Question before I buy

Lynxmotion
1

Is the ARC-32 basically a SSC-32 and BotBoard2 (the atom pro) merged together? Am I correct to assume, you do not need a BB2 when using the ARC-32? I plan to buy one, but just want some clarification, as it would be nice to simply everything down to one board!

2

correct. you wont need the SSC or botboard if you have the ARC. so yes its a merge of both boards.
It has an integrated 32 channel servo control.
The ARC32 is programmable in Basic, C, or ASM using Basic Micro Studio IDE.

3

I also was wondering the same thing.

If ARC32 = BotBoard2 + SSC32 then it won’t make any difference if I get both BB2 and SSC32 instead of purchasing only the ARC32?
I am asking because in that case I will be able to use the SSC-32 with my Arduino as well as the BB2.

Thank you if you’ve understand what I mean.

4

The simple answer is it depends on your needs and desires… That is you can for example run a phoenix hex with only using an Arc32 (I did the port…).

But you can still use an SSC-32 with it if you so desire. I often run my CHR-3 that way… (Actually my CHR-3 currently has an Arduino Mega connected to the SSC-32 as to make fixes for IDE 21). Why would I do that versus run the servos with the Arc32? It makes it easy for me to reconfigure my CHR-3. To switch to using the Arduino, I simply had to remove the power, connection to SSC-32 and connection to XBEE and plug those all into the Arduino Mega, which is a lot easier than moving 18 servo wires… Why do I like using the Arc32 over Bap28 that could also do it? Faster (20mhz versus 16mhz), Larger code space. And when I am debugging, I appreciate having 2 hardware serial ports instead of 1.
But it costs more…

So it all depends on your needs.

Good Luck
Kurt

5

Thank you Kurt for your answer.

I think I’m going to get both BotBoard2 and SSC-32 so it will give me the freedom to connect different hardware on the SSC-32 (like an Arduino)

  1. When you said: run a phoenix hex with only using an Arc32 (I did the port…)
    Does that mean you had to port the code from BB2 to Arc32 in order to be compatible?

  2. Also, do you program your CH3 with Arduino Mega connected using the Arduino IDE software? Is it fully supported?

  3. Last question, what do I need to use in order to control this hardware with a regular playstation controller?
    (Is the Basic Atom 28 fully compatible with a real playstation2 or 3 controler?)

Thanks a lot for your help :slight_smile:

6

Warning: a Bot Board 2 (BB2) is only necessary if you buy something like a Basic Atom Pro28 to plug into it. That is, it is a carrier board for the Basic Atom Pros or Basic Stamps or… Whereas the Arc32 is a complete board. So if you are going with an Arc32 you don’t need one of these…

Now back to your questions.

  1. Port from BB2… Back to the warning above. I ported from Bap28 to Arc32. There are some differences. That is we used some of the more advanced features of these chips, like timers. The underlying Renesas H8 processors are different between these two modules. So on the BAP28 we used timer A or W (different versions of the code), which we converted to timers B1 and Z0 on the Arc32… Also they run at different speeds (16mhz versus 20 MHz) so we had to do some minor updates for that. Also when we are using an XBee to control the robot we were using the hardware serial port. On Bap28 we used the only hardware serial port (P14-P15), on Arc32 we used the second hardware serial port…

  2. Yes I have ported the code to run on an Arduino Mega using the Arduino IDE. You can see it in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6730. As for fully supported, it is just me having some fun. I do try to answer questions and fix any issues that come up.

  3. Yes you can use Playstation 2 controllers with these different hardware configurations. Note not all PS2 controllers are created equal. Some work well, some don’t. Lynxmotion sells one that works well: lynxmotion.com/p-714-ps2-con … e-kit.aspx) to attach this. At least one of the IO pins connected to the PS2 will need a pull-up resistor, on the Arc32 I used specific pins to handle this. On the Arduino Mega sometimes it worked with the internal pull-ups, sometimes I had to add one… It varied from one board to another and from one controller to another…

Good Luck
Kurt

7

You said the ARC32 costs more…not from RobotShop.ca…

Basic Atom pro 28-m…$61.17
Atom BotBoard II …$25.46
SSC32 …$42.80
TOTAL …$129.43

ARC32 …$101.99

before shipping, and probably the 3 items will cost more to ship.

Dave

8

Thank you so much for your valuable comments, I understand much better now.

I’m planning to use 18 GWS S03T STD servos because of my student budget.
I’ve just read that SSC-32 support Futaba or Hitec servos. Will my GWS servos be supported or do I need to get Hitec or Futaba only?

9

I think any PWM servo with good torque and the dimensions that fit the brackets will work, some just turn the opposite direction which is no big problem you just turn them around according to the build.

I’m using 6 Hi-tech and 12 Hextronik , the Hextronik are reversed compared to the Hi-tech so instead of the Hextronik’s servo horns facing forward they are facing backwards on my T-Hex bot.

works great.

10

Great!
Thanks you all for your help :slight_smile: