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A Complete Guide for Hardware Configuration

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sbottingota edited this page Sep 8, 2024 · 4 revisions

This guide was made because the FTC official documentation is a confusing mess.

You should follow the steps in this guide in the order they are written.

Introduction

Terminology

  • Robot Controller - Control Hub
  • Driver Station - Driver Hub The Robot Controller and Driver Station can also be a smartphone, hence the different naming, but we are not using smartphones.

Minor Notes

  • The Control Hub takes 18 seconds to turn on, where it will have a constant blue light.
  • If you have a Expansion Hub connected to your Hub, it will flash blue occasionally. This is normal.

Step by Step Process to Setup of Robot:

Updating Control Hub

  1. Download the REV Hardware Client
  2. Turn on the Control Hub
  3. Open the REV Hardware Client, and press Update on anything you see (except if it's the Robot Controller app and your repository is forked from the FtcRobotController repository (it should be, but isn't in 2024-2025), in which case follow this guide to update.)

Set up and Update Driver Station

  1. Find a USB-A to USB-C cable (the ones we're using in 2024 to 2025 should be orange, but if you can't find this someone's phone charger is likely to be identical)
  2. Charge the Driver Hub by connecting the USB-C end into the Driver Hub and the USB-A end into your computer or a charger
  3. Turn the Driver Hub on with the power button
  4. Swipe from the very top of the screen to down, and hold down the WiFi icon.
  5. Connect to school WiFi
  6. Go to Software Manager and press Update All

Source

Pair the Driver Station to the Robot Controller

  • Use the link
  • Ignore the content about smartphones.
  • Ask your senior for the WiFi password.
  • If you cannot connect to the Control Hub at all and none of the passwords work, reset the Control Hub and use the default password. Use this link to reset.

Connect your devices to the Robot Controller with wiring

Be not afraid of wiring - it seems like the hardest part of the process, but is one of the easiest and can be done in under half an hour.

The guide for motors is entirely wrong.

  • No adapter is necessary for FTC REV HD and Core motors. (which we are using in the 2024 to 2025 season, and will use for the foreseeable future)
  • Simply plug a 4 pin JST cable and a JST VH cable into the motor and then connect them into the motor ports.

Connect two Hubs (If using two Expansion Hubs, or one Control Hub and one Expansion Hub)

Connect the two Hubs before you change the address of one of the Hubs!

  • The process is the same for two Expansion Hubs or one Control and one Expansion hub.

Here is the link for this process on the FTC docs; however, read the above first

Create a Configuration File and Add Devices to it

  1. Create a configuration file

  2. Add your devices to the Configuration File

Make sure to standardize the naming of your hardware devices, record the names somewhere, and then refer to them when writing code.

Connect Gamepad to Driver Station

  1. Connect the gamepad to driver station with the cable.
  2. Press buttons displayed on screen (Options + Cross for first gamepad) (Options + Circle for second gamepad) (Follow instructions on the Driver Hub)
  3. The Driver Hub displays if the gamepads are connected.

Source

Installing code into Control Hub

  1. Find a USB-A to USB-C cable (the ones we're using in 2024 to 2025 should be orange)
  2. Connect the USB-C end into the Control Hub, and the USB-A end into your computer. (Use an adapter if necessary)
  3. If done correctly, Android Studio should display "REV Control Hub v1.0" next to the green Run button.
  4. Press green Run button
  5. Look at the progress bar at the bottom of the screen - it's done when the "Launching on devices" bar disappears, NOT when it says "BUILD SUCCESSFUL".

Source

Run OpMode from Driver Station

  1. Turn on the Driver Station.
  2. Open the Robot Controller App.
  3. Make sure the correct config file is selected.
  4. Select the TeleOp or Autonomous OpMode you want to run.
  5. Press the INIT button, and then the Play button.

Source

Supporting Links

This link contains links to ALL of the hardware configuration guides in the FTC documentation.

Shortcuts: 🧑‍💻 Code 🏠 Wiki Home 🧾 FTCLib Docs ☑️ Project
Shortcuts:
🏠 Wiki Home
🧑‍💻 Code
🧾 FTCLib Docs
☑️ Project

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