PBP projects for R/C models

[Kenjones1935]

Sorry for the delay. I have been discouraged. The new HPI Sprint R/C car has an ESC-15 that thinks for itself. The HPI manufacturing/sales organization refuses to give me the behavioral specs. This is a STEM educational project. Not a by guess and by golly exercise in inductive reasoning.

One solution is to make an ESC on my solderless proto board. (Complete with cooling fins?)

My PIC (like the R/C receiver) makes appropriate PWM digital signals. The car wheels want appropriate PWM bi-directional current pulses. Have any of you seen a design I could copy?

Ken

[Kenjones1935]

My PIC already produces quality PWM signal streams. Why can't I put this signal directly to a MOSFET circuit thereby producing a current switched wheel motor driving signal. My pic could use two HPWM's for the wheels. One for forward, the other for backward. It could steer the correct MOSFET signal with a third 'direction' output. Only trouble is I do not know how to detail design what I just typed.

Ken

[ScaleRobotics]

I don't know how far the zigflea can transmit and receive. But StickOS makes it pretty easy to connect devices that control each other. The first and I think the second video talk about hooking the remote zigflea up.

Here one piece of hardware you could use:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/pro...oducts_id=9645

And pretty soon the ZigFlea should be available for it:
http://overtone-labs.ning.com/forum/...flea-for-cui32

I don't know how much room you are left with with StickOs, but you need to get up to PIC32MX4 to use it. The chip has 512K programmable memory and 32K ram.

[Kenjones1935]

My cars use the same solderless protoboard as CPUstick uses here:



On the tail end I have velcro'd the RC radio receiver. There is plenty of room inside the car's outer body to add a horizontal zigflea if I can rig the connection as 0.1" centers.

I do not understand the above package. How about I start with this from EMCelectronica? It looks like it will plug into my protoboard and not give me stuff I do not need. At ~50EUR it is not inexpensive. Do you think I could put the thing together myself as I have done with the 16F887?



Ken

[ScaleRobotics]

Ok, so now we plug the usb cord into the computer, and see what happens. If you have windows 7, there is a .inf file to download first. It's LED's may dance and sing, but you may have to configure that, to let it know where the heartbeat LED is. If you don't have windows 7, and it is not recognized when you plug it in, you might need to download the FTDrivers at http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm

Check out page 13 of the manual. In your computer, goto the Device Manager screen and see what port gets added to your computer. Should be an extra USB Serial Port (comx). Use hyperterminal or similar program to connect to comx.

You should get a nice welcome message like on page 14 or so of the manual.

[Kenjones1935]

My Hyperterminal only gives me COM1, COM3 TCP/IP or dial-a- number access. I see no USB capability. Do I need to buy a COM3 to USB adapter or some kind of driver which fixes my hyperterminal? I did not expect this.

Ken

[Kenjones1935]

My PICkit2 seems to communicate successfully to the BITWhacker board. Can it act as a terminal per StickOS expectations?

Ken

[Kenjones1935]

OKAY, I found the UART tool. What speed? I picked 9600 and get no response. I am not sure that I am supposed to get a response. I do not trust the .hex file completely.

I find the StickOS Basic User's Guide V1.80 to be a bit ahead of my level.

Ken

[ScaleRobotics]

Whoo hoo!

Now, (without using the Pickit2)

You have run the HID Bootloader executable from microchip http://www.cpustick.com/downloads/HIDBootLoader.exe , and see if it can find your UBW32. If the Microchip Bootloader sees your hardware, select the first firmware I sent you in post#463. This one: StickOS for Microchip PIC32MX4-F512L UBW32 Board Bootloader (v1.80) (.HEX, UBW32 HID bootloader image) with the long name, and try to load it into the device, using the bootloader.

If it loads, you may have to unplug it, then plug it back in, to see if it takes. Then watch your device manager, to see if you get any new serial ports.

[ScaleRobotics]

My Hyperterminal only gives me COM1, COM3 TCP/IP or dial-a- number access. I see no USB capability. Do I need to buy a COM3 to USB adapter or some kind of driver which fixes my hyperterminal? I did not expect this.

Ken

The StickOS creates a serial port emulated by USB. What happens when you plug the usb cord from the UBW32 to the computer? You should hear a da ding, and see something like "new hardware detected" blah blah. And in your computer under the device manager, under ports, you should see an extra serial port show up. You should then see which com port it is numbered.

You can't use your Pickit2 for com port connection. It needs to be the mini-usb connector on the UBW32 to the computer's usb port. If your hyperterminal can't select the port number for your UBW32, then, like the manual says, you can download something like Tera Term from http://www.logmett.com

But are you seeing a port get added. You should either see it configure new hardware, or not recognize the hardware. You need to see something.

[Kenjones1935]

My Device Manager sees no PORTs change whether or not the USB is plugged in.

I do not trust the StickOS .hex file that I have. My browser would not download it per a usual (say .pdf) file. The browser insisted on displaying it as if it were html text. I could try ftp, but I am sure StickOS would ask for a username and password. All I know for sure is that the little blue POWER LED comes on when I click on the power tab in PICkit2. Other than that all is dead.

Gotta go to bed. Tomorrow progress. Sorry about all this. I am just not getting started.

Ken

[ScaleRobotics]

Thanks, you reminded me. To get it in HID Bootloader mode, you have to press one of the buttons while you plug the USB cable in (the program button I think). Once it is powered, I think you can let go of the button. Then see if HID Bootloader recognizes it.

The FTDI is for versions prior to 1.80 (once you get the Hex file into it). But since we are trying to use 1.80:
"CPUStick.inf file needed for Windows (v1.80) -- just save to a file, right-click, and select Install, and you're ready to go!"

[ScaleRobotics]

I wouldn't worry too much about the "hheelloo". If it was not giving your text errors, it was not communicating with StickOS.

Here is the code that I believe is in the newer UBW32. http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW32/FW/...UBW32_v1_3.hex

Although, I see a possibly newer and different one here: http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW32/FW/UBW32_v1_3/D32.hex

I have not checked the configs in the hex, but I would have assumed they did not hide the code. I have some doubts is your Pickit2 is really communicating with the UB32.