Black Jaguar to Gray Jaguar Connectivity

[Mike Copioli]

Originally Posted by rawrxp

Hi all,

We are new to the CAN Bus system in electronics, and we are attempting to set IDs to a sequence of daisy-chained Jaguars mounted on our old robot. We are using BDC-COMM software to connect to the jaguars.

When we set the Board ID of the Black Jaguar and attempt to connect to the Gray Jaguars that are in the rest of the line, the lights start to flash quickly. Once we disconnect the CAN cables, the faster blinking stops, and it returns to its original state. We assumed that the BDC-COMM software was able to detect the Jaguars but was unable to actually connect to them. And also, what is a bricked jaguar?

A fast blinking yellow LED is normal when you are changing device ID's. BDC com sends a CAN message that places all nodes (JAGS) into a mode that causes the LED to blink. The JAG's are in a state that is waiting for the user button to be pressed. ANY Jag that has its user button pressed during this state will be assigned the selected ID.

To help yourself to trouble shoot remove all but the JAG you wish to update, this will ensure that there are no duplicate ID's on the BUS. Each Jag must have a unique device ID in order to successfully communicate over CAN. Set each ID separately before attempting to connect them all on the CAN BUS.

A bricked JAG is a JAG that is perceived to be DOA (Dead on Arrival) most of the time the Jag is just stuck in boot loader (waiting for firmware). Since there is no LED state to indicate the device is in boo loader, it is perceived as "Bricked".

The term brick means exactly what it sounds like.