Zxen
Resolved by thetechguru!
Every time I move a servo through WiFi the ezb v4 makes a chime like its starting up but its really disconnecting.
I tightened the female connectors (I dont like the dean prongs - the base doubles the size of the unit for no reason).
I thought this might be due to the 6V20A power supply I had begun using instead of 7.5V48A I was using previously (which fried about 12 servos). I remembered some kind of battery failsafe minimum voltage shutdown setting (which I turned off after clicking the settings cog button next to 'Connect/Disconnect' in ARC software. I had already switched it off so I wasn't sure if it was my faulty power supply, a faulty power supply to ezb wiring issue, the low voltage, bad wifi, a bad servo. There needs to be a troubleshooting guide built into ARC when things go wrong I think.
My new power supply has a 12v/6v switch. I had set it to 6v so as not to fry my little Hitec mini servos (225mg). I also had a torxis monster 1600 servo but using a different power supply. Was there a conflict between the servos? Was Channel D1 faulty? I unplugged my little servo which used ezb power and the problem went away - the torxis servo on it's own power supply worked well and a wifi cutout wasn't triggered. The moment I plugged the mini servo back in and sent it a command the ezb shut down and up and down again. Problems.
Now I'm back on my 7.5V power supply (with everything working until this servo fries as well) but I want to decrease to 6V. Is 6V too low? Or is it my power supply thats to blame? Or something else? Thanks
EDIT: I just plugged in a THIRD power supply, this time a 12V with a 6V downer module. Running the 12V to the Torxis and the 6V to the EZB and connected servos. Tested lots of servos. All caused the microcontroller to malfunction. Pissed off that the EZB was probably broken at this point, I had one final look at the failsafe voltage settings, hidden away (a clue that the programmers are to blame - not me) where I find that its not the programmers' fault after all - the failsafe override voltage shutdown thing is still unchecked and greyed out, just as I left it. So that couldn't have been the issue. But knowing that anyone who puts the main settings for the ezb in a tiny button like that must have rocks in his head, I wonder if I need to turn the device off for thirty seconds while holding spacebar, return key, alt key, ctrl key, Q, W, L and shift for 500 milliseconds before hitting the tilda key and doing a backflip, I switch the failsafe voltage on again and the box will stop telling me the batteries are low, which she'd suddenly decided to start doing. So I go in and change these settings to 5 in each box while keeping them switched on, and the woman stopped yapping. Thank God for that. It only took me around $500 worth of labour and three years reduction in lifespan due to the stress of figuring out where the programmer's head was at when he was inhaling pure diesel fumes. Problem solved until another crazy software setting gets in my way... I really hope it gets easier after I learn that a square hole in the ceiling is a toilet in this labyrinth.
This is an easy answer - and you know what the answer is - so i'll help re-enforce your suspicion: The power supply is not providing enough amperage.
It's a very simple equation: Does ez-b reboot when a servo is moved? If yes, then there's not enough power.
There's a tutorial on power supplies in the learn section.
Please do not tell me that your power supply is a wallwort style. If it is, throw it away or put it back on the electrical device it came from. Wallworts use transformers which is a linear voltage supply with no regulation. They are not designed for motors. Motors use electricity, but that is absolutely the only characteristic they have in common with anything solid-state.
Also, if you beleive you had a wallwart that was rated for 7.5v, it wasn't. If you took a minute to connect a volt meter to it (specifically while there is load from motors) you would see the voltage was most likely 8 or 10 volts.
Also, only EZ-Robot servos are rated for 7.4v. Check the datasheet on the servos that you are using if they are not ez-robot branded servos.
Solid-state != motors
Never ever ever use one of these:
ever
6v is fine. I ran the ez-b at 5.4v for a little while. Sounds like you've either got a faulty servo, or a bad wiring mistake which grounds out the pins.
Try a different servo. If it causes the same thing it's a brown out probably. If not, the servo was a problem.
And DJ he states he is using a 6v 20A power supply, so that's why I am not concerned much about it.
I just noticed how quick your answers were. Thanks, but I'm pretty sure it was the software as mentioned in my edit. My servos are 4.8-6V Hitec 225MGs so they fit in the wrists. The Torxis is for the Base Plate and the 9380THs are for almost every other tilt and pan segment. I'm gonna make my robots dance Tai Chi instead of Jump kicking. Lower voltage probably means less melted servos. Also less dangerous for impact torque and speed. I don't know what a wallwart power supply is. Mine are Meanwell, Hiled and PowerTechPlus. The image you uploaded required me to get certificates because my Mac thinks its unsafe. I wish I knew what it was.
I can see the image now. I'm not using a small 300mA transformer like that. Mine is 33.3 Amps.
Now the red light comes on after a battery warning every time. I'm definitely getting 6V. Do I need to open my robot and unplug the ezb v4 and then plug it in again every single time it disconnects? I have disabled the battery warning about thirty times now but the program doesn't remember my settings. Now I've downloaded something from the website via RoboScratch and it has overridden essential configurations. I have no idea how to get connected again without going back up to 7.5 Volts, which will melt more of my servos. I need to connect at 6V. Please help. The Red light is now solid after the voice, and the blue light is flashing...
The green writing at the bottom of the software says
Comm Err: System.IO.IOException: Unable to read data from the transport connection: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because host has failed to respond.
This doesn't describe the battery issue, but sometimes the voiceover says 'your batteries are low'. I have lowered the required voltage to 5, disabled the warning and she still does it. I have removed all servos and am supplying the EZBV4 with 33 Amps of 6 Volt constant power.
And you said it is only one servo causing it? Did you try another? Because it very well could be a servo causing it as it acts just like a brownout.
Thanks for your quick replies
No, its not a particular servo. I'll test again with 0 servos. I'll describe.
Red light solid, blue light flashing on unit. Computer freshly rebooted. No programs open.
Pulled out all wires from EZBV4 waited ten seconds, then plugged in the power cable only (6V33A). Startup chime, Blue light flashing.
Compaq Presario CQ41 Laptop (not sure if its on the naughty list of WiFi villains but I was using it to control the EZB all day before current errors) running Windows 10. I will connect to the EZB via WiFi. Status already says 'Open', and now I will click the 'Connect' button beside it...Connecting...
Around 20 seconds later, status says 'Connected, No internet, Open' next to the EZB on the WiFi list. The EZB blue light is solid - no other lights. Waiting for 60 seconds to see if there are any problems...none.
Opening ARC Nightmare, I mean software...The device has started flashing blue immediately after opening the program. This is the title screen with no projects at all. Before I click 'Connect' next to The first one called '0', I will click the little cog beside it and adjust the battery warnings to TRY to avoid problems with battery warnings...Clicking Cog symbol>Settings Tab...Battery Monitor Settings are UNCHECKED and GREYED OUT but I don't trust it. I will leave it alone so there was nothing I did wrong. By default in grey, all settings are 7 volts but the main box is unchecked so this should be irrelevant. Now I'm going to close this window without saving because I haven't changed anything.
Now I am clicking the chrome ball next to the cog. Inside this window is hidden a command to switch off the low battery warning. Diagnostics Tab. It says 'Power On Settings Low Battery Warning: Disabled'. That is what I want even though I don't trust it. I have done this 50 times in the past three hours already...closing window.
Now I will click the 'Connect' button for '0' (the blue LED on the EZBV4 is flashing) so far... Connect.
Some green writing appeared on the screen for a second, the EZB made a connection noise and the EZB blue LED is now solid. The Connect button has become a green Disconnect button in ARC. 'My battery is low' has been repeated incessantly at least thirty times prior to typing this and I want to smash it. What. A. Stupid. Design. Idea. Its waking all the neighbours. I am throwing a blanket over it while I attempt to do something here. I'm sweating from the stress. It has ZERO servos plugged in.
I am clicking 'JD' in the program. My God. She finally shut up.
I am skipping requests to connect me to tutorials. Oh. There it is. Red light comes on the EZB with blue flashing light after green writing appears at the bottom of the screen. No idea how to ever see what that writing said, wasn't quick enough this time. Status in ARC is a 'Connect' button rather than a 'Disconnect' button. Status in Windows remains unchanged.