Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Hello people... this place seems awesome (I like the smilies too)

First, if you'd like pictures of the project, see here:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Eerelson/BluetoothCar.html
(I'm a few steps behind on the pictures... but not much)

I got the last part I needed for this project of mine today: the bluetooth adapter.  Specifically: IOGEAR Bluetooth to Serial Adapter GBS301 (class 1, Bluetooth 1.1)

I can successfully connect my laptop (built in bluetooth, Dell Wireless 355 Module; Bluetooth 2.0; don't know what class).  I get the windows just like on Sparkfun's guide. And of course, I've read the SOR guide.

I can control the car fine with a serial cable connection to my desktop.

I'm using Seetron's Mini SSC II, with three HS-422 servos.  9600 baud, 180? of motion.  Programming with visual basic 6, using the .DLL file provided by Seetron. (VB 2005 .NET didn't work with the DLL).

I've verified that the baud rate on the adapter is 9600... though I'll be testing 2400 this evening, out of desperation.

Same results both with supplied AC adapter, and with ~5.3-5.4V DC that will be used on the car.  Likewise, I verified polarity of the battery supply and AC adapter before plugging in to the battery supply...

I lack the experience to test the adapter with another device or computer.  If anyone can tell me/point me to how to connect my laptop and desktop, and just send a text message, i.e. via command prompt-style interface, using a bluetooth serial connection, that would be great.

One point of interest, for anyone familiar with the MiniSSC, is that for my adapter from telephone to serial cables, Green wire goes to Serial 2, Yellow to Serial 5.  This is different than what the product info from Seetron states: Green -> 3, Yellow ->5.  I had to do this to get the serial cable working.  Does anyone know why?  I expected that I'd have to do this with the bluetooth connection, after reading the following guide, though: http://alex.seewald.at/BlueCar/

Anyone have relevant experience with this? Anything else I can give you info about? (that's relevant to this problem )

Thanks,
-Gertlex
P.S. Yes, this is my first full-scale robot work... But i've got bits and pieces of experience from other stuff.  The bluetooth is the *only* thing holding me up right now :/

I can't find mincom on my computer, and am having ambiguous results with google (but still looking). EDIT: Ok, now I see you called it minicom the second time around. Looking for that now... EDIT2: OK. I'm having zero luck finding an executable i can use for this... Link please?

I've seen the thing about no flow control before (in the guide I linked).  For advanced configuration (using hyperterminal), the manual shows a screenshot for the setupup of the HT connection with the Flow Control: Hardware. Other options here are on and off, I think... but that shouldn't be what I'm looking for, since that spot doesn't change the adapter in any way.
Here's the manual... Page 26 has the screenshot I referred to.

Listed various places: "Supports RTS/CTS Hardware flow control"

Listed various places: "Supports RTS/CTS Hardware flow control"

the bluetooth to serial adapter may support flow control but the servo controller does not.
you do not want to use flow control.

dunk.

I'm getting nothing with hyperterminal.  I get to the actual terminal window, but nothing I type appears on the screen... (As in the window stays completely white, except for the blinking cursor)

this is with the loopback between pins 2 and 3 of the DB( on the bluetooth to serial adapter?
yup. you have problems with your bluetooth connection.

if you have a serial port on your computer you can demonstrate what i mean with that.
connect pins 2 and 3 on your serial port and run hyperterminal on that com port.
you should see what you type loped back when the pins are connected but not when they are open.
make sense?

as for troubleshooting your bluetooth connection, i'm afraid i haven't used a windows computer for years so you'll need to find someone else to help you there.

good luck!

dunk.

ok,
so your bluetooth connection works.
you also said your servo controller works when you connect it to the serial port on your computer.
but it doesn't work when you connect it to the bluetooth thing?

hmmm. i can think of no real reason for that.

are you sure you have the baud rate of the bluetooth to serial adapter set to the same rate as the servo controller?
you will need to set the baudrate in 3 places: bluetooth to serial, servo controller and on the controlling computer.
also make sure you are using the same flow controll settings you used when it worked with the serial cable. (i'm presuming this is flow controll = off.)

after that i'm out of ideas.

good luck.

dunk.

ideally you want to switch off all flow control as your servo controller does not use it.
are you saying it is not possible to switch off flow control on the bluetooth to serial adapter?

if you are getting a loop back with 2 & 3, and 7 & 8 connected, try leaving 7 & 8 connected (to keep looping the hardware flow controll) and wire up the servocontroller to pin 3 and gnd as normal.
note that this will not work for software flow control...

dunk.

Holy crap, i think it just worked

More to follow

Edit: My success varies with which connector I use.  I've got it working with a bluetoothadapter - fem/fem null modem adapter - male serial connector with 7&8 together, and 5 & 2 to the mini SSC.

I need to buy a special tool before I can fix the more compact female serial connector to work with the bluetooth adapter.

So dunk, my sincerest thanks and appreciation to you for sticking in here with me on this rather confusing run of trial and error and hair pulling.

hey, well done Gertlex.
serial comms aren't that tough once you work out what's going on.

have you considered writing your control program in a language that can be called by a web server?
(i don't know if you can use VB like this. i've never used it.)
that way you could control your car from any web brouser.
if you point a web cam at it (or better still put a wireless web cam on it) you could control it over the internet without having to install any software on the controlling PC.

dunk.