This is our first project with Arduino and we are totally lost. We have the rover built and when we first powered it up it would run the tracks together, forward and backwards. We uploaded the WASD control program to try out. We can not get anything to work? Also the rover will not stay powered while on the battery. We have tried the Lipo and pack with same results. If we plug in the usb it will stay powered with the battery but as soon as we switch it off it will not power back on. I tested the voltage at the JST and it read 5.82 with the switch off. Turn it on and it drops to 5.6. The voltage on the board reads .74. When I plug in the USB it reads 5.3 at JST and 4.68 on the board. Now when I unplug the USB the voltage on the board drops to 3.65. When we try to upload a program, the Rx and L lights flicker. And when I try hyperterm the Rx lights up but nothing happens. I can’t get the Bluetooth to even power on? I don’t know if the board is defective since one of the blue leds lights is missing on the front. Also, is it normal for some components on the board to feel warm to the touch?
Update and some progress. We are finally able to run the rover with the USB. So programming and communication is working:D Still having an issue with the battery.
Once we got it to run via USB cable we did so with the Lipo. I do have the jumper in place for that. I will add a few shots of our setup. But I’m still concerned about this one chip on the board. It will burn you if you touch it! In the first picture I got a closeup pointing to it with a tooth pick.
Here is a shot of the missing LED light:
Update!! Got a new board and swapped out the parts. This one works great. We can control perfect with the USB. With that working we decided to try the Bluetooth adapter. We verified that we are getting the 3v on the pin. But we do not get any lights on the BT board. We also tried to scan for any devices and found nothing. Could the electrical problem we had with the old board affect the BT board?
Switch is on the correct side (XBEE1). Here is the picture I just took. What position should the BT switch be?
We are using the 4AA with jumper removed.
I can’t check the discharge rate but these are fresh duracells. I even purchased a new pack to make sure.
Duracell AA are rated at 2200mAh.
We have tried via phone and laptop. Nothing picks up. I will submit another ticket.
I have a Rover 2.0 basic kit, with 1s1000 LiPo battery. PO #254611, purchased 11/24, assembled 1/11/14.
I have successfully gone through the User Guide flow chart, and run the rover with several test programs. The rover works as expected when the USB cable is connected, but will not work at all without the USB connection. Even the LEDs do not light. If the power switch is turned on with only the LiPo connected, the lights flicker as the switch is thrown, but will not stay on. Pushing the reset button will not do anything. If the 4 cell AA battery pack is used (jumper removed), the LEDs will light, somewhat dimmer than with the USB connected, and the yellow led flicker. A “tic” sound can be heard whena the yellow LED lights, but the motors do not run. Pushing the reset button does not change the behavior. The LiPo voltage is measured as 4.19v disconnected from the rover board. The AA battery pack has now batteries and measures 5.97v disconnected from the rover board.
I have a DFRobotShop Rover V2, PO # 254611, purchased 11/24, assembled 1/12/14.
I have run through the User Guide flow chart and everything checks out. I have compiled and down loaded several test programs and the rover works as expected with the USB cable attached, with both the 1s1000 LiPo and the AA battery pack connected (jumper removed).
However, the rover will not run when the USB cable is disconnected, with either the LiPo or AA pack.
When the LiPo pack is used and the power switch thrown, the LED flicker and go out. The motors do not run. Nothing happens when the reset button is pressed. LiPo open circuit = 4.19v
When the AA batter pack is used and the power switch thrown, the LEDs light brightly then dim a bit. The yellow LED flickers and a low “tic” sound can be heard. The motors do not run. The behavior is the same when the reset button is pressed. AA pack open circuit = 5.95v.
Shouldn’t the rover work without the USB cable?
I can provide an image of my setup but it is not unique. It is the assembled rover with a USB cable and either the AA battery pack (w/o the Li SEL jumper), or the LiPo connected. As I mentioned, everything works fine with either battery when the
USB cable connected to my computer.
Below is the code I’m running in the rover. It is essentially a copy of the WASD code without using the serial port communication. It works as expected, with the USB cable connected. The processor reset function works also. Is there a
reason why this code would not work without the USB connection? Is there something about the 5v that the USB port supplies?
I believe there is a fault in the power portion of the rover V2.0 board. For example, when I measure the voltage across the 1k resistors & red pwr led, or the blue leds - the 5v line, I get 4.44v when the USB cable is attached, 4.04v when only
the AA battery pack is attached (w/o the Li SEl jumper), and 1.0v when the LiPo battery is attached. I can not figure out a good place to measure the 9v point because I can not locate L1 and the board seems to have two zener diodes, rather than one as shown on the schematic. However, I bet the 9v point is not a consistent 9v.
[code]/* This is the basic ardu tank code, derived from the sample code from the robotshop
*/
//global declaration
int E1 = 6; //M1 Speed Control
int E2 = 5; //M2 Speed Control
int M1 = 8; //M1 Direction Control
int M2 = 7; //M2 Direction Control
//setup code
void setup(void)
{
int i;
for(i=5;i<=8;i++)
pinMode(i, OUTPUT); //set mode of motor contol pins
}
void loop(void)
{
int fullspeed = 255; //255 is maximum speed
int halfspeed = 128; //about half speed
int leftspeed = 255;
int rightspeed = 255;
// a fixed pattern
forward (leftspeed,rightspeed);//Move Forward
delay(5000); //move for 5 sec.
left (leftspeed,rightspeed);
delay(5000); //move for 5 sec.
right (leftspeed,rightspeed);
delay(5000); //back to straight ahead?
reverse (leftspeed,rightspeed);//Move Forward
delay(5000); //move for 5 sec.
stop();
delay(5000); //start up after 5 sec.
}
void stop(void) //Stop
{
digitalWrite(E1,LOW);
digitalWrite(E2,LOW);
}
void forward(int a,int b)
{
analogWrite (E1,a);
digitalWrite(M1,LOW);
analogWrite (E2,b);
digitalWrite(M2,LOW);
}
void reverse (int a,int b)
{
analogWrite (E1,a);
digitalWrite(M1,HIGH);
analogWrite (E2,b);
digitalWrite(M2,HIGH);
}
void left (int a,int b)
{
analogWrite (E1,a);
digitalWrite(M1,HIGH);
analogWrite (E2,b);
digitalWrite(M2,LOW);
}
void right (int a,int b)
{
analogWrite (E1,a);
digitalWrite(M1,LOW);
analogWrite (E2,b);
digitalWrite(M2,HIGH);
}[/code]
Attached are three photos of my rover, as you requested. If you need any different views, let me know.
I’ve forgotten where this has been left and I can not find your reply to the post where I sent the photos. The Rover will still not work without the USB connection. Is there anything else I need to do to proceed with this? If so, what is it.
happy camper
If you are using a AA battery pack, be sure to remove the LiPo jumper at the left rear of the board. If you still have issues, can you upload a few images of the setup?
Please contact us via the Support Center ([email protected] Subject: Exchange Defective DFRobotShop Rover PCB) and indicate your order or invoice number and reference this thread. With even one LED missing, we replace the board. It looks like that component is not fully soldered.
Ideally not. Can you provide an image or two of the setup? What battery are you using? Try with the 4xAA battery pack and ensure you remove the LiPo jumper at the left rear of the board. Also, ensure you have the BT module oriented correctly and the XBee switch is set to that side of the board.
The XBee switch simply determines which slot is connected to the Arduino’s Tx and Rx pins. The LED on the BT module is not even blinking? Did you try with a 4xAA battery pack (and ensure the robot was on). We occasionally hear of issues with the BT module but have never been able to reproduce the issue here. Can you check that the batteries you are using can discharge at up to 2A continuously?
Once again to confirm, the XBee switch simply determines which slot is connected to the Arduino’s Tx and Rx pins. The LED on the BT module is not even blinking?
What are the specifications of the batteries (voltage and capacity (in mAh)?
If this does not resolve the issue, we’ll look into an exchange.
Yes, the Rover should work without the USB cable, though you need to have the WASD code installed, and a wireless module installed and configured. The other option is to use the “full speed test” program, which has the motors spinning at full speed without any input.
@happy camper - can you provide an image or two of your setup so we can see if we can catch anything?
@planepilot - those batteries should be fine. Please contact us via the support center and provide your invoice number and a link to this thread. We’ll look into exchanging the wireless module. In the meantime, does the BT module get picked up by any devices at all?
The USB should not really have an effect on the JST connector. We are not neglecting the possibility that there is something wrong with your specific board. An image or two would help, and if we can’t spot anything, we’ll proceed with an RMA.
Your rover looks well setup. Just to confirm you move the on/off switch all the way to ON when you want to work off the battery? If yes, and it does not work, please write to us at [email protected] and include your order or invoice number and a link to this thread, indicating that the PCB is defective. Once again we apologize for any inconvenience.