changing radio contact

[Ashley Weed]

For the first time ever, my team will be running two robots. We usually can not keep a robot functional for over a year. However, we found a problem when running them at the same time. It doesn't work!!! Would someone please assist me in getting our robots to run at the same time on different channels for community events. Thank you!

[Nate Smith]

See the white papers on this site for the "Yellow Dongle". This includes a jumper which allows you to use the channel DIP switches on the Operator Interface to choose from 1 of 4 additional channels.

The Issue you're running into with running multiple robots at the same time is that two machines cannot operate on the same channel simultaneously, even if you have the team numbers set differently, which you WILL want to do.

[Manoel]

You'll want to use the Yellow Dongle with your old controller, since Innovation First changed the pinout for the competition port in this years controller, and they didn't update the manual to include that.

[Rob Colatutto]

whats the website for those jumper settings?

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by Nataku
whats the website for those jumper settings?

Check out Innovation First's web site.

[Ashley Weed]

Thanks for all the help. I found the info. in the White Papers. However, is this something that our team should have, or are we going to have to get one of these? If so, where would we get it?

[Jim Giacchi]

Originally posted by Manoel
You'll want to use the Yellow Dongle with your old controller, since Innovation First changed the pinout for the competition port in this years controller, and they didn't update the manual to include that.

Could you clarify this?
What changes

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by weedie
Thanks for all the help. I found the info. in the White Papers. However, is this something that our team should have, or are we going to have to get one of these? If so, where would we get it?

Use the instructions in the white paper to make one of your own...you might need to contact Innovation First (see their web site link above) to find out how the pinout was changed on the competition port for this year...

[Lloyd Burns]

Originally posted by Manoel
You'll want to use the Yellow Dongle with your old controller, since Innovation First changed the pinout for the competition port in this years controller, and they didn't update the manual to include that.

The Yellow Dongle paper, and the Control Sytem Users Manual V1.0 (p 18 + 19) both tell you to connect pin 12 to pin 15 to allow access to the channel change feature. They also tell you to connect a switch from 6 to 8 to disable the robot outputs (killl switch), and this does not change.

Innovation First told me in an email this season, that pin 15 may be required for something else in future, and to use pin 8 for grounding pin 12. This works on all previous years' OIs as well.




BTW, I found that the Dongle's power light, which goes on when the robot is active, does not work when the robot is on tether. The light being out, although the switch is not in "kill", might lead you to think that the tethered robot is disabled and safe to work on, but if someone toys with the controls, also relying on the light and thinking it safe, dangerous motion could occur.

Note that the robot looks the same enabled or disabled, with all those lights lit up and blinking. Only old hands who are familiar with how the dongle works, and know what the light means when running on a "Wall Wart" power supply, will get, or give, hurt, with this tether power quirk.

[Don]

Be Safe. Shut off the robot's main breaker before doing any work on the robot. Who knows if the little wire grounding the disable pins is worn out or not.

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally posted by weedie
Thanks for all the help. I found the info. in the White Papers. However, is this something that our team should have, or are we going to have to get one of these? If so, where would we get it?

...Just use a piece of 24 gauge wire (stripped at the ends of course) or a paper clip... that works just as well.

- Katie