Resolved by Rich!
received roli the other day. went through the following steps:
1. unpacked everything and laid out on table.
2. verified all parts ordered were received and set up charging since it was a no brainer
3. opened up ez software
4. noticed there was "getting started tutorial" link, clicked
5. started tutorial from here in the roli (http://www.ez-robot.com/Tutorials/)
5a. Did not find tutorial very intuitive as it did not explain how to assemble roli
6. went back to ez software, click "example projects" link
7. clicked roli example
8. asks me if i want assembly instructions, click yes
9. start through instructions
10. all built as per instructions
10a. no mention of "red and black" wires left dangling
11. all assembled plug in charger under roli, light goes green
12. turn on roli, scares me with loud voice.....
13. notice there is arrow buttons for moving robot
14. hold up robot and click the forward button
15. no movement
16. notice "connect" buttons in "connection dialog" click top one
17. pop up asks me to see "getting started" tutorials, click yes
18. follow instructions and "connect" to roli, says i successfully connected to roli
19. try movement buttons again, no movement, just buzzing
20. go back to website, click "connecting H-Bridge"
21. much better pictures than instructions in ez software
22. verify my connections are same as pics
21. notice the "red and black" dangling wires are shown as connected in this tutorial
22. connect as shown
23. try clicking movement buttons, no movement, smoke....*stress*
24. shut down roli
25. go to website and do most tutorials, also maintenance/care tutorials
26. turn on roli, connect, try movement, nothing
27. search forums for similar problems, found @stephenhoey has similar issue (http://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/Thread?threadId=6809)
28. decide to not hijack his thread and start my own
i hope this helps someone help me. i will be taking the roli apart and posting pics shortly.
In your post, you mention "no mention of "red and black" wires left dangling".
Are these the wires with the little plug on the bottom of Roli? (those are for the battery). there should be no dangling wires inside once you properly connect the H-Bridge. The red and black wires for the H-Bridge go on the red and black pins of port D0 to power the H-Bridge as shown in both the tutorial and the assembly instructions video.
Alan
> Yes, power still comes on and can connect
> Fuse still good
2. In your post, you mention "no mention of "red and black" wires left dangling".
> These were not mentioned in the "assembly" instructions in the software. found them in the tutorial and plugged them in
not an electronics person, but there seems to be a burn on one of the "chips" in the photo. not sure if normal, but may be cause of smoke?
absolutely nothing from the movement controls now, but still connects and can use camera.
Are you talking about the HBridge? If so count yourself lucky as they cost next to nothing to replace ($15.00... I mean if you have to)...
If the other way around and the button wasn't pressed you would have sent >7v in to the +5V of the H-bridge which may explain the smoke.
If that is the case (and I suspect it is from the other photo) it may be a warranty issue as it was incorrectly assembled in China.
i changed the wire as per the other thread and still absolutely nothing for movement.
thanks for all the help
thanks you all for your help.
Alan
how much is an H-Bridge normally?
The H-Bridge is just $15 from EZ-Robot, but the shipping is a killer. However since it burned out by being wired wrong, they should replace it for you.
It is not proprietary to them, so if you want to buy one from somewhere instead or waiting on a warranty replacement with lower shipping cost or a Canadian distributor, that is possible.
Note, when I offered to send mine I didn't realize you were in Canada. I might not save any time since it is not the shipping time but the customs hold that usually takes the longest (I am in the US).
Alan
which one of these would be an adequate replacement?
http://www.active123.com/prodList.asp?strSearch=h-bridge
I am sure EZ-Robot will consider this a warranty repair though, and you won't be waiting a year like you did for Roli, just might take a few days or a week to get the replacement to you. Reach out through the Contact Us page. I am sure they will get back to you Monday.