Toggle Switches

[AuraAmbience]

Hi! We're thinking of using toggle switches to switch between autonomous programs, but we have no idea what kind of toggle switches to use. Can anyone give us some examples? Thanks!

[Grim Tuesday]

We've always used DIP switches, so you can have 2^n different autonomous variations.

[AuraAmbience]

Thanks! We'll be searching up on those.

[Jon Stratis]

The best advice you can get: stop by your local Radio Shack and check out their drawers of component parts. Most of the switches, buttons, knobs, and such that are available there are suitable for use on the robot or on your OI. You get a wide selection, and can actually hold them in your hand and try them out before buying.

[Dale]

Depending on how many modes you have you can even just use a little jumper on the Digital Sidecar's digital I/O lines. You just need to connect the ground and signal lines together. More of a pain to set but less effort to build and it doesn't weigh anything.

Of course teams with lots of complex options would want something else I suspect.

[gcschmit]

Originally Posted by AuraAmbience

Hi! We're thinking of using toggle switches to switch between autonomous programs, but we have no idea what kind of toggle switches to use. Can anyone give us some examples? Thanks!

I believe an alternative is to have a custom dashboard and set your autonomous mode via software instead of hardware.

[Dale]

In the past when we've tried doing setting autonomous from the drivers station inputs we found they weren't visible to the software until after the end of autonomous. Has anyone been able to make this work at a competition?

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Dale

In the past when we've tried doing setting autonomous from the drivers station inputs we found they weren't visible to the software until after the end of autonomous. Has anyone been able to make this work at a competition?

They aren't available in autonomous mode, but they are available before autonomous mode.

[Dale]

So you can read the operator's console when the robot is disabled waiting for the match to start? I never would have guessed. Have you been able to do this at a competition?

[RufflesRidge]

Originally Posted by Dale

So you can read the operator's console when the robot is disabled waiting for the match to start? I never would have guessed. Have you been able to do this at a competition?

Yes, that works. You can also definitely read values from the Cypress board during Auto mode (though I have tested at home and they appear to be "locked in" by either the DS or networking code at the start of auto, they read whatever they were at the start of the Auto mode).