Noob here … I’m sick of looking on Google for answers so I thought I’d try here …
I’ve got the 4WD1 kit. ABB-28 and Scorpion. I’m connecting the SSC-32 and the WiPort.
My Problem: The WiPort TTL goes to the TTL Serial Port on the SSC-32. What about connecting the ABB?? How/Where do you connect the ABB now (Page 5 of the ABB book shows the SSC-32 going to the ABB via the TTL – I know this is for the Hexpod, but it’s the only example of the SSC-32 going to the ABB). My only electronics class told me not to “totem” connections on a single port … so what’s a gal to do?
So, in summary, my robot “brains” are such:
(Atom BotBoard)–>(Scorpion)–>(SSC-32)–>(WiPort)–>(To the great Ether beyond and eventually to my Apple PowerBook so I can control the d@mn thing and finish this grad project)
Whew … any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m quickly finding out that my Electrical Engineering “education” really didn’t give me any practical skillz for solving real-world problems – apparently that what we leave the Technicians to do … or so my profs would say … bitter, never!
You’re going to have to explain what it is that you’re trying to do.
The WiPort is a great gateway between a wireless network and a serial port.
I’ve no personal experience with the ABB, but my understanding is that its a pretty good onboard controller.
The way most people do things, they choose one or the other of those two things to control a device that can affect actuators (SSC32 or the Scorpion speed controller, etc.)
I vaguely remember reading elsewhere that you’re working on a rover. Without really knowing your goals here, I’m going to hazard a guess that you don’t need the ABB.
If you’re trying to control the thing through software on a PC here’s one configuration that will get you talking to the scorpion:
WiPort TTL to SSC32 TTL
SSC32 ServoPort 1 to Scorpion channel 1
SSC32 ServoPort 2 to Scorpion channel 2
You PC connects to the Wiport through a network socket connection that is translated to a serial stream, fed in turn to the SSC32. The SSC32 outputs PWM signals on its servo channels which are the input the scorpion controller is looking for.
You could stick the ABB in between the WiPort and the SSC32, but unless you are trying to do something more than control the scorpion from a PC, it’s just overhead.
Just as Andy said, the ABB is not needed if all the servo commands are coming from your PC. If you already have the ABB, you can use it to control other things if you wanted.
The goal of my project is simply to control the robot using the WiPort – a glorified R/C car. I might try something else later, but for this project all I need to do is drive the thing around using software on my computer.
So if I’m reading right … forget the ABB. Hook up the WiPort(TTL)–>SSC-32(TTL)–>Scorpion. The Scorpion has the DC motors hooked up already.
**One other question … **If I’m not gonna use the ABB, do I hook the power up to the Scorpion directly? I’m buying the 7.2Vdc (2800mAh) battery pack from Lynxmotion. I’m just wondering how the power will be distributed to the SSC-32 and WiPort from the battery leads.
If you eventually chose to use the BotBoard + Micro to interpret sensors, or something, and you want your computer to recieve feedback from the ABB, you can stick the BotBoard into the other TTL port on the WiPort.
Then, you’d buffer the inactive port while you read from the active one.
Chances are, though, that you’re ABB alone would suffice for onboard sensor work.
I haven’t gotten my WiPort up and running, but that’s because David asked me to try out a new firmware for it, for the ethernet.
