First off let me say that our IR board doesn’t work at all. We cannot even get anything to happen when power is applied. So i was wondering where we could get a new one bcuz i’ve checked everywhere.:mad:
It could be a couple of different things causing the problem
- The +5 vdc regulator is shot. Replacing it will fix that issue.
2)The code in the board might be corrupt. There will be people at the regionals that can re-program the board.
There is another option. Kevin Watson has written code that uses a simple VISHAY sensor to entirely replace the IR board. $2 for the sensor, one PWM cable and ten minutes of coding and you should be good to go. This "Sticky"post has all the details.
request one using CD-swap, at your competition request one over the PA if anyteam is willing to give you theres or else create a hybrid without using the IR
RE-5v regulator failures:
If you take pin 2 on the ICSP header and run it to a 5v source on the rc, you can bypass the regulator, and make it work. I’m not sure if its reccomended or not, but in a pinch it works.
If you checkout the IR schematic in the documents on the First website you will see a note on what to remove and what to add to use an external 5 volt supply.
I wonder why they designed it with a 5V regulator, when they knew we would be connecting to our RC anyway…
They give you the option of connecting to a 7.2-12 volt source with regulator or to a 5 volt source without the regulator. Your choice depending on application with the RC (Backup battery) or a custom circuit using a local 5 volt supply. Crafty devils these designers!