| Q: |
Do mindsensors sensors for NXT work with 2.0 kit? |
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| Ans: |
Yes. They do work with Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. |
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| Q: |
Can one PFMate control four IR Receivers? (i.e. operating 8 motors at different settings?). |
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| Ans: |
Yes. You can control 4 PF receivers with one PFMate. Ensure that the Receiver domes are in direct line of sight from PFMate, and select different channel for each receiver. You can then control each receiver from your program. |
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| Q: |
How do I troubleshoot PSP-Nx-v3 and Controller connectivity? |
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| Ans: |
Controller light -
When the Controller is paired with receiver, there will no lights on Controller. If you press the Analog button, the red light below the button will come on. Before troubleshooting, ensure to insert fresh batteries in the Controller, and Power it on using the Power ON switch located next to the battery compartment. When powered on, until Controller is paired with a receiver, Controller will blink red light.
Receiver light -
Red blinking light on receiver means it has not paired up with Controller yet. The light stabilizes when it finds the Controller. (Power off the Controller and see if the light goes back to blinking). Press the 'Connect' button on Controller to re-establish wireless connection between Controller and receiver.
PSP-Nx light -
Connect PSP-Nx-v3 to NXT and connect the Receiver to PSP-Nx-v3. Power on the NXT (do not run any program yet).
A blinking light on PSP-Nx-v3 means, the receiver is not connected properly to PSP-Nx-v3. If the receiver is connected properly to PSP-Nx-v3, and NXT is powered ON (without running any program on NXT), PSP-Nx-v3 will have no lights. |
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| Q: |
How do I troubleshoot USB connection of NXTCam with my PC? |
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| Ans: |
Have you installed the USB drivers?
Follow this link to download the drivers and installation instructions:
http://www.mindsensors.com/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&JAS_Document_id=44
If you have already installed drivers, and it still isn't recognizing, try this -
Run Control Panel -> System
Select 'Hardware' tab and click on 'Device Manager' button
Scroll down the list and expand 'Ports (COM & LPT)
Do you see any additional ports listed there?
Also look under 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers' node.
Do you see any additional serial devices? |
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| Q: |
Does PSP-Nx work with wired controllers? |
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| Ans: |
Yes, PSP-Nx works with wired controllers as well. |
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| Q: |
With NXT-G, I can set one PFMate Block to operate a receiver on Channel 1 with motor 1 running forward at medium speed and motor two running forward at max speed (these motors will then keep running until they receive another command from another NXT PFMate Block). At the same time can I set another PFMate Block (using the same PFMate) to operate another receiver on Channel 2 to run two different motors in reverse at minimum speed (again these motors will continue running until another PFMate Block using Channel 2 instructs them otherwise). |
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| Ans: |
Yes, that can be done. |
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| Q: |
What is the field of view of NXTCam-v4? |
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| Ans: |
The field of view is 43 degrees (approx).
To compute exact field of view -
Lens focal length: 3.6 mm.
Diagonal of CCD: 1/3 inches. |
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| Q: |
Can I transfer a bitmap of the current view from the NXTCam to the NXT brick? |
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| Ans: |
No, the image taken by NXTCam can not be transferred over to NXT. You can however transfer them to PC using USB. |
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| Q: |
Our club wants to use multiple of PSP-Nx with combo controllers at the same time, will they interfere with each other? |
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| Ans: |
The Wireless controller and receiver are 'paired up' on every power on.
Once they are paired up, they don't interfere with each other.
Number of controllers at once -
If you are using the dreamGEAR Controller that comes with PSP-Nx Combo pack, you can use 84 controllers at once in your competition arena.
If you are using some other controller, please check with manufacturer on how many can be operated at once.
The pairing up sequence is -
power on the NXT with PSP-Nx and the receiver attached.
Notice the oval LED on the receiver, if it is blinking receiver is not paired yet.
Power on the Controller (there is ON/OFF switch on the bottom of the Controller).
If the oval LED on receiver is still blinking, the two are not paired yet.
Press the oval LED button to put the receiver in search mode.
Press the round CONNECT button on Controller to pair with the searching receiver.
When paired, the Oval LED should stop blinking.
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| Q: |
Can two NRLink-Nx adapters be used at the same time? |
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| Ans: |
Yes, note however that the transmission from one NRLink will be received by the other NRLink, and your program may need be aware of that. |
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| Q: |
If I use more than one DIST-Nx sensors will there be IR interference? |
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| Ans: |
You can use more than one DIST-Nx sensors on your NXT without any IR interference. Sharp's patented modulation scheme allows you to attach multiple GP2D12 (or equivalent sensors) within proximity of each other. |
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| Q: |
I am interested in buying the 8-servo controller. What type of connector should I use for the servo motors ? Fatuba-J or S-plug ? What other accessories do I need along with the servo controller ? Thanks in advance. |
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| Ans: |
8-Servo controller uses universal connectors,
Actually it has only male header so ideally it is compatible with all of them.
You will need the external power supply from range 6-8 volts depending on your servo.
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| Q: |
The NTXCAM work only with NXT controler or its possible connect them to another one?? |
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| Ans: |
It is possible to connect NXTCam to any controller that has I2C pins. |
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| Q: |
Are the Red Bricks necessary for correct operation when mounting the PFMate directly on the Receiver? |
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| Ans: |
Red bricks are not necessary, they are used for a compact and tight mounting of PFMate on PF receiver.
(The PFMate can be as far away as 50 to 75 cm from the receivers.) |
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| Q: |
While using NXTCam-v3 on my PC, I get 'time out' error. |
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| Ans: |
NXTCam-v3 AVR firmware may be corrupted.
As a feature of NXTCam-v3, the firmware is designed to be re-writable, but sometimes due to unknown reason it writes itself and corrupts.
The firmware needs be re-written by following procedure in section 'How to change Firmware of AVR Mega 8 processor' of 'Advanced Programming Guide'
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| Q: |
When using PFMate to control the IR Receiver it is necessary to program the NXT to provide a continuous signal to operate a motor? |
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No, You only need to send signal once when you start the motor. The motors will continue to run until a stop signal is sent. Your program can do other things in the meanwhile. |
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| Q: |
What is the operating range of PSP-Nx with Wireless Controller |
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| Ans: |
The operating range is about 100 feet (line of sight, no obstructions).
If you have household obstructions like kids standing, door way, stairs, etc, it will be about 75 feet. |
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| Q: |
Is NXTCam able to measure the distance to the object? |
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Not directly or accurately, but it is possible to get idea of the distance of the object from NXTCam by analyzing the size of the object tracked.
Please look at this related video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yaj6WA9tBk
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| Q: |
Can DIST-Nx sensor detect RoboCup IR Ball? |
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| Ans: |
No, DIST-Nx sensor can not detect RoboCup IR ball. |
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| Q: |
Does IR transmission of DIST-Nx interfere with other devices? |
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| Ans: |
No, the IR transmission of DIST-Nx sensors is modulated and focused signal, the signal also not very powerful. It will not interfere with other robots/devices around it.
Also, the IR transmission is a 10 degree cone in front of the sensor, anything outside that 10 degree zone does not get the IR light. |
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| Q: |
Does the PSP-Nx work with a PS3 remote? |
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| Ans: |
No, PSP-Nx (v3 or v4) does not work with PS3 remotes. |
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| Q: |
Can the DIST-Nx sensor detect a wall at 45 degree angle? |
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| Ans: |
Sensor can detect a regular wall surface at angle.
The sensor emits IR light and receives reflected light NOSQL the obstacle, and based on that it detects distance to obstacle.
If your obstacle wall is at angle, depending on surface finish, some of the light will be bounced back towards the sensor and some will be reflected away (like a mirror).
Even if small amount of light is bounced back to the sensor, it will detect it.
On the contrary, if your wall surface is like a mirror, most of it will be reflected away, and the sensor may not be able to detect it. |
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| Q: |
Can the NXTCam-v4 detect range or just object existence? |
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| Ans: |
Please review this
NXTCam-Application Notes document |
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| Q: |
Can the NXTcam firwmare be programmed by usb to implement on the chip some new vision AI ? |
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| Ans: |
NXTCam-v3 firmware can be programmed via USB.
Review Advanced Programming Guide for further information. |
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| Q: |
Can the servo controller also be used to control motor ESCs? |
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| Ans: |
NXTServo itself is an ESC. |
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| Q: |
When NXTCam is connected to my PC on USB, why does my NXT program not work? |
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| Ans: |
NXTCam vision engine communicates with PC using USB, and with NXT using I2C, but it can not do it simultaneously. So, when PC is connected on USB, it gives priority to USB communication over I2C. |
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| Q: |
I see that the mini USB cables come in 4 or 5 wire versions. Which do I need? |
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You will need a '5 wire' cable. Generally the USB cable that comes with a digital camera will work. |
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| Q: |
Is NXTCam able to recognize different shapes or just colors? |
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NXTCam can only detect colors (no shapes yet). |
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| Q: |
Can I use NXTCam on Linux? |
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| Ans: |
Yes, NXTCam-v3 or higher can be used on Linux directly. |
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| Q: |
What is the range of NXTCam? (distance in front) |
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The range in front depends on characteristics of object you need to detect, if you are detecting a candle or flashlight like bright object, it can be 10 to 20 meters, but if it's a dull object it would be lesser.
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| Q: |
Can the 8 connected RC Servomotors be controlled individually? |
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| Ans: |
Yes, all the 8 motors have separate position control and you can control each motor position individually. |
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| Q: |
Do i need to attach my Playstation two interface to a sensor port or a motor port? |
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| Ans: |
Attach PSP-Nx to sensor port. |
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| Q: |
Could you please post java code sample for using the servo controller ? Thanks |
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| Ans: |
the class library files are located at:
http://lejos.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/lejos/trunk/classes/src/lejos/nxt/addon/ |
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| Q: |
Is it possible to have the NXT read the colors of a selected area? |
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NXTCam can detect presence of colors from the colormap loaded in it. Define your colormap for the expected colors, and provide adequate light for NXTCam to view the selected area. |
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| Q: |
It looks like the colors uploaded to NXTCam are stored in a flash memory and retained even when powered down. Is that the case? |
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Yes, the colors are retained through power cycles. |
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| Q: |
Can I connect three NXTServo units to one Port Splitter? |
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Yes, you can. Ensure that your each NXTServo has unique I2C address. |
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| Q: |
What languages do your sensors work with? |
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| Ans: |
Most of the sensors work with NXT-G, RobotC, NXC and LeJOS. For each sensor, you will find supported languages, related API's and sample programs under its respective webpage. |
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| Q: |
What is fps? |
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| Ans: |
fps means Frames Per Second.
NXTCam is scanning at about 30 fps. |
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| Q: |
How do I change the I2C address of a sensor? |
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Use the executables at following URL to change the address.
(Use LEGO firmware 1.29 or higher for this, and follow instructions to install.)
http://www.mindsensors.com/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&JAS_Document_id=91
upon installation, attach sensor to port 1, run the program and follow on screen instructions. |
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| Q: |
How to solve the 'File Error' problem in my PSP-Nx program? |
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| Ans: |
Use the latest firmware on your NXT.
Use the latest NXT-G block for your PSP-Nx. |
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| Q: |
there is any way that the sensor returns the distance of the object? |
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| Ans: |
Yes, the DIST-Nx sensors are designed to give precise distance to the object. |
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| Q: |
My computer can see NXTCam but I get 'connection failed' error in NXTCamView. How do I fix this? |
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Attach an external USB hub to your computer and attach NXTCam to that hub. (Some computers do not provide adequate power on USB port, and attaching external USB hub will solve this issue). |
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