LabView is unable to find my camera, but i am able to upload code to it. What could be wrong?
-Programming Cable is Connected to Camera
-PWM1 and PWM2 are servos pan and tilt, respectively
-The TTL chip is connected to the RC.
Thanks for your time.
To use Labview with the camera:
You can have either Labview or the RC controlling the camera but not both at the same time. Trying to only confuses the camera since it doesn’t know who to listen to.
The Camera Servos are connected to the RC. If i wanted to control those servos would I have to connect Camera or the RC?
In order to read the Camera output, would i have to combine the FRC code and the Camera code or upload the FRC code to RC and Camera code to camera?
We only download our code to the RC not to the camera. That code in the RC handles setting up the camera.
We can send commands directly to the camera through Labview or a terminal emulation program on your PC to play around, but in competition we’ll only be working through the RC code.
Labview cannot be used to test drive the camera servos with this year’s model of the camera. It can play with the other camera controls, and help you focus the camera lens.
To run the camera with the servos, then disconnect your PC from the camera and connect the camera instead to the TTL port on the RC.
There are two ways to program your RC 1) MPLAB 2) EasyC.
For MPLAB download Kevin Watson’s camera code from http://kevin.org/frc/, specifically start with http://kevin.org/frc/frc_camera_2.zip and use IFI_Loader to download the enclosed hex file to your RC.
For EasyC o to http://www.intelitekdownloads.com/easyCPRO/ for the code and post specific questions about it on this CD sub-forum http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155
That would mean I would have to combine the camera code and the FRC code and upload them to the RC?
Sorry, I am new to this.
Sorry to throw so much at you.
Yes, you’ll need to combine your code, but start with just the camera code to make sure you figure out how that works first.
Start simple and build up.
Alright I understand what to do. Thanks for the help.
How does the connection of the camera for the Kevin’s MPLab Camera code go?(or in simple english, how do I connect for he MPLab CMU code?)
you upload the code to the RC. ONLY the PWMs and the TTL should be connected from the RC to the Camera
Ok, wait. We had the camera working with LabVIEW. We’re supposed to connect the camera to the TTL, the RC to the comp’, pass the MPLab camera program to the RC and then take out the TTL, connect the CMU to the comp’ and then use LabVIEW to calibrate?
If so, how?(and please don’t send me to even more manuals, I try to read them but evantually I barely understand what they tell me to do:( ).
Once you load the program to the RC leave the TLL connected to the camera so the RC knows what the camera is seeing. You only need to have the camera connected to the computer to calibrate it. Hope that helps a little.
We loaded the program, it worked once(found the light), but the servos didn’t move. Then we realized that we put the camera power and the Servo PWM cables to the Digital IO :eek: . We fixed it, put them all in the PWM output, didn’t work. Put the power in the Digital IO. Didn’t work.
What now???
SERVOS get plugged into the PWM.
As for the Camera Power, if PWM dont power it try plugging it into the Analog, thats what we did.
I also recommend using the Digital or Analog outputs to power the camera. To make the servo’s move make sure you have your backup battery charged. You can check to see if the OI is reporting low backup battery.
Perhaps I’m totally ignorant, but why do you continue to advise teams to do this?
-Kevin
I’m with Kevin on this. Why would you recommend that, and why would you do so more than once? Please, take a look at the specs. They recommend 7.2V. At worst, it will operate at 5.2V. The 5V that comes off of the analog/digital I/O pins is NOT ENOUGH to run the camera. If somehow, miraculously, you’re getting your camera to turn on at 5V, it’s certainly not going to be operating at its best. The camera is supposed to run on 7.2V, and the only place you can legally find this on the RC is the PWM ports. Please don’t spread misinformation when you don’t actually know the answer… it causes a lot of headaches for teams who follow bad advice, and will cause people to have to come back here and ask why their camera doesn’t work, even though someone said it should.