How to create a custom operator interface box?

My team is trying to create an operator interface box for the other functions of our robot such as the pneumatic that moves in and out. Can anyone tell me how to create and connect this box to the Innovation First Operator Interface. Pictures would be very helpful.

OK…This is something really cool that I found the other day. We have a switch box using 3 analog and 3 digital switches. This box is going to be used durring disabled mode to tell the robot which autonomous mode we want to use. It wouldn’t be hard to convert it into a box for ‘autonomous manual’ control. The really cool thing though is that if you look at the dip switches that are found on the operator interface, you will find a set that gows from I think 1-8 with the label of ‘DISABLE’. Using this set of switches, you can also use more switches to operate as the switches for the other ports. The switches 1-4 take the switch controls from port 1 and give it to port 4 and the switches 5-8 give the control of the switches for port 2 to port 3. For a more accurate explanation, I think I found the diagram on http://www.usfirst.com.

P.S. You need to have a cable that will connect the switch box to one of the operator interface ports.

I would recommend that you look at this:
http://www.ifirobotics.com/docs/oi-ref-guide-1-25-05.pdf
It has everything you should need to know to make an external box.
Or look at other specs of the OI: http://www.ifirobotics.com/oi.shtml

As it has already been pointed out. The reference material on the IFI site is priceless when designing any custom electronics for a robot, weither it is robot side or operator side.

Basicly what you do is take all of your switches and pots, and other sensors if you so choose, and wire them up into the OI through the ports that are normaly used for joysticks.

Each joystick port has several analog and digital inputs, as well as LED outputs. Some of the inputs are shared between the joysticks so make sure you check out the OI reference guide.

Look through the image galleries from the last couple of years and i’m sure you can find some pictures of peoples controls.

Hope this helps…If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Check out http://www.ifirobotics.com/docs/oi-ref-guide-1-25-05.pdf on page seven for the pin assignments. Pictures of our box are attached.

OI box1.jpg
OI box2.jpg


OI box1.jpg
OI box2.jpg

Hey, The switches on our O/I box are wired so that they use already defined pins to map them in the program such as “p3_sw_aux1”, does anyone know which pins the x and or y axis are mapped to?

thanx

Check this thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34351

The OI docs give all the pin numbers for every port and what they do, but how do these numbers correspond the the actual joystick cable? I’ve got a gameport pinout diagram, but do the OI docs give pin numbers for Male or Female? I’d hate to do this all backwards!

This is for the competetion port, but it should help you answer your question: Pinout Guide (Looking at **BACK **of soldering cup)

The numbers don’t change. Pin 1 on the plug connects to pin 1 on the socket, pin 2 on the plug connects to pin 2 on the socket, all the way through to pin 15. Every DB-15 connector I’ve ever looked at closely has the pins numbered (with the exception of a series of ribbon cable connectors where only pin 1 was marked).