Problems with cRIO and driving while competing

[naldarn]

Auto never did work on the field with our programming. The only time auto worked was in the pits with the robot on blocks.

The flat spots are the problem we are having, the driver is trying to get the robot to move, and there is no response from the robot.

The camera was removed about halfway thru our matches, so that may be that error, but the unresponsiveness was there throughout.

All of the cables were checked and were seated, as were the modules. We tested the sidecar with a multimeter.

[rwood359]

We have comm and response problems, if anti-virus is enabled.
Just another thing to check.

[Greg McKaskle]

Looking at your logs, it appears that packets are arriving at the DS when they are supposed to. It is of course to good to look at CPU usage and keep background services like virus scanning in check, but I believe your problem is electrical.

There is a new feature of the dashboard that I've seen hardly anyone use. It lets you record a match, video, network tables, joysticks, motor outputs, even Kinect and stuff. If you had a recorded match, it would let you see what your joystick values were during your flat spot. It would let you see what your SW was asking the motor controllers to output. But I'm sure you don't.

So. To read the tea leaves again. I'd do two things to your robot. Follow the wiring from one of your motor controllers back to the PD. Verify that it is plugged into a 40A circuit. It isn't common, but sometimes the motors are running on a 20A or 30A circuit. They work when driven nicely, and they trip breakers when driven like you mean it. Then they sit still while the motor controller reboots -- usually a second or two depending on the model and mfg.

The second thing I'd check, though it doesn't explain the flat spots as well. Verify that your digital breakout has three bright green LEDs next to the 12V input power, and of course make sure the 12V power is actually connected to a 12V circuit.

Greg McKaskle

[naldarn]

To everyone who has watched us troubleshoot this issue, thank you for your suggestions.

We were able to get some test time while on a field, and it seems we were blowing the breakers on our drive train. Driving in the pits or around practice, the drivers were being careful of obstacles and not driving all-out like during matches.

Greg,
Where is the miracle software in the dashboard that sees all and tells all?