Does your RC do this?

[ButcherMan]

Hey guys, after talking with an IFI rep, this is an undocumented feature. It allows the controller to enter diagnostic mode so they can be functionally tested. The majority of users only hold the program button down until they see that the “Program State” LED is solid yellow. If you continue to hold the button longer, the controller will go into “Master Download State”. This is same as the reset and program button combo that is documented on the IFI web site. The Christmas tree = diagnostics mode.

[dm0ney]

Originally Posted by ButcherMan

Hey guys, after talking with an IFI rep, this is an undocumented feature.

As a programmer, by feature you mean bug.

Thanks for the info, we used to get Christmas Trees (We call it that too) here and there.

[Justin Stiltner]

During autonomous testing with the wheels off the carpet our r/c would sometimes pop into this mode during a high amperage fwd/rev of the 4 drive motors, however when the backup battery was used the problem was never encountered. I know the cause of this was the voltage droppng so low, but it freaked me out when it happened the first time and as with the others a simple reset cleared the problem.

[Astronouth7303]

I saw x-mas lights, too, associated with low power. (The OI draws more than one would think!) It was last year's controller running v10 of the firmware.

Originally Posted by ButcherMan

Hey guys, after talking with an IFI rep, this is an undocumented feature. It allows the controller to enter diagnostic mode so they can be functionally tested. The majority of users only hold the program button down until they see that the “Program State” LED is solid yellow. If you continue to hold the button longer, the controller will go into “Master Download State”. This is same as the reset and program button combo that is documented on the IFI web site. The Christmas tree = diagnostics mode.

Cool! Can we do anything with it besides downloading firmware?

On a similar note, you can actually start up the RC without a 12v battery. (This also comes with IFI.) Take a regular 9v battery (the little boxy ones) and touch it to the main power contacts (with the back-up plugged in). The RC will start up and stay on much longer than normal (5+ minutes vs. 15 seconds). This means that you can run it without 15lbs of electrical stuff to tote.

[ForgottenSalad]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

Cool! Can we do anything with it besides downloading firmware?

Yeah, you can do it to make your RC look cooler...

Not sure of the practicality of that, but oh well...

Is it just me or does this seem to be sort of an undecided thing... IFI rep says diagnostic mode, someone else says low power, someone else says firmware uploading... Or is it really just seem to be a buggy thing that just happens at random times...?

[miketwalker]

Originally Posted by ForgottenSalad

Is it just me or does this seem to be sort of an undecided thing... IFI rep says diagnostic mode, someone else says low power, someone else says firmware uploading... Or is it really just seem to be a buggy thing that just happens at random times...?

I know for a fact that IFI has been adding tons of diagnostics to the controllers. For example, by putting the radio connectors into the competition port as well they can now do more checks on the field. Plus, the way that your team color light blinks gives blink codes that if you knew the codes, from the side of the field could tell if the robot has low battery, program code error, disabled, etc. The IFI guys know what the codes are and it helps when they are trying to find issues. Yea, maybe it is a bug that they labeled diagnostic mode... or maybe it is actually a diagnostic mode with a glitch where it accidentally goes into that mode from time to time.

Maybe a future firmware update will correct the issue with going into this "diagnostic mode" sporadically (I know it's happened to us a few times, mostly on the old controller, I don't think it's happened on the 2005 one though), but like others have said... when that happens, a simple reset fixes the problem. So, keep your batteries charged and don't press the program button for too long and you should be fine