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Roli - Getting Started Question - No Movement

Just setup my Roli - quick and easy. Setup Wii controller no problem. Wifi is good and I can do the sample movements like dance and wave. All charged up. I have the ports setup as instructed and I entered the port summary. For the life of me I cant get the robot to move with ez builder or the wii remote . I've used the Roli sample project and saved it as a new name. I'm sure I've missed something that is very simple but I can't seem to figure it out. Any suggestions?

Any help is greatly appreciated - can't wait to see it move!


Thanks - Steve


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#19  
Thanks to everyone for solving this solution as I too am a victim. I noticed mine was connected to +5 and just jumped on to see if that was correct. Turns out I was right. +1 for reading before posting.:)
#20  
@alan... I think you saved a lot of people from grief... good catch. EZ Robot must be seriously frustrated as well trying to get China to assemble their products correctly...
#21  
Thanks again Alan! This forum gives me hope.
#22  
@stephenhoey, glad you got it resolved! helped me out a bit.

@alan, yes, thanks for the post, mine was connected wrong as well.
Australia
#23  
Wow, this fixed mine too nice and easy, the community here is great for quickly solving this.

Maybe a thread should be made to announce this quickfix for any other Roli ppl who have the same issue:)
#24  
I just had the exact same issue with a Roli ordered from Makershed just a few days ago. Certainly glad there was no damage. Thanks for this thread and your comments! I searched before powering on (after fixing the connection) hoping I wasn't the only one and that this fix was solid (the photo in this troubleshooting guide: http://www.ez-robot.com/Tutorials/Lesson/69?courseId=3 ).
Cheers!
#25  
Hello - I am having the same problem as mentioned in this thread. I, too, got my Roli from Maker Shed and everything works fine (i.e., servos, camera and wifi) except moving the tracks. My H-bridge had the red wire to +5V and not VCC as mentioned at the end of this thread, and I was very hopeful that that was my problem, but it wasn't. I checked everything else mentioned in this post, but nothing is working. In all fairness, when I put everything together for the first time and made the connections, I did have the power connection from the H-bridge to the controller reversed and did turn the power on. Only when I discovered that I was not getting any track movement, did I notice that I had the power connection reversed. Did I fry something? Are there some things I can do to verify the H-bridge operation? Thanks in advance for any help...
#26  
Likely fried if powered wrong. A few people who had that issue had the H-bridge survive but many were cooked.

Alan
#27  
Is there anything I can check to verify that it is fried? A red LED comes on (on the H-bridge) when the unit is powered up... I am good with a volt meter, if anyone has any suggestions as to things to check - might help other polarity-challenged people like myself in the future...;)
#28  
Make sure the little switch is in the down position. Having the led on is a good sign that there might be life there.

Alan
#29  
Alan - Switch is in the down position... Are there any other LEDs on the board that might give me some diagnostic help? Thanks! Jeff
PRO
Canada
#30  
Hi @jwheat058

Yes there are 4 more LEDs (A,B,C,D) on the H-bridge that should light up when the direction buttons are clicked on the Roli App or ARC Example Project if the H-Bridge is still ok. They will light up in different combinations of 2 with each new direction selected.

I see you have completed all the relevant tutorials, has everything gone successfully up until controlling the H-Bridge?
#31  
Jeremie - Yes, I have gone through all the tutorials up to this point and everything else seems to be working fine (servos, camera). Tracks just won't move. I powered everything up and watched the LEDs on the H-bridge board as I used the small H-bridge window in the ARC Roli example. I did not see any other LEDs come on as I went through and pressed each button in the window. I see the LEDs that are supposed to be lighting, they just are not (other than the right-most red LED which is steady on). Jeff
PRO
Canada
#32  
Hey Jeff,

Thanks for the info. It sounds like the regulator on the H-bridge board is working (hence the power LED still being on) but the H-Bridge itself was likely damaged when power was reversed.
#33  
Jeremie - That is what I figured - I just looked on your web site and see that you sell these for $14.99. Not too bad. However, it is going to cost over $20 for shipping by DHL(!). I see also that you have other distributors - can you recommend one in the US that carries this H-Bridge?

Thanks for your help! And to everyone else, always check your wiring before turning your robot on!

Thanks again! Jeff
#34  
@Jeramie,

Since this came mis-wired from the factory, wouldn't it be a warranty claim? (or @jwheat058, are you saying you had the red and black reversed on the EZ-B, so it was reversed polarity).

If it is not a warranty claim, I have a spare one I will sell you for list + USPS shipping cost (~$5 for priority mail). I'll replace it next time I have a larger order from EZ-B that will absorb the shipping costs.

If you want to go that route, my email address is in my profile. I accept Paypal, Amex Serve, or Google Wallet for ePayments.

Alan
#35  
Alan - I plugged in the red/black wire coming from the H-Bridge to the EZ-B backwards (pos D0), so if that killed my H-Bridge, then it was my fault and will gladly accept your kind offer to sell me one. However, the aforementioned red wire was attached to the H-bridge 3-pos terminal block at the "+5" terminal when I received it. A few posts up, it was pointed out that it should have been attached to the "VCC" terminal. I moved the red wire to that terminal and it still does not work, so I must have done something bad... The button next to that 3-pos terminal block is in the down position.

Thanks for your help! Jeff
#36  
Got the payment and H-bridge will be in the mail Friday (maybe tomorrow if I have a small box at home).

Alan
#37  
Thanks, Alan - I hope that was the problem... Can't wait to get my Roli Rollin'!

BTW, this is going in a Lunar display at a children's science center... I think they will like it! Jeff
#38  
Update: Received the H-bridge from Alan (Thank-you, Alan!), installed it and now I'm up and running! Very excited! The only thing is that the H-bridge that Alan sent me was slightly larger than the original one, so it won't mate up to the mounting holes. I will probably just hot-glue it in the cavity there to keep it from bangin' around - no one will see it... Anyway, thanks to all of you for your help and suggestions!

That was a very easy mistake to make. It would be nice if there was some sort of prevention for us polarity-challenged bozos - maybe a diode or something?

Now on to calibrating my servos!

Jeff
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