Hello this is my first year in FRC. I’m interested in doing the electrical but I need to do a lot of reading up on my own. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to begin reading in order to get the basics down. Beginning
with basic electrical and explaining the parts and different uses of the FRC electrical system, 2008 stuff is good to seeing as the 2009 controller is just beginning to come out. If anyone has any good links that they like I would appreciate. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
DavidB
P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong part of the forum. I figured the electrical section was the way to go.
Yes I would recommend what was posted before. I also like a lot of the stuff in here, http://first.wpi.edu/Workshops/index.html. There are some good presentations on the electronics of older and newer system (like under 2007, “Wiring an FRC Robot”, and rookie workshops).
I would make sure to take a peek at the power distribution diagram and the data connectivity daigram. http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=10934
It is where i started, but the best way is to have someone there to help guide you through what is going on.
The diagrams probably will look complicated to you at first (they were to me) but if you stare at it for a minute you can figure out that all it is is following lines which represents wires. If you dont have anyone to help you, then just make sure you read up on all the rules of wiring the bot. These will be released at kickoff. The main thing is to make sure that you have everything wired correctly and using the right gauges of wires.
Remember, if you cant figure something out then just ask on CD and you will probably get an answer pretty fast.
David,
Please look at the control system wiring and manual and check the FIRST website for updates to the electrical system often. They change. Check over the 2008 Robot Manual Section 8 and the 2008 Inspection documents. Although there will be some changes, most of the electrical rules are used from year to year. If you have any other concerns or specific questions, please PM me for a quick response.
The Power Distribution diagram was probably one of the most helpful. Also Section 3 of the FRC Manual is a good read to I believe samir13k posted it. http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc…aspx?id=10934 (if that doesn’t work just look at his post)
I am a first year person too. I just burried my head in electrical booksa and what not, oh and my soldering area at home is a Humungous pile of motherboards, CPU’s,laptops,batteries,solder, and alot of other junk!
