All images courtesy of Alex Slocum.
About the Batteries
About the Control Box
How to Mount the Control Box
How to Run the Control System
How the Contest Will Run
How to Wire Your Machine
Motor plug.
Battery plug.
The above figures indicate how to wire both the Amp 14 pin connector (to connect to your motors) and the 4 pin connector (to connect to your batteries). Please obtain the pins and lead wire (PDF) from the cabinet. We recommended that you print out the debug sheet (PDF) and bring it to lab. Pay particular attention to how the batteries are wired! This wiring layout is not done arbitrarily - if the battery plug is wired incorrectly, either the control box will not turn on, or worse, the batteries will short within the plug, which will damage the control box and possibly cause your batteries to explode!
Long motor and battery wires have the following two problems. Try to keep them short for your own benefit.
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Longer wires increase the resistance, and therefore reduce the power going to the motors.
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Longer wires and improperly soldered wires can cause spurious signals on the radio link. These spurious signals will cause your machine to jitter or jerk around when you are not touching the control box.
You may not wire two motors in parallel to one channel!
Incorrectly wiring either plug will result in damage to your machine, batteries, and control box!
Proper pin direction.
AMP pin removal tool.
When wiring the connectors, check to make sure that the pins are pointing in the proper direction, which is shown above. You can use the AMP pin removal tool to remove pins and insert them properly.
Carefully insulated wires.
All wiring must be insulated. This includes wire splices, soldered connections to the battery cradles, and connections to actuators. This is most easily done with electrical tape, though most securely done with heat shrink tubing. Poorly insulated connections are a confirmed source of controller problems.
All wiring should be strain relieved. Strain relief can be created by looping wire then securing it in place using electrical tape, zip ties, cable mounts, velcro, etc.
The staff will not assist with machine debugging until all connections are properly insulated.
Machines without properly insulated connections are barred from competition!
Machines that are barred from competition cannot compete in the contest, which means you cannot receive any points for the contest. This is very bad!