Donkey Car - Revision history

Geekscape at 20:33, 20 January 2019

2019-01-20T20:33:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:33, 20 January 2019
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	'''WARNING: Do NOT connect or disconnect items such as the servo or speed controller while power is applied. During testing we accidentally destroyed several servos by doing this. Make sure everything is powered down before doing ANY work on the car.'''		'''WARNING: Do NOT connect or disconnect items such as the servo or speed controller while power is applied. During testing we accidentally destroyed several servos by doing this. Make sure everything is powered down before doing ANY work on the car.'''

			'''WARNING: Please put your car "on blocks" (wheels off the ground) when testing for the first time or after major changes. The cars can runaway fast ... which would be unfortunate. Once you have confidence in your car's operation ... then put it on the ground'''

	== Parts Required ==		== Parts Required ==

Jonathan Oxer: /* More Information */

2019-01-20T13:34:23Z

More Information

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:34, 20 January 2019
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	== More Information ==		== More Information ==

	The Donkey Car project is very well documented at [http://www.donkeycar.com www.donkeycar.com]. We will step you through setup and training at the miniconf, but if you want to investigate further and learn more about it after the conference is over you can find a huge amount of information at the official Donkey Car ~~Site~~.		The Donkey Car project is very well documented at [http://www.donkeycar.com www.donkeycar.com]. We will step you through setup and training at the miniconf, but if you want to investigate further and learn more about it after the conference is over you can find a huge amount of information at the official Donkey Car site.

Jonathan Oxer: /* SD Card and Pre-Flight Check */

2019-01-20T13:33:38Z

SD Card and Pre-Flight Check

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:33, 20 January 2019
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	'''WARNING: There is no power control for the Raspberry Pi. The power switch controls the chassis (the steering servo and speed controller) but doesn't control the Pi. To control power to the Pi, you must connect and disconnect the battery. Don't leave the battery connected and leave the car, because the Pi will drain the battery all the way to dead flat if you're not paying attention.'''		'''WARNING: There is no power control for the Raspberry Pi. The power switch controls the chassis (the steering servo and speed controller) but doesn't control the Pi. To control power to the Pi, you must connect and disconnect the battery. Don't leave the battery connected and leave the car, because the Pi will drain the battery all the way to dead flat if you're not paying attention.'''

			== More Information ==

			The Donkey Car project is very well documented at [http://www.donkeycar.com www.donkeycar.com]. We will step you through setup and training at the miniconf, but if you want to investigate further and learn more about it after the conference is over you can find a huge amount of information at the official Donkey Car Site.

Jonathan Oxer: /* SD Card and Pre-Flight Check */

2019-01-20T13:30:41Z

SD Card and Pre-Flight Check

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:30, 20 January 2019
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	[[File:dc-270-complete.jpg\|600px]]		[[File:dc-270-complete.jpg\|600px]]

			'''WARNING: There is no power control for the Raspberry Pi. The power switch controls the chassis (the steering servo and speed controller) but doesn't control the Pi. To control power to the Pi, you must connect and disconnect the battery. Don't leave the battery connected and leave the car, because the Pi will drain the battery all the way to dead flat if you're not paying attention.'''

Jonathan Oxer: /* SD Card and Pre-Flight Check */

2019-01-20T13:28:03Z

SD Card and Pre-Flight Check

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:28, 20 January 2019
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	Your Donkey Car is now ready to be started.		Your Donkey Car is now ready to be started.

			[[File:dc-270-complete.jpg\|600px]]

Jonathan Oxer: /* Attach Steering, Speed Control, and Power */

2019-01-20T13:26:57Z

Attach Steering, Speed Control, and Power

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:26, 20 January 2019
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	[[File:dc-240-power.jpg\|600px]]		[[File:dc-240-power.jpg\|600px]]

			== SD Card and Pre-Flight Check ==

			Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi. The socket is hidden underneath the Pi, just near the handy indentation in the base plate. Amazing coincidence. Insert the card with the contacts up:

			[[File:dc-250-sd-card.jpg\|600px]]

			All the hardware is now complete. The battery should still be disconnected.

			On the top of the chassis (under the base plate) is a small power switch. They're in different places on different cars, but mostly they are near the middle and located under the hole near the camera mount. It has small writing on it saying On and Off. Put it in the Off position.

			Your Donkey Car is now ready to be started.

Jonathan Oxer: /* Mount Camera And Hat */

2019-01-20T13:20:12Z

Mount Camera And Hat

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:20, 20 January 2019
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	[[File:dc-200-camera.jpg\|600px]]		[[File:dc-200-camera.jpg\|600px]]

			Feed the camera through the vertical slot in the camera mount, towards the front of the car. Bend it up and use the supplied double-sided tape to attach it to the top of the camera mount:

			[[File:dc-210-camera.jpg\|600px]]

			== Attach Steering, Speed Control, and Power ==

			Feed the pair of servo cables up through the hole in the base plate. The shorter cable is the throttle. The longer cable is steering.

			Plug the connectors into the 3-way headers.

			The black wire goes to the "G" (GND) pin.

			The red wire goes to the "V" (VCC, or power) pin.

			The white wire goes to the "S" (Signal) pin.

			[[File:dc-230-servos.jpg\|600px]]

			Insert the power cable with the ferruled end into the "+" screw terminal. You may need to loosen the screw first, to allow room for the ferrule to be inserted. Then tighten the screw down again. It doesn't need to be very tight: firm enough to hold the ferrule securely, but don't strip the screw!

			There's nothing to insert in the "-" terminal. The board already has a GND connection through the speed controller (throttle) cable.

			[[File:dc-240-power.jpg\|600px]]

Jonathan Oxer: /* Mount Camera And Hat */

2019-01-20T13:10:52Z

Mount Camera And Hat

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:10, 20 January 2019
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	Be VERY careful with this part. If you insert the camera ribbon cable backwards, it can destroy both the camera and the Raspberry Pi. It's also very easy to physically break the connector.		Be VERY careful with this part. If you insert the camera ribbon cable backwards, it can destroy both the camera and the Raspberry Pi. It's also very easy to physically break the connector.

	Start by threading the camera cable though the slot in the hat, so that it's oriented as shown below. The blue part of the cable is on the other side, and the ~~gold~~ fingers are on the close side:		Start by threading the camera cable though the slot in the hat, so that it's oriented as shown below. The blue part of the cable is on the other side, and the metal fingers are on the close side:

	[[File:dc-180-camera.jpg\|600px]]		[[File:dc-180-camera.jpg\|600px]]

Jonathan Oxer: /* Mount Camera And Hat */

2019-01-20T13:09:46Z

Mount Camera And Hat

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:09, 20 January 2019
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	When you are confident that the camera cable is inserted correctly, slide the Donkey Car Hat down onto the Raspberry Pi header. It should sit neatly on the rubber stopper:		When you are confident that the camera cable is inserted correctly, slide the Donkey Car Hat down onto the Raspberry Pi header. It should sit neatly on the rubber stopper:

	[[File:dc-~~190-camera.jpg\|600px]]~~		[[File:dc-200-camera.jpg\|600px]]

	~~[[File:dc-190~~-camera.jpg\|600px]]

Jonathan Oxer: /* Mount Raspberry Pi On Chassis */

2019-01-20T13:08:03Z

Mount Raspberry Pi On Chassis

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 20 January 2019
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	[[File:dc-100-pi-mount.jpg\|600px]]		[[File:dc-100-pi-mount.jpg\|600px]]

			== Mount Camera And Hat ==

			Be VERY careful with this part. If you insert the camera ribbon cable backwards, it can destroy both the camera and the Raspberry Pi. It's also very easy to physically break the connector.

			Start by threading the camera cable though the slot in the hat, so that it's oriented as shown below. The blue part of the cable is on the other side, and the gold fingers are on the close side:

			[[File:dc-180-camera.jpg\|600px]]

			The socket for the flex cable has a small black clip that rises up about 2mm from the connector. Very carefully raise it by prising it up from the ends. Don't break it off!

			Then slide the flex cable into the connector. Check again that the blue side of the cable is against the black clip, as shown here. Then use your fingernail or a small screwdriver to gently click the black clip straight down into the connector. When it clicks down it will grip the flex cable and hold it tightly in place:

			[[File:dc-190-camera.jpg\|600px]]

			When you are confident that the camera cable is inserted correctly, slide the Donkey Car Hat down onto the Raspberry Pi header. It should sit neatly on the rubber stopper:

			[[File:dc-190-camera.jpg\|600px]]

			[[File:dc-190-camera.jpg\|600px]]