Alternative "Fix" for IR Sensor to Team Update 10

[DarkJedi613]

Update 10 suggests putting a switch in series with the power of the IR sensor board. Unfortunately this is a hassle in that you have to remember the process of turning the robot on, then turning the IR board on, and the reverse order for shutting everything down.

Instead of using that we decided to hook it up to a Spike Relay. Hook the 12V and GND up as normal and then hook the power of the IR sensor to M+ (or M-, or both if you're using two IR sensors). Then the ground of the IR sensors goes to ground on a breaker panel. Using this you must turn on the IR sensor using the program as follows in the chart below.

So if you connect the IR sensor power to M+ you would set the relay output fwd to 1 in order to power the board, 0 to shut it off. Remember though that your board will only work when the robot is enabled now.

INPUT                         OUTPUTS
Fwd(Wht)    Rev(Red)    M+    M-    Indicator    Solenoid Function
    0            0      GND GND      Orange      Both Solenoids OFF (default)
    1            0      +12v GND     Green       Solenoid connected to M+ is ON
    0            1      GND +12v     Red         Solenoid connected to M- is ON
    1            1      +12v +12v    Off         Both Solenoids ON

Hope that helps!