Installing bluetooth onto a Rover V2

Lynxmotion Rovers, Sumo, and Tracked
1

Uploading and controlling sketch2 to the tracked rover v2 using a usb cable works correctly and predictably.
Installing the RB-Dfr-10 into the APC220 bluetooth connector, installing and pairing BT to the Windows 7 computer works as expected.
Can the RB-Dfr-10 ckt bd be plugged in and out safely without powering down the robot?

Thanks.

Ron

2

Normally we suggest only making electrical connections when the robot is not powered.

3

And powering down to insert/remove the bluetooth card won’t cause the loss of the sketch
uploaded via the usb cable?

4

No - the memory is non-volatile, meaning it is stored on the chip regardless of power.
This means that you can upload a sketch to an Arduino, and as soon as it is powered up next time, it will run through whatever code is on the chip.

5

Did I see in your response for another post for this same subject that the BT can not be used to
load a sketch to the robot, it can only be used to control an already loaded sketch?

6

Correct. You need to remove the BT module in order to upload code. Once the code has been uploaded, you can connect the BT module (ideally when the rover is not powered).

7

Coleman,

Thanks for your help. I wasn’t aware the robot had non-volatile ram or that you couldn’t upload a sketch using
BT, thus, I struggled with how to use the usb cable to upload a sketch, then, insert the BT module while powering down the robot.
Also, the AA batteries my grandson used in the robot were somewhat discharged so when trying to power the robot with ONLY the
battery pack the voltage dipped low enough the robot/BT module failed to work as designed. When the usb cable was used to
upload and control the robot all worked well because the robot was also getting power from the PC.
Using your input I was finally able get the BT to work as it should.
Thanks again.

Ron

8

Coleman,

Is there an app that allows an iPhone/iPad to control the robot via BT?

Ron

9

There is nothing official, but if you search the Google Play for “Arduino”, there are a few programs which allow for wireless control via Bluetooth, some of which are quite well done.
As for Apple products, very few are supported in robotics because Apple makes it incredibly difficult for developers to create and submit apps, but take a look at iTunes just in case for anything Arduino.

10

I’ll continue looking, Coleman.

Thanks for the reply.

Ron