how to build a VEX programming module

[foobert]

i sent an email to info@ etc. the other day and the word was that the default code would be posted on vexlabs.com next week and that programming kit prototypes would be available as well at that time.

[crazykid234]

the default code has been released!! You can find it here

This also contains the ifi loader you will need, but no luck on the prototype programming modules.......

Have fun!

[curriedgoat]

What is the REV on your VEX board? I am not finding the pinouts like you described. I find that

1- RB1 (master)
2- RJ3 (master)
3- GND
4- C1OUT
5- +5v
6- can't find where it traces to yet

My VEX board has this printed on it:
RS-TALOS
REV NC3

This is on the serial port and not the RX1 or RX2 ports.

Thanks,
Bronson

Originally Posted by fowlerm

Pinout for the Vex serial port is as follows:

1 - Tx for UART 1 on the user uP - White
2 - Rx for UART 1 on the user uP - Black
3 - Gnd - Red
4 - RB0 on the master uP - Green
5 - +5v - Yellow
6 - RJ3 on the master uP - Blue

Does anyone know what the 'default' program module will contain? Does it come in both USB and rs232 port versions? Losts of laptops today don't have serial ports.

[BradAMiller]

Originally Posted by Dr.Bot

Does anyone know what the 'default' program module will contain? Does it come in both USB and rs232 port versions? Losts of laptops today don't have serial ports.

The programming "cable" that will be shipped contains the level converter for serial ports. The idea of the extra hardware is to make it more immune to serial port and laptop performance differences. The original IFI controllers were very sensitive to laptop speeds and USB-serial adapters and would often fail loading the program.

Brad

[foobert]

fired up the ohm meter this morning and my results confirm fowlerm's.

my board is also labeled rs-talos rev nc3.

note that the master and user controllers are not oriented the same way on the board and that the c1out, (pin 18), is 90 degrees away orientation-wise, from tx2, (pin 38).

to test i plugged a straight through 6 pin cable into the programming port and a jack with wires hanging loose, then connected my ohm meter to the various wires at one end and to pins on the chips at the other. the wire colors i got are the same as reported by fowlerm.

furthermore, with the board powered up i read 4.9 volts on rb0, (green). this pin has an internal pullup, so i assume that that's appropriate, and that connecting a switch between rb0 and ground will generate and interrupt on the master controller.

haven't managed to get a cable working but, hey, i'm in way over my head.

good luck.

Originally Posted by curriedgoat

What is the REV on your VEX board? I am not finding the pinouts like you described. I find that

1- RB1 (master)
2- RJ3 (master)
3- GND
4- C1OUT
5- +5v
6- can't find where it traces to yet

My VEX board has this printed on it:
RS-TALOS
REV NC3

This is on the serial port and not the RX1 or RX2 ports.

Thanks,
Bronson

[fowlerm]

Originally Posted by Dr.Bot

Does anyone know what the 'default' program module will contain? Does it come in both USB and rs232 port versions? Losts of laptops today don't have serial ports.

Supposedly there will be two versions of the programming module, one that has a RS-232 to TTL converter and the other will have a USB to TTL converter, but I haven't been able to confirm this.

[shm267]

I spoke with someone at vexlabs today, the prototype boards are available and so far, no one has purchased one. They are around $100 for the prototype board. He indicated that the program kit at radio Shack will be around $130. I asked if it was just a level converter and he indicated that is has an actual pic processor on it. He also indicated that the two chips have a boot loader for loading code. Both chips will be update-able via the loader. I was thinking about returning my system, but after finding out that the controller is PIC based and that I would update the code on the chips, I plan on keeping the system. BTW... The processors on the board are PIC 18F8520. Has anyone researched if the In circuit programming pins are available on the connectors. This may be a quick way to update the code on the controller.

[Elgin Clock]

All in due time folks.. All in due time.
Looks promising though, and easy to use.

[fowlerm]

Originally Posted by shm267

The processors on the board are PIC 18F8520. Has anyone researched if the In circuit programming pins are available on the connectors. This may be a quick way to update the code on the controller.

The PIC's ICSP pins are not available through the 6-pin connector. The bootloader that's on the chips is a serial bootloader that uses the PIC's USART to download code and write to the program memory. If you use the ICSP pins to download code you have to have a hardware programmer like the ICD2, but if you download the code using the bootloader all you need to have is serial port on a PC and an RS-232 to TTL converter.

[lynca]

Were you able to actually program the module, if so,
did you use the same compiler for FIRST,

Do you have any example programs that you wrote,
Also, has anyone found a schematic of the vex kit,

thanks

~Andrew Lynch

[StevenB]

I got the VEX kit for my birthday, and as the programmer on my team, I badly want to program it.
I bought a couple of MAX232 chips, and I have some RJ11 and DB9 cables.
The datasheet for the MAX232 says that it inverts the logic, so do I need to invert it back to normal?
Thanks,
Steven

[lynca]

The programming module has a PIC and does not include just a converter interface. Contact vex labs to obtain a programming module.

~Andrew

[foobert]

after spending last weekend fruitlessly trying to put together a programmer with a max232, a handful of capacitors and a momentary switch i gave up and ordered a prototype programmer from vexlabs on monday.

it arrived today and in addition to a level shifting ic there is a microchip 12f629 on board. boy do i feel like a dope...

[John Wanninger]

Ok, so maybe there's more to it than you thought. but my hat's off to you. Those efforts which seemed futile will someday pay off in other ways, although you may not see it now. Even if only 1 out of 4 things you try work,that's better than most folks' 0 for 0, not to mention what you would learn in the 3 "failures." Yours is the path to accomplishment.

(BTW, my programmer module arrived Thursday, but I haven't had the chance to try it out yet!)