It seems that our Open-Mesh OM5P-AC has connection issues related to losing power. The power jack seems unstable (as in wiggly) and when we ran it at some demo matches last week it would drop out after 10-60 seconds or so.
One of our more knowledgable engineering mentors opened it up and thinks she may be able to repair it, but in the event that it doesn’t work out we will need to get a new one. We’ll test it with her repairs and hot glue the wire into place and test it next week.
Does anyone know if there will be a new radio model for next year, and if so, what it is? I don’t really want to drop $150 on something we are only going to use for one more offseason event in a couple of weeks, so if it is changing I may just try to borrow one from another team. I’m only starting my 4th season as an FRC mentor this year, but it seems like they change every year.
We also still have the radio from Stronghold, presuming it can be connected to the FMS, so that might be another option.
I wouldn’t buy a new radio yet until we find out for sure what’ll be used this coming season.
The last couple of radio changes were due to the previous model being commercially discontinued.
Both the AN and the AC models can be used for your off-season.
If you use something like this then
the POE plugs into the radio port closest to the barrel connector.
The other end connects to the roboRIO Ethernet port, while the separate power connections get cut to bare wires which go to the VRM where the radio barrel connector is already drawing power from.
That port accepts the 12-24v input power and it’s also to one you want the roboRIO to be connected to.
Don’t use the 802.3af port-it’s setup to expect 48v over POE which we don’t support on our FRC robots.
I should note that in years past, teams always received a radio in the KOP, regardless of whether they were a rookie team or a newer team. This obviously may change since the new routers are notably more expensive, but the AN and AC both being legal and all teams getting an AC this year points to that still being the case.
(Standard Disclaimer: Take this with a grain of salt though, it could be different next year.)
My understanding has been that we get a new radio in the KoP because it’s a new model radio every year. This is pretty much how most of the control system works - you only get one in the non-rookie KoP if the previous version is no longer allowed or if there’s a bold new capability with the new one.
Using Poe, is excellent advice. One additional thought is to also run power to the barrel connector in parallel. Connect both the Poe power, and the barrel connector power, to the VRM. This is a legal configuration and has worked extremely well for us this past year.
For those that want the rule, it’s covered in the blue box under R51 for the 2017 rules:
Note that this prohibits using any active POE Injector device to power the radio, but does not prohibit using any PASSIVE CONDUCTORS to inject the VRM power into an Ethernet cable plugged into the radio port labeled “18-24v POE”
I think the $64,000 question here is if the 2017 radio is now working correctly with 2 devices plugged into it. We had to switch to the 2016 radio for that reason this year, and AFAIK it’s still not fixed.
If that problem isn’t fixed, FIRST should provide a different radio and/or relax the rules to allow for something that works (eg Radio<->Switch<->RoboRIO).
R63. The roboRIO Ethernet port must be connected to the Wireless Bridge port labeled “18-24 vPOE,” closest to the power connector (either directly, via a switch, or via a CAT5 Ethernet pigtail).
Note: Placing a switch between the roboRIO and radio may impede the ability for FIELD STAFF to troubleshoot roboRIO connection issues on the FIELD. Teams may be asked to try directly connecting from the radio to roboRIO as part of troubleshooting efforts.
The language was ambiguous “must be connected” was interpreted by some as “must be directly connected”. Because our Q&A wasn’t answered to clarify that last year we had to forgo it as not to run into problems.
If I recall correctly, the blue box item was added later.
Either way, clarifying that rule to allow it this year (clearly) would be a help, but w/ just 2 devices shouldn’t be something we need to do.