We are using four victors this year on our robot.A victor controls the CIM motor and it stops blinking when the robot is enabled from the driver station! And the CIM motor doesnt work! We thought there might be a problem with the victor but we are not sure and dont know how to fix it!
Can anyone tell us why its happening or whether we can fix it!
Thank is advance!!!
We are having this same problem, i believed that i had the victor connected correctly but we were unable to make a motor run with the victor, so any adice would be lovely!! I haven’t used victors for a few years at least not since we updates the systems like three years ago, so for all i know i’m doing something wrong.
thanks!
Could be electrical, could be programming.
We’ll need details of how you wired them, which PWM is used for each, and confirmation that your code is using the correct associated PWM.
Closeup photos would be nice, too.
Details of the code, too.
If the Victors were blinking then stopped when the robot was enable, that means they are communicating successfully over the PWM cable, the code has opened those PWM outputs, the Victors are wired and receiving 12v power, and that they are being ordered not to move (or not to move very much).
It doesn’t mean your code is telling them the right thing to do, the joystick is on the USB you expect, or that the electrical system downstream of the Victor is connected correctly.
If you have a joystick commanding them, then you should be able to get the Victor light to go green or red even if it’s not working right or sending power on to the motor.
Are you using LabView. If so, make sure your motor controller is set as a Victor, not a Jaguar.
To add to what Mr. Mcleod has (correctly) stated, check your Digital Sidecar. We had several problems last year with bent pins (PWM plug contacted 2 or the 3 pins), and with metal shavings on the inside. A good dose of compressed air should fix the later problem.
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/7055/dsc0093tw.jpg
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6408/dsc0094p.jpg
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8707/dsc0095gf.jpg
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2910/dsc0097gw.jpg
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/170/dsc0098fz.jpg
Here is our all connections and program.
Besides really needing a transmission on the CIM…
Try moving the joystick 1 and associated getrefnum outside the while loop. That just might be the trick you need.
And also we changed the victor which was connected to the CIM motor! And we observed the same problem with the second victor!!
I have to ask - what is that CIM driving? Why do you need to spin a piece of 80/20 at 5000 RPM? It appears to have physical stops every 180 degrees… it’s not spinning for long that way.
It moves a piece of aluminum profile 90 degrees!!And we carry minibot on it!!
There’s your problem.
When direct driving a CIM, even a torque load of 1 foot-pound is enough to make it draw more than 40 amps of current, tripping circuit breakers and feeding more current through the Victors than is otherwise designed for.
If the CIM shaft were to spin somehow, the mechanism would spin 180 degrees in under 1/100 of a second. However, there’s no way that will happen.
Install a transmission of some sort on your CIM to slow it down while increasing its torque and you will have far less problems.
Have you actually tested this yet? You do realize the CIM only puts out 1.79 Lb/Ft of torque at stall don’t you?.
There are many parts of the labview framework where you should not have a while loop. Telop.vi is one of them. Where is the code located that you took a picture of?
Chris can I fix this in my code or should we definitely use transmission?
Actually today when I run some different code than the above the arm moved a few times!
also, on the detail of your victors, your wiring for the fan is illegal. i know it is not related to your current problem, but it could cause you to fail inspection. they need to be wired, seperately, to a 20A or smaller breaker.
good luck fixing the victors!
(based on the 3:54 post)
Then what should I do if I want the code to run continuosly?
<R54>
The control system is designed to allow wireless control of the ROBOTS. The Driver Station software, FirstTouch I/O module, cRIO-FRC, speed controllers, relay modules, radio, and batteries shall not be tampered with, modified, or adjusted in any way (tampering includes drilling, cutting, machining, gluing, rewiring, disassembling, etc.), with the following exceptions:
D.The supplied fans attached to speed controllers may be powered from the power input terminals.
They have allowed it in the past years, once again it is allowed this year.
aah, sorry. forgot about that.
and cilginbilgin, the main.vi itself is inside of a while loop, when it is called by global.vi. anything you put in main does not need a while loop, and the inclusion of such loops can cause your robot to stall. (ours did last year, thankfully we fixed the code in qualifying matches)
Sorry, but that is not true. The Victor installation instruction recommends that the fan be wired directly to the input terminals on the Victor. Robot rules allow, but do not require, that fans may be wired to a dedicated 20 amp breaker. I do not recommend the dedicated breaker method.
Cilgin,
If you have another victor that is working, swap the working PWM with the Victor that you do not believe is working. If that change works, then you may have your Victor PWM connected to the wrong PWM output on the DSC. Make sure that the output matches your software. Use a flashlight it is hard to see the pins in the dark.
As a hint on the fan wiring. If you turn the fan crimp terminals upside down, then insert the screw through the two terminals, you can make the wiring look much cleaner.
Both, definitely.
I believe that if you have a never-ending while loop in teleop then your joystick values will never change (there is nothing reading them)
And if the CIM is drawing too much current it will never work either.
Do any motors actually work?Like the drive ones?