I am on a Team that is new this year. We are completely clueless with hooking up the electrical part of our robot. We are pretty far now but do not know if we are doing anything right. Does anyone know of a website or some sort that could help? Thanks!
Have you read the documents on the FIRST site with all the electrical diagrams?
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/2012-kit-of-parts-electrical
This is the document you should read.
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(You’re on FRC Team 4198, right? Your Chief Delphi user profile says 4981.)
There are at least seven veteran FRC teams in Minneapolis/St. Paul that are also attending the North Star Regional competition. It sounds like you’re in a good position to get some experienced help from a neighboring team.
The FIRST website has plenty of diagrams on how to hook up your electronics.
If all else fails you could always try some trial and error 
jk
Just make sure your polarity is correct on your radio (take a multimeter to the end connector that you hook to the gray regulator box (the center should be positive +5 volts) Don’t pay attention to the stripe on the factory wire, we had a magic show with pretty blue smoke effects on ours because the stripe is not the same polarity on every one. Victors will also give a pretty nice smell too if you don’t hook them up right. :eek: Double and triple check all your connections before you hit the switch.
There have been a number of people who have recommended that you get and read thoroughly the electrical schematics for both the signal and power connections to the robot. I would completely concur.
The second point on wiring is to learn from the successes (or better the failures) of other teams. A connection to other teams (in the name of gracious professionalism) is vital for newer teams.
One thing not mentioned here (but there are posts here on CD that have gone over this) is the physical aspects of the electronics. Making sure the battery connections are kept reasonably short. Locating the power switch in a good visible and easy to find place. Keep the PDB central and the motor controller wires short and direct. Use quick disconnects (we prefer the Anderson Power Poles like many teams) for your motor connections to make it easy to disconnect.
Other things.
- Label everything (you won’t remember which is the pwm for which controller, or was this one for the spike?)
- Work to keep the wires neat and orderly. Helps keep you organized.
- Watch your wire gauge, connector size and wire color
- Verify (multiple times) your motor count and type against the FIRST rules.
- Keep a spreadsheet of each motor used: type, use, controller, connections, and other necessary information.
- Work with the software team to plan the Digital and PWM port usage.
I am sure there are many other things, but this is a start.
Enjoy!
Don’t be shy about asking for help from another team. The helper team will gain nearly as much as the helpee in terms of having to think about what they’re doing as they go over the topics. AND there is assuredly more than one team member on the helper team that needs to learn the exact same information as you’re asking. Then too, there is the outreach section of the helper team’s chairman’s award presentation . . . . 