I inherited a Lynxmotion A-Pod Hexapod Robot from a friend who passed. The mechanical build was complete, but none of the electronics. I have succeeded in:
Controlling the SSC-32U with the ServoSequencer utility.
Installed Phoenix on the Botboarduino
Installed the PS2 adapter and confirmed it’s working with Serial.writes in the code reporting when buttons are pressed.
Connected the botboarduino to the SSC-32U and seen the bot come alive when I hold the PS2 Start button for 10-15 seconds.
Questions.
All button presses are really laggy, 5-15 seconds. Is that expected?
When it “comes alive” after holding start, it goes into some cycle with all the legs moving around. I can’t get it to do anything else, except stop by holding the Start button a second time. Is this expected, if not, any idea what’s wrong? If this is expected, could you point me towards what’s needed. Is there any documentation on Phoenix?
Welcome to the RobotShop Community. Sorry to hear about your friend.
Q1) All button presses are really laggy, 5-15 seconds. Is that expected?
No. It should take less than a second for the robot to react to a button press
Q2) When it “comes alive” after holding start, it goes into some cycle with all the legs moving around.
Pressing the “Start” button should only have the robot stand up. They should not continue to move after each joint has reached the desired angle. Normally standing up takes one second.
As you saw, we don’t have code specific to the A-Pod, so nothing to have the head, mandibles or tail move, but the walking algorithms uses the same Phoenix code as the other Lynxmotion hexapods.
Are you using a Plynxmotion PS2 transmitter and receiver? Not all PS2 controllers are created equal and some need an intermediate circuit.
Some initial thoughts:
Can you confirm that neither the BotBoarduino NOR the SSC-32U have a 9V battery connected? You only need the 6V battery connected to VS1, and wires between the SSC-32’s VL terminals and the BotBoarduino’s VL terminals (ensuring proper polarity).
Check that the connections between each servo (several need servo extensions) are yellow to yellow, black to black and that the black pin and the SSC-32U connects to the GND row and the yellow connects to the pulse row. Red is always middle.
Triple check the code you’re using to verify the PS2 connections from the receiver to the BotBoarduino match the pin definitions code. The code will have a specific row defining which pin connects to each (DAT, CMD, ATT, CLK, ACK). The 5V and GND are evident.
Remember to zero the servos (the code requires a flat surface and as close to zeroed servos as possible for it to walk correctly). Use Lynxterm to zero and write the offset values to the SSC-32U.
When you disconnect the USB cable from the BotBoarduino to the computer, you need to move the USB jumper to EXT position to use the battery.
The battery for the robot should ideally be 6V and able to keep its charge.
To proceed, it will be best to provide some clear photos of the connections on the SSC-32, BotBoarduino and perhaps a video of what happens.
Thank you SO much for all this great information. I have limited time today, but wanted to be sure and thank you. Knowing what the expected behavior is will save me untold hours staring hopelessly at the code. I do have the Lynxmotion PS2 v4. I have disconnected all but 2 legs to simplify things. I was using 9v and 6v, but have changed to just the 6v which is a 2600mA NiMH battery. I confirmed all my connections. PS2 seems to be working fine as I can have write “you pressed the square”, etc. to the serial monitor, and it works. It’s just slow in doing so. I’ll attach a video of that it is (still) doing, and will resume my troubleshooting over the weekend. Again, much thanks! Roy
It’s working! Turned out to be the lynxmotion PS2. When i swapped it out with a noname model button presses were instantaneous and the non-stop cycling of the legs stopped. I did the mechanical alignment per the manual, but when run with the botboarduino the position is off. Pretty sure I’ll find config settings for that. Anyway, another big step forward. Thanks again.
