1. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
fischertechnik®
Interface Connections

2. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems

3. The Serial Interface Connects the Computer
Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
The Serial Interface Connects the Computer
with the fischertechnik® model.

4. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
The 9V power supply connects here.
The USB cable connects here.
Interface

5. Interface Connections
Motor Outputs
Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Motor
Lamp
Electromagnet
Buzzer
Solenoid Valve
The interface has four power outputs. They are labeled M1 – M4. The motor outputs provide 9V of electricity to the connected devices when activated. You can change the power sent to the outputs by sliding the scale between 1 and 8. You will also notice that you have the option of clockwise (cw) or counterclockwise (ccw). Although the shaft of a motor will change rotational direction when you toggle between cw and ccw, all that is really happening is that the polarity is switching.
Output devices connect at
M1 – M4.

6. Interface Connections
Lamp Outputs
Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Motor
Lamp
Electromagnet
Buzzer
Solenoid Valve
One wire connects
to the ground socket.
Lamp outputs O1—O8
The Interface outputs can be used either in pairs as motor outputs (see above) or individually as lamp outputs O1-O8.These can be used to control not only lamps, but also motors that only need to move in one direction (e.g., a conveyor belt). If you would like to test one of these outputs, connect one lamp contact to the output (e.g., O1). You connect the other lamp contact with the ground socket of the Interface (┴).
Outputs that move in only one direction can piggyback on each other at the ground and will only consume one output port.
Tip: If you only wish to connect four lamps or motors, you can also use motor outputs for lamps. This is more practical, because in this way you can connect both lamp connections directly to the Interface output rather than having to connect all negative terminals to the ground socket.
Lamp Output devices connect at
01 – 08 with one wire.

7. Digital Input Connections
Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Pushbutton Switch
(pressure sensor)
Phototransistor
(light sensor)
Reed Switch
(magnetic sensor)
Digital systems only utilize two signals, one and zero. One indicates the presence of voltage, while zero indicates the absence of voltage. A common light switch is a simple way to think of a digital input. There are only two possibilities, on or off. These two possibilities can be thought of as one or zero. If you designed a code to talk to someone across the street by flipping a light on and off in certain patterns, you would fundamentally be communicating information the same way as computers.
Interface digital inputs are I1 – I8. The conditions of I1 – I8 are 1 or 0.
The phototransistor is the only sensor that must be wired specifically so that the red side goes to the + side of the interface box.
Digital Inputs connect at
I1-I8.

8. Analog Input Connections
Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Thermistor
(temperature sensor)
Photocell
(light sensor)
Analog signals are variable. The signal might appear anywhere in a range. While a standard light switch sends a message for the bulb to be either on or off, a dimmer switch can change the intensity of the bulb. A dimmer switch behaves as an analog input. Radio volume can also be thought of as an analog input. You will use two analog inputs on the interface. Analog inputs measure resistance and are labeled AX and AY.
Analog Input Devices connect at AX and AY.

9. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
A Few Tips
Building models is fun when they work. This is why you should follow a few basic rules
Work carefully.
Check the movement of all parts.
Use the interface test.
Before you start to write a program for a model, you should test all parts that are connected to the Interface, using the interface test from the ROBO Pro software.

10. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Interface Test
Clicking on the Test icon in the program will bring up the Interface test box. The first step when setting up and troubleshooting is to check to see that the Connection bar turns green and says running.
If you get the message No Connection to Interface despite having correctly set the COM/USB port, you should check to see if the power supply and COM/USB cables are connected correctly. Next check to see if the port is actually working by plugging in another device.
The Test Interface window provides several options for controlling the output and checking the status of the inputs.
Outputs can be tested to see if they are connected at the correct speed or intensity and running in the proper direction.
If a digital input has a √ mark, then the value of the sensor is equal to 1. If there is no √ mark, then the value of the sensor is equal to 0.
Analog input values are displayed in the AX and AY boxes.

11. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Prog Button
Programs can be downloaded to the interface.
Two programs can be stored in the Flash memory.
Toggle between the two programs using the Prog Button.
You can store two separate programs, for example two different behavior modes for a mobile robot, in the two Flash memory zones. You can select, start, and stop the two programs using the Prog key on the Interface. If the Start program after download option is active, the program is started immediately after download. While the program is running, the green Prog 1 (Program loaded in Flash 1) or Prog 2 (Program loaded in Flash 2) LED will blink next to the Prog key. If the program has been loaded into RAM, both LEDs will blink. To stop the program, you press the Prog key. The LED will stay lit. To change between Program 1 and Program 2, you hold the Prog key down until the LED for the desired program, 1 or 2, lights up. To start the program, you press the Prog key again.

12. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Port Button
This button can be used to toggle between the COM/USB or IR Ports.
The light remains solid once you’ve selected the port.

13. Interface Connections
Gateway To Technology
Unit 2 – Lesson 2.3 – Automated Systems
Troubleshooting
Interface Test
Cables and Wiring
Loose Connection
Loose plugs
Poor contact between wire and plug
Short Circuits
Programming Errors
. . . this is due to a simple reason in most cases. But, it is not always easy to find.
If it doesn’t work right away . . .
Interface Test
Check the functioning of the individual components with the help of the interface test in ROBO Pro.
Cables and Wiring
If an electrical component does not work at all, check the cable, with which you connected it to the Controller.
Loose Connection
A component, which works sometimes and doesn't work at other times, probably has a loose connection somewhere
in the wiring for the component.
The most frequent causes for this are:
• Loose Plugs
When the plugs for the cables are too loose, meaning are wobbly in the jack sockets, then they do not have sufficient contact. In this case, you can use a screwdriver to carefully bend the contact springs at the front on the
plugs concerned apart. Just a bit, so that the plugs are firmly seated in the jack sockets when you plug them in.
• Poor Contact between Wire and Plug
Also check the contact between the stripped wire ends in the plug and the plug itself. It may possibly be sufficient to tighten the screws in the plug a bit more.
Short Circuits
You have a short circuit when a positive and negative connection are touching each other. Both the rechargeable battery and the Controller have a fuse built in so that they are not damaged by a short circuit. They simply switch off the power supply for a while. However, your model will naturally not work anymore either.
The cause for a short circuit can be either a mistake in the wiring or screws, which have not been tightened enough, in the plugs. They can touch each other when the plugs are plugged in correspondingly and thus cause a short
circuit. That's why you should always completely screw in the screws and plug in the plugs so that the screws cannot touch each other. Also be careful not to strip too much of the plastic coating from the end of the wire.
Errors in the Program
Even if no one likes to admit it: Everyone makes mistakes. And especially with more complex programs, an error can creep in quite quickly.
So, when you have checked everything on your model yourself and have eliminated all errors and your model doesn't do what you want it to do in spite of this then you should also check your program. Go through it piece by piece and
check to see if you can find the error.
In the online mode, meaning when the Controller is connected with the PC, you can also follow the program on the screen while it is running. The particular active program item is highlighted so that you can always see the point where the program is and where the error occurs.