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ITGRESA ROBOTICS
WIRING YOUR VIPER.
ASSEMBLING YOUR VIPER: STEP 3.
Assembly Concepts: Orientation
All of the instructions for assembling and wiring the Viper are based on a critical concept: Orientation. It is very important that you get the right and left sides of the bot oriented correctly as you’re assembling and wiring it. If you get the orientation wrong, the Viper won’t drive correctly.How to orient:
With the back of the Viper (the flat side) near to you, and the front of the Viper (the angled side) facing away from you, the right side will be where your right hand is, and the left side will be where your left hand is. If you’re in doubt, refer to the picture.
Assembly Concepts: Polarity
Another important idea is the idea of polarity. Technically, what polarity means is that certain electronics and components have an orientation. The electrons need to flow in a certain direction. If the part is oriented or connected incorrectly, the part may now work, may work incorrectly, or may even overheat or blow up.Motor Polarity:
The most important polarity to pay attention to when connecting the drive train is the motor polarity. If the wires are connected correctly, the motor will drive in a certain direction. reversing the wires will cause the motor to run in the opposite direction: the bot will drive backward. The polarity mark on the motors is a red dot near one of the connection lugs. See the picture for details.
Assembly Steps – Motor Connections:
- The tinyESCs in the Viper kit have special MiniQD push connectors crimped onto the motor leads so you don’t have to solder the connections.
- Connect the blue wire (labeled “M2”) of one tinyESC onto one Silver Spark motor’s red terminal. Look for the red polarity mark next to the connection lug. Connect the purple wire (labeled “M1” on the tinyESC) to the motor’s second terminal. This will be the LEFT motor.
- Connect the purple wire (“M1”) of the other tinyESC to the right motor’s red-dot terminal. Connect the blue wire (labeled “M2” on the tinyESC) to the motor’s other terminal. This will be the RIGHT motor.
- Remember your orientation!
Simple Diagram – Motor Connections:
Here’s a simple diagram to help you check your wiring. Polarity problems are one of the biggest issues for a bot to fail to drive correctly. Match the wire color to the do and the motors to the correct side of the bot.
- RIGHT motor: Purple wire –> Red Dot
- LEFT motor: Blue wire –> Red dot.
- Remember your orientation!
Assembly Steps – Battery and Terminal Block Connections:
- The Power Jack comes with a female JST lipoly connector plus one red and one black wire, already plugged into the red/black Mini Terminal Blocks.
- Plug the red/black wires from both tinyESCs into these terminal blocks too. Just push the wire end into the circular hole in the block. Use pliers to hold the wire if necessary.
- With all the wires plugged in, there will be one free spot in each terminal block for future upgrades. Your final terminal block connections should look like this picture:
TIP:
If you need to release a wire from the terminal block, push a flat tool into the slot above the wire and it will freely come out. An Exacto blade works very well.
Assembly Steps – Receiver Connections:
- Plug the RIGHT tinyESC into Channel 1 of the 2.4GHz receiver.The RIGHT ESC should be the one that connects to the RIGHT motor.
- Plug the LEFT tinyESC into Channel 2 of the 2.4GHz receiver.The LEFT ESC should be the one that connects to the LEFT motor.
- Remember your orientation!
© 2021 Fingertech Robotics, Inc.
Modifications © 2021 ItGresa Robotics, ItGresa Consulting Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
