Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: tzankoff on September 26, 2014, 09:36:40 PM

Title: Lynxmotion's PS2 Robot Controller (v3)
Post by: tzankoff on September 26, 2014, 09:36:40 PM
Hi guys! I just thought I would give you a heads up regarding Lynxmotion's latest version of the Robot Controller Kit. This is just for informational purposes in case anybody is wondering about this product.

http://www.lynxmotion.com/p-869-ps2-robot-controller-v3.aspx (http://www.lynxmotion.com/p-869-ps2-robot-controller-v3.aspx)

As some of you may recall from a couple of so years ago, I wanted to add wireless control to my robot. Lynxmotion sold a different version of their kit that included a wireless controller and receiver and a separately sold breakout cable. I plugged the whole thing into my Axon II...but it did not work. However, when I plugged in a wired controller, it worked just fine. After some back and forth with some folks here at the SoR forums and the guys at Lynxmotion, it was somehow determined that some kind of clock speed issue was to blame (as I recall). Realizing that I was at a loss, I just went ahead and used a wired controller and was happy with it.

Fast forward to today. I am upgrading my robot once again by switching from a plywood frame to an Actobotics frame. I revisited the wireless control idea once again. I noticed Lynxmotion had a new version of the kit which includes a level shifter. I was hoping that this device would solve the previous problem. I was actually hesitant to buy it because I did not want to get excited about the possibility of this thing working only to be disappointed again.

I bought one of the kits...and it did not work. The receiver powered on but the controller did not...*BUT* I later found out why. I opened up the controller just to take a look around and I think what happened is that the connector from the battery tray (requires 3 AAAs) to the controller board might have been loose because once I got everything back together again (including plugging that connector back in), it worked just fine. I plugged in a wired controller again just to make sure that worked, and it did...and now that I have mentioned all of this, I am going to keep a wired controller in my bag...just in case. :-p

Hooray for me! I finally have a wireless controlled robot.

Now on to wireless audio... :-p