How the heck do you wire these things?

[TeknicllyInsane]

First of all, if this isn't the right subforum, sorry, I'm new.

Now for the matter at hand

My team hasn't the foggiest on how to wire up the Yaw Rate Gyro or the 3-axis Accelerometer. We haven't really used them in the past, but we want to this year, but unfortunately we just can't figure out how. We already searched on google, but it seems that these are custom parts, and therefor a pain to find such valuable data on.
181 Birds of Prey would be eternally grateful to anyone who could help us out by digging up a wiring schematic for us to go by.

[EHaskins]

The pin closest to the label (x, y, z, rate and temp) is the signal pin, the next is +5v and the last is ground.

Accel
x y z label

o o o signal pins
o o o +5v pins
o o o ground pins


Gyro, label abbreviated
r t labels

o o signal
o o +5v
o o ground


You can cut a pwm cable and wire it so white/yellow is signal, red is +5v, and black is ground. Then connect the PWM cables to the Analog inputs on the analog breakout.

You can find more details about them in the 2009 Sensor Manual.

[Jim E]

First, get a big roll of duct tape...

If you look on the FIRST website under FRC documents:

http://usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=452

You will find the Sensor Manual. Duct tape this page to your browser.

Then while on that page, click on additional technical resources. Once there, use a really long piece of duct tape to make sure you don't loose the page from the other piece of duct tape.

I'm really impressed with the amount of documentation provided this year. It is incredible over previous years. FIRST, NI, WPI, and all of their suppliers have taken great lengths to ensure all teams have the information needed to make the robot.

It's WAY too much for one person to cover in the build season. But get and save the documents now so you will be better prepared for next year's curve ball in the game.

To answer your question, The PWM cables can be soldered in to the PCBs. The PCB layout is such that the ground paths follow the black wire, the 5V power is the red, and the White is your signal from the Axis you are interested in. The ground wires are near the board edge.

Some recommend special connections and wiring techniques to minimize the noises generated by the robot motors, but to experiment with the devices to see how they will work, The above method should be fine without spending a lot of cash.

I hope this helps you.

EDIT:
I believe the outputs are analog signals, so you will want to monitor them with the Analog breakout box.

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by Jim E

EDIT:
I believe the outputs are analog signals, so you will want to monitor them with the Analog breakout box.

Yes. I corrected my post. I'm not sure what I was thinking.