pic: Team 293 SPIKE Controls

[Spikey]

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[sanddrag]

the crazy light array is neat but rather than telling you that it's off target, why doesn't it just fix itself? Because it seems as if you can already determine that you are off and by how much.

[The Lucas]

Congrats, on the Creativity Award for that Light Array.

How do you drive all those LEDs with only 8 LED outputs?

I did something similar in 2004 and I used the LED drivers as select lines to a multiplexer. With 5 LED drivers for select lines you could select the 25 LEDs and still have 3 left for the other LEDs.

[Chriszuma]

I want to know how you powered all those LEDs. You can control up to 28 according to The Lucas, but then you would be spreading out your 5v10mA each across 3 times as many lights. Seems like they would be mighty dim. Unless you used some sort of crazy transistor setup.

[Eldarion]

Could you elaborate further on "we have an automatic ball sensor"?

Neat control panel!

[Spikey]

Originally Posted by Eldarion

Could you elaborate further on "we have an automatic ball sensor"?

Neat control panel!

I will have to contact my sources to answer all of your question! I have yet to see the box in person, so I will do my best to find out!

[Mark McLeod]

Originally Posted by The Lucas

How do you drive all those LEDs with only 8 LED outputs?

I can add what I learned from talking to the mentors and students in the pit.

You reasoned correctly that 3 bits of the available eight go to the Ball Ready light, etc., the remaining 5 bits provide all the data necessary to process and run the LED grid display through a couple of custom circuit boards.

[Chriszuma]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

I can add what I learned from talking to the mentors and students in the pit.

You reasoned correctly that 3 bits of the available eight go to the Ball Ready light, etc., the remaining 5 bits provide all the data necessary to process and run the LED grid display through a couple of custom circuit boards.

How does the grid work? Does it light up a few leds indicating where the target is, or just light up one ring at a time? It's really pretty darn clever either way.

[Jon Jack]

How are you powering the LED array?

[Spikey]

We use a custom circuit to power the board, it works in a circular manner, one row lights up at a time, as we hone in the lights merge on green to tell us its ok to fire.
We have an identical LED array on the drivers side by the joysticks so he knows if he needs to move the robot or not!

[Jon Jack]

Originally Posted by Spikey

We use a custom circuit to power the board, it works in a circular manner, one row lights up at a time, as we hone in the lights merge on green to tell us its ok to fire.
We have an identical LED array on the drivers side by the joysticks so he knows if he needs to move the robot or not!

What is your power source? Are you powering it through the OI or are you powering it through some external power source (i.e a battery)

[Chriszuma]

Originally Posted by jjack

What is your power source? Are you powering it through the OI or are you powering it through some external power source (i.e a battery)

I should hope he's powering it through the OI because you are not allowed to plug anything into the joystick port that has its own power supply. He seems smart enough to figure that out though.