pic: (447) How do YOU keep programmers out of the electronics?

[nehalita]

because of ppl like you, i do not TOUCH the robot. i don't even press the load button or the reset button. nooo touchy. but i like it better like that, this way, when something goes wrong, i can wholly blame the electronics ppl and not just partially. =)

[Rombus]

That’s why you be both I program and do electronics.

I cant see how teams succeed with both teams being completely separate unless you had some great communications. Heck, it’s probably a good idea to have everyone be cross trained in another team for good communications.

And a small jab at the electronics only people:
Lets be honest, it’s just wiring! It’s not like you have to build a custom robotic controller! (J/K Please don’t flame me )

[408Oxidation]

Originally Posted by nehalita

because of ppl like you, i do not TOUCH the robot. i don't even press the load button or the reset button. nooo touchy. but i like it better like that, this way, when something goes wrong, i can wholly blame the electronics ppl and not just partially. =)

So true...
I get blamed for everything wrong with the programming.... crazy indian programmers...

One member of our team, we still don't know who, wired a little badly during our "in house competition" before FIRST. One of the victors on the test bot had both the power input and ouput cables goin to the fuse board. It made nice smelling smoke.

[Jizvonius]

Ok guys.. this has really gone on for way too long. The electrical team is called that because they handle all the electrical hardware on the robot. If you have one, it means that you have some faith in their abilities. The same applies to programmers with their job being software. If a problem arises, playing the blame game just wastes time. The way i see it goes like this.

- Blame teams -(time passes)

- Figure out who got blamed more -(more time passes)

- Losing team goes insane trying to find the problem with other team standing vindictively behind them - (you've missed 1-2 practice matches)

- Other team begins to search for problem in losing teams area of expertise -(missed another 1-2 practice matches)

- Giving up the other team begins to scour their area for the problem with the previously losing team being vindictive - (miss or operate badly in 1-4 Seeding rounds)

- Problem is finally found and hopefully resolved -(two whole teams are worn out and a lot of time is wasted)

The times may be shorter or longer, but what I'm saying is always entertain the possibility that your team did it. Each team should work on finding and solving the problem their area of expertise. The problem will almost always be found faster and you save your whole team a lot of headaches.

So back to the topic. How do I keep the programmers out of the electronics? Mutual respect for each other's work and an understanding of efficient team dynamics.

[neilsonster]

On our robot the program port is right beside the wheels so I have to go in between the chains to get to it... all they would have to do is turn it on while I'm working to kill my precious fingers (or my precious serial cable)! But that's why I unplug the pwms! To save my fingers.

(I usually plug them back in afterwards)

[FreakyAntelope]

Originally Posted by neilsonster

On our robot the program port is right beside the wheels so I have to go in between the chains to get to it... all they would have to do is turn it on while I'm working to kill my precious fingers (or my precious serial cable)! But that's why I unplug the pwms! To save my fingers.

(I usually plug them back in afterwards)

One (serious) suggestion for anyone who hasn't already done this:

The robot controller can often (read always) be hard to reach. If you plug serial cables into the program and tether ports and run them neatly to somewhere somewhat accessible on your bot it becomes much easier to plug in. You can even put them up high (depending on the bot) so you don't even have to bend over to plug them in! hows that for convenient!

Also, a rocker switch attached to the reset and program buttons in an easy to reach place is also a good idea.

- Toby