I assembled my new CH3-R. It is programed and fully functioning on its stand, but when I place it on the ground, the rear two legs start to droop. When it tries to walk, it continues to droop until the back of the chassis is dragging on the floor. The front legs will still attempt to drag the bot across the floor, but even they act like they are losing power. Occasionally, it will act like the SSC-32 resets and there is total power loss to all servos. After a brief period, the green light starts flashing again in response to PS2 Controller commands.
The bot board’s green light stays lit the entire time.
The VS and VL are on separate power sources, as recommended (the servos are on 6V 2800 mAh that was recommended by lynxmotion) and VL is on 9V battery pack. I’ve seen a few posts discussing similar problems, but have yet to see a final solution that fixed any poster’s issues.
Like I said, the bot moves fine and without issue while suspended in the air.
The servos are Hitec SH-485HB that came with the kit. When I was testing the charge on the battery, I noticed that one of the servos in the front was a bit warmer than all of the other servos after about 3 minutes of attempted operation. But that may be not be abnormal. The 6V pack read 6.46 V (this was, again, after a bit of usage) and the 9V was 9.43V.
Today while tinkering, I noticed that, instead of walking forward when you push the stick on the controller forward, it takes one maybe two steps and then pauses for a moment (servos humming). When you release the stick, it will then try to take another step or two forward, then stops. The bot seems to rotate around its axis fine though.
I can obviously see you have an SSC-32 configured at 38400, connected up to a Bot Board 2 with a Basic Atom Pro 28. I am guessing that you have a PS2 controller for it on pins 12-15 with the buttons/led jumpers removed. So far looks good. Sound like Pin 8 is set probably to communicate with the SSC-32. What I can not see is what version of the PS2 controller you have, but it sounds like you have that part working some.
Mechanically some other things to look for: One or more servos could be bound up, which can cause problems. One or more servo wires could be pinched up in brackets, which can cause wear points and shorts (been bit by that before).
What software are you running on this? Phoenix 2? Powerpod? What version of the Basic Micro IDE are you running?
If you are using the tutorial above, are you using the program in the totorial? It looks like a real real old version. probably Phoenix code base V1.
The V2 version can be downloaded from the Lynxmotion github: github.com/Lynxmotion/3DOF-4DOF-Hex
There is a version 2.1 that was done by Xan with input/changes by Zenta and myself. It was posted in several thread on the forum. I put a copy of this up on my github account: github.com/KurtE/Phoenix_For_BAPS
Thanks for your suggestions so far - gave me some stuff to check into.
I don’t think any of the servos are bound up or have a wiring problem - they all work fine when the bot is suspended in the air, and they work fine on the ground when the robot is turning (rotating in place). If there was a mechanical issue, I would think that it would do it all of the time, not just when trying to walk forward while under its own weight. (I wish I could post a video of its movement… maybe I should look into that if you guys think it would be helpful)
Which leads me to consider software. Kurte: yes, I’m working off of one of the tutorials - the exact one you linked to (H3/H3-R Tutorial v2.0). I downloaded both of the programs and followed the directions to load the software onto the boards. I’m running basic micro studio v2.0018, and Powerpod too, which it linked to on the site for the tutorial previously mentioned. I installed both and it indicated that it had installed correctly to the board.
It doesn’t sound like there’s anyone else having this problem besides me.
Well my SQ3 'Quad project has a slightly similar problem, maybe…
My 'quad will rotate fairly well, but stumbles all over it’s self if I try to walk forward. I’m thinking the order of the leg moves is wrong. Looks like LF LB RB RF. What’s yours doing? What order do the legs move?
I’m thinking of ordering a straight hex, and trying out the code on it. I’m more familiar with hexapods, I have a round one that I built and programmed with old powerpod inspired C-code, and a new FireAnt.
The first thing I would try (TheGerb), is to go to a more recent version of the Phoenix code base. As I mentioned in the earlier post, it looked like the code in the tutorial was the version1 (only one source file). Try going up to the Lynxmotion github version.
Or personally I would grab my archive of code up at: github.com/KurtE/Phoenix_For_BAPS
(Go into the Basic Micro IDE and load the project: CHR_3_PS2.prj which is my old configuration for a CHR-3…
Edit: But question: You said you tried powerpod? I assume it was properly configured with round body, the right type of legs… Have not tried that in a long, long time. Also currently none of my hexapods have a BAP on them.
Right, so, it pains me to update you on the status of my bot because I feel like an idiot. Kurt, I was checking the links you posted and looking at the code and I saw a diagram… and well, I had a servo out of order (a hip joint and a knee joint were swapped). I just wanted to let y’all know in case this thread helps someone else with a similar problem later on. Thanks for all of your help.
