Additional Dashboard Data

[Curtis Williams]

I want to be able to receive the status of P2 and P4 x axis. Is there anyway to get this data from the dashboard port? The only thing I can think of is to copy the values of P2_x and P4_x to an unused PWM output and loop it into an analog input.

Does anyone know how to wire this? Is there another way I could do it?

thanks in advance

[Joe Johnson]

You can use the OI/RC jumper on the OI to switch between seeing OI data sent TO the RC and RC data sent TO the OI.

It can be switched on the fly. The difficulty is that it cannot see BOTH at the same time.

Actually, I like your idea of using unused PWM outputs.

You also have the variable "output" that you can use. It is usually used to turn on lights on the OI and the RC but this does not mean that you cannot use it to send data back to the dashboard.

Joe J.

[kiracofe8]

Typically, what I have done is to swap port2 wheel and port2 x-axis (assuming that you don't care about the wheel value). This is pretty easy to do. Just take the bottom of the joystick off and move the wires around. There are quick disconnects onto the potentionmeters, so you don't even have to solder anything. Now, if you want port4 x-axis as well, that's a little harder. If you don't care about, say, port3 y-axis, you could build a crossover cable to swap those values... Last ditch effort, in software, you could loop the value back into the BASIC byte (which controls the LEDs on the OI).
As for the idea of looping a PWM output back into an analog input, that should work, but I've never tried it. You might need to put a filter capacitor on there to smooth the pulses into a real analog voltage. I think that this should be allowed within the new custom circuit board thing, but I could be wrong...

[TerryDolan]

If all you want to do is get one variable at a time you can do it all in software. In the PBASIC code you can control the robot feedback lights on the Operator Interface. You can read at least 8 of the lights through the dashborad port, so you can break your byte in PBASIC into 8 bits, and piece it back together on the computer, if using your own dashboard recorder. We have done this many times.