Switching the Channel for Competition

[Matthew_H]

We are coming up on having our local Media Day and I only have a switch to change the channel on the 2003 Controller. Has anyone come up with a way to change the channel for local competitions without having to connect to the offical Competition port?

Thanks in advance

[KenWittlief]

without the competition port adapter all the OI run on the same channel - using the comp port adapter IS the way to change channels - why would you want another way?

all you need is one jumper on a DB15 - what could be simpler than that?!

http://www.innovationfirst.com/FIRST...nout_Guide.PDF

[Matthew_H]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

without the competition port adapter all the OI run on the same channel - using the comp port adapter IS the way to change channels - why would you want another way?

all you need is one jumper on a DB15 - what could be simpler than that?!

http://www.innovationfirst.com/FIRST...nout_Guide.PDF

That is what I was looking for. It looks like the same from last year. I will have to check. Again thanks.

[KevinB]

We have craploads of dongles for the competition port. If you're referring to the UAH media day that we'll be at .... you're more than welcome to borrow one.

[Ian W.]

We wanted some blue LEDs flashing, so I jammed a paperclip in the right pins (I looked them up), played with the channal dipswitches, and got it set to 13. Now we have blue LEDs.

It's not that hard, just don't do anything dumb ;-).

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by Ian W.

We wanted some blue LEDs flashing, so I jammed a paperclip in the right pins (I looked them up), played with the channal dipswitches, and got it set to 13. Now we have blue LEDs.

For those of us too lazy to read the IFI paper ... the pins to jam the paperclip into are 8 and 12.

[jacob_dilles]

Originally Posted by KevinB

For those of us too lazy to read the IFI paper ... the pins to jam the paperclip into are 8 and 12.

hahaha thats counting from the left or from the right *whoops* i guess it was the other way

[Ferazel2001]

Whats VCC?

is that a thing that would be used in the actual competitions?

Has someone fried their system yet using that port?

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by Ferazel2001

Whats VCC?

is that a thing that would be used in the actual competitions?

Has someone fried their system yet using that port?

VCC is a direct connection to the OI power. You could use this pin to provide the operator interface with a power supply (connect a 9v battery to pins 1 and 8). You can also use this pin to *get* power from the operator interface (to power LCDs or the similar).

The reason IFI doesn't want people messing with this pin is because it is a direct connection to voltage and could fry the OI if you're not careful. That said, we've never ruined an OI -- one time we shorted some of the wrong pins on the competition port and it started going crazy but a power cycle fixed that problem.

[Billfred]

Alright, I think I'm up for building a dongle for our team. But since I'd rather not fork over $1200 for a new OI, I figured I'd ask and make sure my wiring scheme would work. It's attached. (I'm sorry about the .bmp--my computer is a pain in the booty.)

Any tips for building one (other than to be careful and don't short anything out)?

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Alright, I think I'm up for building a dongle for our team. But since I'd rather not fork over $1200 for a new OI, I figured I'd ask and make sure my wiring scheme would work. It's attached. (I'm sorry about the .bmp--my computer is a pain in the booty.)

Any tips for building one (other than to be careful and don't short anything out)?

This is perfect. When I build them, I use a 3-position switch for the Disable and Autonomous function instead of using two switches. It will work fine with 2 switches though.

It's really not difficult to make ... and even if you do screw up, chances are you wont completely fry your OI. I've accidentally shorted the wrong pins a few times, and we've never lost an OI. We had one start acting weird ... but a reboot fixed it right up.

Good luck.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Billfred

Alright, I think I'm up for building a dongle for our team. But since I'd rather not fork over $1200 for a new OI, I figured I'd ask and make sure my wiring scheme would work. It's attached. (I'm sorry about the .bmp--my computer is a pain in the booty.)

Any tips for building one (other than to be careful and don't short anything out)?

There is a doc on the Innovation First Web site that lists the pin outs. I'm having trouble getting to thier site right now so I will attach the PDF

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by jacob_dilles

hahaha thats counting from the left or from the right *whoops* i guess it was the other way

They're labeled on a standard 15 pin connector.

[Matthew_H]

Originally Posted by Ian W.

We wanted some blue LEDs flashing, so I jammed a paperclip in the right pins (I looked them up), played with the channal dipswitches, and got it set to 13. Now we have blue LEDs.

It's not that hard, just don't do anything dumb ;-).

I have also set the channel to 13 but we are still getting red leds. What could I be doing wrong.

[KenWittlief]

I think you also have to set you team number to something other that zero?