New Control System Problems

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by ExarKun666

Yeah, always follow directions, I'll definitely make sure our team does that, are there any specifics anyone can give, because I see a lot of forums on decisions between C/C++ and LabView, and then forums that state problems with both, and other forums saying they are having problems with the camera, and other miscellaneous stuff. Is there any suggestions on code, and any other things, besides just following directions that can be given so our team can avoid as many problems as possible.

It will take several hours to get the new control system checked out and code updated so it is fit to use. Others have pointed out where instructions for this process can be found. Sometimes the instructions are unclear because the person doing them does not fully understand what they are being asked to do. (kind of like telling the color blind guy to "cut the green wire")

So before taking any step, be sure you understand what you are to do. You don't have to understand WHY, just HOW and WHAT.

I am in the process of setting up sessions that teams in the LA area can come to and be walked through the process by people who have done it twice, once with the Beta System and again with their early ship system. We will be doing sign-ups at Kickoff. More details later.

[IndySam]

Read the instructions and then read them again before you do anything.

Remember the instructions will point you to places in other sections of the manual. It is very important to do only the section mentioned and then back to where you were referred from.

[Luke Pike]

If you follow instructions, their shouldn't be any problems. The only part of the process we had trouble with was setting up the wireless. You Must follow the instructions to the letter to make it work. If you mess up at any point, you will have to start over. I think we had to go through the process 4 times before we did it right. Other than that, I think it should be okay.

[Doug G]

For our team, one of the problems have been going through the setup process a little bit each day. We meet one hour a day and during that one hour, YOU DONT FINISH, so the next day you have to pick up where you left off and if the student who was working on step 6 isn't here the next day then we don't touch it until they return. We are paranoid about following the configuration steps. Anyhow, I kinda wish we would have just set a aside a 6 hour day to do the entire configuration and updates all at once. Instead it took two weeks. Other than that, just follow the directions and you'll be fine. Oh here's another weird quark.. 10.7.1.02 is not the same as 10.7.1.2 This maybe specific to our laptop but it took a while for us to figure out why labview wouldn't download code.

Programming in LabView is another story. Our C programmmers hate it, but I'm encouraging them to stick with it - It is important that they learn something new, it will serve them well in the end. Have the programmers watch the LVMastery videos (posted here on CD) and the videos at labviewzone.blip.tv those are really nice.

[rsisk]

As the others have said, carefully read the instructions, and then read them again, and maybe one more time, then follow them through in a dry run. All the information is there, you just have to follow it.

Then make sure you have ChiefDelphi up on one of your computers when you need help ;>

If you have a chance to attend training like ChrisH is offering above, take it.

[JohnBoucher]

How much time should the entire setup take? I suspect we should do it in one session if possible.

[tdlrali]

If you install LabVIEW on a computer beforehand, the setup and the bench tests takes ~3-4 hours.

Here's an approximate breakdown, with plenty of slack:
Unboxing, wiring: 2h
Bench tests: 1h
Updating cRIO and DS (+setting team number) : .5h
Configuring the bridge, router, and camera: .5h

A lot of these can be done simultaneously if you know what you're doing (updating cRIO and DS at the same, configuring wireless at the same time), so you can save some time.

We made the mistake of not installing the software beforehand, though. On top of that, we had an old version of LabVIEW installed. The uninstalling took over an hour, and the reinstalling ran for a good two hours. We only had a three hour meeting on our first day with the cRIO, so we did everything beyond updating the DS on the next day since we did not have LabVIEW ready to update the cRIO. If we had installed LabVIEW beforehand, we could've finished the entire thing in our three hour meeting.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by tdlrali

A lot of these can be done simultaneously if you know what you're doing (updating cRIO and DS at the same, configuring wireless at the same time), so you can save some time.

Key words are "if you know what you're doing ."

But if this is your first time through setup don't try to do this.

I don't care if you are the worlds greatest expert in computers, networking and the cRIO, shortcuts will cause you nothing but trouble.

"Shortcuts make long delays." Frodo Baggins

[ExarKun666]

Okay I have a second question, now. Since the kickoff is nearing, and our school is on winter break, and the lead mentor of the team decided that our only meeting over the 2 week break was going to be on Jan 3rd (kickoff). Should we wait to put the new control system on the new robot, or go ahead and install it on our old robot and test it?

[keen101]

Should we wait to put the new control system on the new robot, or go ahead and install it on our old robot and test it?

it doesn't matter. I recommend trying to get driving working as soon as possible, so yeah try to put it on an old robot if you have access to it.

there are NI labview tutorials, but they are rather boring. You can still find them at www.ni.com/first though.

But, i recommend these video's instead. I find them better.

http://www.lvmastery.com/files/FIRST..._Part1(2).html

(this one starts out a little boring, but has some useful info for part2,
and is still much less boring than the official NI video's)

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http://www.lvmastery.com/files/First...c12_Part2.html

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http://www.lvmastery.com/files/First...12_Part3b.html

[Robert Cawthon]

Originally Posted by keen101

it doesn't matter. I recommend trying to get driving working as soon as possible, so yeah try to put it on an old robot if you have access to it.

As an alternative, you could mount everything on a piece of plywood with small motors to simulate your drive wheels and test it that way. You could continue to build the "Breadboard" with sensors and relays as your design for the new robot grows. That way, you aren't interfering with the build and most things should work when it is moved over to the bot. (You also don't need to disassemble your old bot.)