jaguars are still flashing yellow. We were able to successfully benchtest this setup, but since the firsat time we deployed code to the Robot, there seems to be a problem somewhere with the signals. Any helop would be greatly appreciated.

I am having a simalar problem, but I havn't even put a new code on it, I just flashed it with the latest update. Do you have the analog breakout connected? We had it on during the benchtop test but we dont have it on now, so maybe thats the problem. I'm not by the robot right now so i cant try it.

[Vikesrock]

The presence or absence of the Analog Breakout should not affect the behavior of the Digital Sidecar as far as I know.

What does your Robot Signal Light show while you expect the robot to be working? Are all three power LEDs on the Digital Sidecar lit?

[huskyrobotics]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

The presence or absence of the Analog Breakout should not affect the behavior of the Digital Sidecar as far as I know.

What does your Robot Signal Light show while you expect the robot to be working? Are all three power LEDs on the Digital Sidecar lit?

When I updated the cRIO to V11, the problem went away, but as soon as I returende to test some code by deploying the the cRIO, the main light on the sidecar began blinking again. There are 3 lights on the sidecar that are on at all times, but the one in the middle towards the far bottom of the sidecar, the one that was solid when we bench tested the setup, that light is now flashing.

The jaguars also begin flashing yellow instead of their solid yellow "standby" state.

The rest of my programming team believes that it must be a problem with the code that we are deploying to the robot, but I'm not sure. I'll include some Screen Captures with the next post to show what we're doing (wrong apparently.) Any hope is appreciated again, thanks.

[yodameister]

We had the same problem, the jags and victor wouldn't get a signal. We changed the sidecar and everything worked. Give that a try.

[huskyrobotics]

Originally Posted by yodameister

We had the same problem, the jags and victor wouldn't get a signal. We changed the sidecar and everything worked. Give that a try.

AS in replace the sidecar? I don't mean to sound smart, but how exactly would I go about doing that right now?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by huskyrobotics

There are 3 lights on the sidecar that are on at all times, but the one in the middle towards the far bottom of the sidecar, the one that was solid when we bench tested the setup, that light is now flashing.

It would be helpful if you named those lights. They all have labels next to them. I will assume the "3 lights" are the 5v, 6v, and 12v power status indicators, and "the one in the middle" is the Robot Signal Light LED.

A flashing RSL means the robot is disabled. The rate at which it flashes indicates whether it's disabled due to a communication problem, a code problem, or the physical enable/disable switch on the Driver Station. There is a guide to interpreting it here:

http://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-3120

The jaguars also begin flashing yellow instead of their solid yellow "standby" state.

This too indicates that the robot is disabled. Since the default program in the image works, I suspect the problem to be with the code you are sending to the robot.

AS in replace the sidecar? I don't mean to sound smart, but how exactly would I go about doing that right now?

You received two of them in your Kit of Parts. Are you using them both?

[huskyrobotics]

We just mounted the electronics board on our robot. We were using the default code that shipped on the cRIO and Jaguars to practice Tank Driving while my Programming Team finished the first Build of our Code. The Motors worked. Now that we are ready to deploy/run code on the robot, we look at the jaguars again and they are now flashing that ominous yellow color, as if the robot is not there anymore. In addition, the middle 6V LED is now off for the first time, not lit or flashing, and the Robot Signal LED is also off and does not even flash. We suspect that some termianls somewhere may have poor/faulty/no connection, but we're unsure as always.

We are also unsure what kind of wire we need to conect the 9472 cRIO to the Solenoids. We had made some physical connection progress, and now we wonder where it all went.

The next question we have for anyone who can help is where we findout how and what all the connection terminals on the Digital Sidecar do.


Thank you again.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by huskyrobotics

...the middle 6V LED is now off for the first time, not lit or flashing, and the Robot Signal LED is also off and does not even flash. We suspect that some termianls somewhere may have poor/faulty/no connection, but we're unsure as always.

It sounds like you might have lost the 12v power connection to your Digital Sidecar. Check to make sure the circuit breaker and wiring are in place and that the connectors are clamped on the conductor instead of the insulation.