Can't get wifi to work with my monsterborg

Submitted by Kam Srivastava on Wed, 09/13/2017 - 19:37

Forums:

hello all,

I am a complete newbie here and need somehelp

To my knowledge I have followed the instructions correctly (although since I am new to this I could have made a mistake)

So -
everything is installed and assembled
I reserved an ip address on my router (SKY)

when i put the ip address into the browser it returns saying refused to connect

so how do i speak to the MonsterBorg through the wifi?

thanks for your help
k

piborg's picture

piborg

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 12:02

There are a few possible problems here:

  1. The IP address for the MonsterBorg may be different for some reason.
    You can check by running the command ifconfig on the Raspberry Pi and get the IP for the WiFi connection.
     
  2. The script is not running at startup.
    If you are trying to run the script at startup using /etc/rc.local the correct command is:
    sudo /home/pi/monsterborg/monsterWeb.py &
    Make sure sudo is at the front, the line is above the exit 0 line, it ends with & and you have used /home/pi instead of ~.
     
  3. The camera is not attached.
    The Pi Camera needs to be attached and enabled on the Raspberry Pi for the Web UI script to work correctly.
     
  4. The camera software is not installed.
    There was some extra software to install for using the camera. You can install all of it with the command:
    sudo apt-get -y install python-picamera libcv-dev libopencv-dev python-opencv

If the script is running correctly it should have the LED set to blue to show it is ready for a connection. If the LED is off then it probably means the script tried to run and failed for some reason.

Kam Srivastava

Thu, 09/14/2017 - 19:43

Many thanksfor this -

set up has bee successful! and I have run the MonsterBorg around the house. Lots of fun.

however I am only getting 10 to fifteen minutes run time, then the web page locs me out. the batteries are still good, and I only have to turn the unit off and turn it back on and the web page is good to go again.

any ideas?
Kam

piborg's picture

piborg

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 11:26

The batteries could be the problem, some work better than others in a robot.

If you are using alkaline (non-rechargeable) AAs I would suggest getting some rechargeable NiMHs instead. Read this post for a quick explanation on the differences between the battery types :)

Kam Srivastava

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 14:40

Many thanks for the reply

I am using Duracell rechargeable NiMH batteries.

Just for consideration - would a 7.2v NiCd battery from an RC car power the MonsterBorg?

thanks
Kam

piborg's picture

piborg

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 16:32

In that case I would makes sure that the battery holder is connected firmly into the 9V style connectors and that it is strapped in nice and tight. My best guess is that it might be briefly loosing contact with the batteries or making a poor connection somewhere.

A 7.2 V NiCad would work, but just barely. The motors are designed to work at 12 V so they will move much slower.

Kam Srivastava

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 20:03

many thanks

So i tried to wire up the NiCd battery into the borg and I think I got the polarity wrong. I think I have burnt it out. There was no response on switch.

On reverting to the original battery back nothing on switch on.

The raspberryPi works with mains power / monitor / keyboard and mouse however so all isn't lost.

piborg's picture

piborg

Mon, 09/18/2017 - 11:44

That is terrible news, it sounds like the ThunderBorg is probably dead in that case :(

If you are lucky the Raspberry Pi will be completely fine, however it is possible that the GPIO pins may not be working correctly anymore. I would suggest we try and use WiringPi to see if the Pi has faulty GPIO pins.

First disconnect everything from the GPIO pins.

Next download and build the WiringPi code:

cd ~
git clone git://git.drogon.net/wiringPi
cd wiringPi
./build

After it has built run the GPIO pin tester:

~/wiringPi/gpio/pintest

You should see some diagnostics after pressing ENTER:

PinTest
=======

This is a simple utility to test the GPIO pins on your Raspberry Pi.

NOTE: All GPIO peripherals must be removed to perform this test. This
  includes serial, I2C and SPI connections. You may get incorrect results
  if something is connected and it interferes with the test.

This test can only test the input side of things. It uses the internal
pull-up and pull-down resistors to simulate inputs. It does not test
the output drivers.

You will need to reboot your Pi after this test if you wish to use the
serial port as it will be left in GPIO mode rather than serial mode.

This test only tests the original pins present on the Rev A and B. It
does not test the extra pins on the Revision A2, B2 nor the A+ or B+

Please make sure everything is removed and press the ENTER key to continue,
or Control-C to abort...

          The main 8 GPIO pins  0: 7:  OK
                The 5 SPI pins 10:14:  OK
               The serial pins 15:16:  OK
                  The I2C pins  8: 9:  OK

Hopefully all of the end lines say OK, otherwise the GPIO is not working correctly on the Raspberry Pi itself.

After the test restart the Raspberry Pi to reset the GPIO pins back to their standard behaviour.

theborg

Tue, 09/19/2017 - 17:34

If you know how to solder you might want to check out my similar situation here.

Kam Srivastava

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:38

hello

tried the commands for the pin test but i am only getting the following response
Cloning into 'wiringPi'...
fatal: unable to connect to :
: Servname not supported for ai_socktype

not sure where to go from here - I have tried a few things from google to download wiringPi but I keep getting the same response.

cheers
Kam

Kam Srivastava

Thu, 09/21/2017 - 12:26

Managed to perform the test.

thankfully everything is ok. Ordered a new Thunderborg board hopefully back up and running soon.

Kam

piborg's picture

piborg

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 11:18

Glad to hear that your Raspberry Pi survived intact :)

Out of curiosity what did you need to do to get past the problem with the pin test program?

Kam Srivastava

Mon, 09/25/2017 - 16:32

hello

i will be honest I woke up in the morning and thought I would just give the GPIO test another try and it worked.

strange....just hope the board is still good

kam

Kam Srivastava

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 01:12

installed teh new monsterborg board - sadly still no joy

no lights no nothing

pretty fed up with my antics now. will try charging the batteries and trying again. but not very confident that will do anythinig

kam

piborg's picture

piborg

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 10:18

That is not good to hear, no power at all sounds like something is actually damaged.

One thought is that the ThunderBorg does not start up and show any lights until the 3V3 line is powered on the Raspberry Pi. If you have a multimeter it might be worth checking what the voltage is shown on the 3V3 pin when the Pi is powered on its own.

Kam Srivastava

Wed, 09/27/2017 - 13:26

will be putting the kit minus the raspberry pi on ebay

chalk this one up to experience.

thanks
Kam

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