I am looking for some FTC aid here in Minnesota. Becker has three FTC teams competing this weekend in Minneapolis (Columbia Heights) and two of our teams are having issues with the Core Power Distribution Modules.
We have one back-up (scheduled to arrive today) but we are still in need of another one. Is there anyone in the area that could help us out for this weekend?
Thanks,
-Coach Jurek
What issues are they running into, specifically?
This is what one of the mentors sent me last night:
*Problem: the robot controller phone could connect to the servos and motors through the power module very well 2 weeks ago. Now it rarely connects. It takes us 20-30 minutes to connect to these devices through turning on and off the power, on and off the apps, scanning for the hardware, and by randomly changing wires. This will be a major setback on Saturday if we have to make multiple programming changes and disconnect the robot controller phone multiple times.
*
I am not a mentor of these teams (I am acting as the district coordinator for FTC/FLL), so I have not been involved with the problems nor have I seen the problems first hand.
There are widely known issues with the MRI electronics that can cause these symptoms.
A few quick things that you can do to try to address them:
Make sure your battery is fully charged. Partially charged batteries can cause exactly the problems you describe.
When you have trouble finding a motor or servo controller, disconnect the robot controller phone, power the electronics off for at least 30-35 seconds (yes, really), power them back on, and then reconnect the robot controller phone.
For more details, see the first post in the thread below (and the entire thread, if you’re looking to kill a few days reading posts).
Forums - FIRST Forums(unable-to-detect-USB-modules-during-scan