Everytime I try and connect the computer with the board, RIOS says “Can’t find SSC-32 Card”. I have downloaded all of the drivers for my USB to serial adapter. I have tried plugging the servos into the wall power and the VL with a 9V battery and also with a power supply. I have no idea what is wrong with this, but does anyone know how I can get it working. The robot has worked before, but has been very tempermental and now it’s not responding at all.
We are powering the board with 6V and the regulator is putting out 5V. The green LED comes on for about a minute and tries to connect and it will go off and blink every few seconds, but it never connects.
Crack open your SSC-32 manual.
On the second page, you’ll see a pic of how to set up the jumpers for the correct baud rate.
Verify that you have these jumpers installed the proper way.
If that doesn’t work, and you’ve got a steady green light, then it’s probably a crappy USB->Serial adapter.
Before you go out buying a new one, post a picture of your whole setup.
(Upload the picture with Putfile or some other web service, and copy and paste the whole BB code onto the forums post.)
We may be able to see that, “Oh, you forgot to plug the serial cable in.”
I have checked over the baud rate and it is fine and made sure it was the same on the port. I tried using another USB to serial adapter and it still does not work.
The green led is not a power indicator. It is supposed to be on steady until it has received a valid serial command, then after that it should blink only when it is receiving data.
What are you using to talk to the SSC-32? Lynxterm, RIOS, SEQ, or something you wrote…
Did you remove the VS=VL jumper? This can be important.
We really need more information. Um… A lot more information…
I have tried both RIOS and Lynxterm to talk to the robot. I made sure the VS=VL jumper was disconnected when I powered them separatley. Alas, it still does not work
What is the manufacturer and model number of the USB to serial cable?
One of them is manufacturered by IO Gear and the model# is GUC232AWM. The other one is manufactured by MCT and the model# is u232-p9. We also tried a serial to serial connection, which did not work.
Have you used it with another serial device?
Both of these serial cables had been working on the arm a couple of days ago, and they have both been used sucessfully with other devices.
What OS are you using? Does it recognise the USB device when it is >plugged in?
Windows XP, and it does recognize the USB device
Are the servos holding position?
No
Do they jump when power is applied?
Yes
Is RIOS or LynxTerm able to detect what version of the firmware is >installed on the SSC-32?
No
Do you have the jumpers installed to enable DB9 communication? You >know they are oriented the same as the other jumpers?
Yes
What is the exact trouble?
We have tried using 2 laptops, 1 desktop, 2 usb to serial adapters, 1 serial to serial adapter, and we are not getting communication between the computer and the arm. The arm jumps when the power is applied. The baud rates are correct the DB9 jumpers are correct. The green light comes on for a minute and goes off and blinks every couple of seconds but the computer never acutally connects to it.
We have also tried powering VL and VS (with the jumper) through the wall, and also (without the jumper), having VS connected through the wall and VL connected through at power supply and a battery.
If the green light on the SSC-32 comes on when you apply power, and then blinks when you send it data, that means it IS receiving data from the computer. Once commands are sent, the light should only be lit when it is receiving data.
So if this is the case, perhaps the data you are sending it is not in the format the SSC-32 looks for. If you are using the LynxTerm program from the SSC-32 page, I’m not sure how this is possible, unless perhaps the USB>serial adapter is somehow corrupting the data.
If you are using a program other than LynxTerm to communicate with the SSC-32, then you may not be sending the correct commands to the controller. Check to ensure that you are sending both the carriage return and line feed characters.
So, now it’s working all of a sudden. The only thing we change is that we dismounted it from the rover it was on. Perhaps the robot-gods are on my side at the moment. I’ll let you know if it stops working again.
I was thinking the same thing that the bottom of the circuit board was touching something metal on the rover. If it is to be reinstalled, I would make sure there is a thin sheet of plastic protecting the board from comming into contact with anything metal on the bot. If there is no thin plastic available, electrical tape over the bottom contact areas is another quick solution.
