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Programming the carship

3K views 32 replies 6 participants last post by  Profoxcg 
#1 ·
Hi there oXygen fans and criticasters,

Yesterday ran we an extensive test program using only the SCP 1.0 with the radio cartridges and the car chips.
We used Proslot III powered 1/28 P & n chassis with a Mazda 787B we normally use for analogue races and testing.

What we tested

Programming the SCP-1.0 / Carchip ID's using the the SCP-1.0 itself > Worked flawlessly
Car response on trigger movement compared to 2 other controller types (PWM controller and NPN transistor (Not a darlington with HFE of 100) using a voltage bridge (wiper) of approx 200 ohms
Various settings of the dipswitches (35%, 45%, 55% 60%) in conjunction with the mainly the curve knob.

Results

Car response is beyond what our club ciriticasters expected it to be! Which means response is really good:)
Braking power (very important for the heavier 1/28 1/24 scale) is much better. This is due to the fact that the braking current of the engine does NOT have to flow through the whole track > back to the controller and then to (-) of the powerbase.
Compared to our NPN transistor (just like the difalco, stealth, nezih controllers) the brake response (not brake power) is slightly less. I normal terms. The time it takes before the car starts braking after you release the trigger is very little higher then a direct shortcut brake. This behaviour is by the way normal for every PWM based controller and has nothing to do with the SCP 1.0 or oXygen system. An ACD controller suffers form the same problem.

Question
As said, reprogramming the car worked flawlessly but:
What happens if I use the documented procedure and I put 2 cars on the powered track and try to program them on the same time? In other words: How does the carchip know it's is "him" who needs to set it's internal ID? In other words part II: How does the carchip which should NOT be programmed know this?

For the rest: Tomorrow I receive the dongle (probably firmware 1.0) so I got some reflashing to do......

Keep you posted...

Willem
 
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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
The car chip knows mainly because he is "meant" to be the only car chip that has been powered up / looking for the pairing from the throttle in the last 10 seconds.

What happens I would "guess" is indeterminant. It is possible that neither or one of the car chips ends up pairing with the throttle, and also quite possible that both car chips end up paired. If two car chips are done separately they can be paired to the same controller. I would expect this to give problems under some circumstances if both were run on the track at the same time?

Rich
 
#3 ·
QUOTE (willem @ 19 Apr 2012, 10:38) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Question
As said, reprogramming the car worked flawlessly but:
What happens if I use the documented procedure and I put 2 cars on the powered track and try to program them on the same time? In other words: How does the carchip know it's is "him" who needs to set it's internal ID? In other words part II: How does the carchip which should NOT be programmed know this?

Willem

I have the same question... - including when two, three or more cars are "programmed" at the same time just before to enter on the track (eg: during the free practises...).
 
#4 ·
At any time when multiple cars are being programmed there is a risk that the wrong car is paired with a controller. If it is required to pair multiple cars & controllers you are best to either do them in sequence, or in different isolated rooms.


Rich
 
#5 ·
Yes Richard is right.
Keep in mind that, when a car wakes up, it does two things:
1 - it checks if it is receiving a signal from its own controller
2 - if not, it checks if any controllers are sending a programming request
As soon as a signal from its own controller is received, the car cannot be programmed by any other controllers, i.e. it stops listening for programming commands.

What happens if you try to reprogram two cars at the same time is quite undetermined, you may end up with zero, one, or two cars being programmed - so you'll better stick to Richard's advice.

Regards
Maurizio
 
#7 ·
glad I found this thread. Very good information !

I have some questions of my own:

Q1: when I try to change the TRACK from #1 to any other other 2-4 tracks, I don't seem to be able to change anything. Is the controller smart enough to know in my case that it is the only one in the room and therefore by default be or belong to track #1 ( I am pressing the brake button and turning the yellow know) I have a dongle, does it have anything to do with the dongle?

Q2:In order to change the controllers channel/ID do I always need a car to associate it with? I seems that in order to change the controllers ID you need to go through the steps of pairing a car for the controllers settings to stay. If this correct?

Q3: Does the blue know still limit the amount of power delivered to the car in linear mode? I cant see a difference in O2.
 
#8 ·
A3: that depends on the two dip switches up top. both up means the blue knob limits the top power in linear mode. The other three switch combinations mean linear with step, meaning they'll get full power at full throttle, but the blue knob limits it up to just under full throttle.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
A1 I do not think that the controller is programmed to work with anything other than track 1 at the moment. Additional tracks will need a firmware upgrade.

A2 Yes in order to change a controller ID / Frequency you need to pair it with a car chip. The pairing process sends the ID & MAC to the car chip, which then stores this information. When the car chip acknowledgess reception the controller locks in the new ID.

Rich
 
#13 ·
Programming error?

Last night I was trying to program my cars to a different channel. When I would press the brake and down button to change the settings, the controller would display what looked like a number 6 and not do anything.
I would have to disconnect power and try again several times until eventually it worked. I am wondering what that #6 means.
 
#16 ·
Correct me if I am wrong:

To program a car and controller.
1 I should take all cars off the track
2 press brake button to check settings
3 press down button + brake and move knobs accordingly
4 while holding down brake+down button press trigger
5 place car on track while pressing trigger
6 let go of trigger when "circular" display turns into the channel number (selected in step 3).
7 ready to do - or does the car need to taken off the track and placed on the track again?

Thanks.
 
#18 ·
It happened again today. I left both the controller and the car powered while I went to the restroom.
When I returned this is what I found, and It did not work. I had to turn the controller off for a few minutes, than it worked. Could it be its loosing its ID (I have not flashed it yet)

 
#24 ·
QUOTE (Slot.it @ 11 May 2012, 11:11) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>All manuals updated.
Note that the SCP-1 and its cartridge can be powered from the USB type connector near the top.
I'll let you have the wiring details next week if you want.

That would be good to see, yes please. right now I have a 9V battery plug running inside the controller and towards the back.
I am working on attaching the 9V somehow to where you would attach the personal lap counting box.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
I think they're planning to release a battery box that fits on just like the Telemetry box, powered by the USB.
Personally, I'd prefer a slightly longer cartridge casing with room enough for a lithium cell of some kind, one of those short fat ones.

Oh, and just to be clear, I believe that's only the v1.1 controller handle that can do that. Other handles will not be able to power via the Telemetry port.
 
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