Matrix user forums

Hi,

I have taken delivery of my Formula Flowcode buggy. Must say it has a very neat board. Very high quality.

I have been tinkering with getting the LEDs to come on and off etc, but am I missing something?!

I haven't yet found information on how to program the board. Luckily, the board has some info printed on it (like the port numbers for the front IR transmitter and receiver) and there is some info on the big printed sheet that came with it, but that's about it!

For example, I got the front infra-red sensor working in a on/off type way, but understand I need ADC to give me variations between on and off! How do I tie the sensor port to the ADC?

Am I missing a reaching aid?

Many thanks,

Dave

Hello Dave,

What language are you programming the buggy in? Assembly, C or Flowcode (or something else)?

We will shortly be offering a Flowcode component with many built-in macros that give easy access to the buggies features.

Would a list of all the i/o lines help?

At the moment we do not have tutorials on using the Formula Flowcode robot. However on our web site you will find a massive amount of information on programming PICmicro devices in Flowcharts. In the Learning Centre you will find that it is possible to access a large amount of tutorials by selecting the Flowcourse 3 link. This will teach you how Flowcode works and will also tell you a lot about PICmicro devices. Although this is written in an E-blocks context you will find it should answer most of your questions.

Please let us know how you get on.

John Dobson
Managing Director
Matrix Multimedia Limited

Thanks John and Steve,

I am trying to use the flowcode for the first time. Its very exciting.

New to Flowcode and the buggy, there is a huge "learning curve" as they say - even to the extent of knowing where to look for information.

The penny dropped last night as I was on this forum, that the PIC and the Flowcode elements are the same for E-blocks, so I could glean information from here.

I have, and I might boast about small steps, got the 8 LEDs to light-up on the press of a button!!!!! That was probably 5 mins after plugging the batteries in!!!

I'm sure I will have loads of questions (some challenging, so obvious) so expect to see me here often. At least if I ask the dumb questions, It might help others avoid them!!!

Dave

Dave,

My colleague, Ben, will hopefully post some more details about the buggy here later today - especially about the Ir Sensors and the Motors.

And I do hope to see you here often. If not asking the questions, then answering them!!

Good luck with it, and please keep us up-to-date with your progress and problems.

Hello!

Me and my buddy are in a pinch since our graduation is on the line with this problem so we would appreciate any help we can get.

So, how do we make this formula run a maze by the side sensors to follow the walls around it? I mean it will work well if we can just make it see to the front and then left or right. The problem is the "lefty" type of maze mentioned in the manual.

Thanks in advance!

-W-

You basically need to use the left IR sensor to sense the presence of a wall on the left of the buggy. If the wall is there, then continue forwards. If it is not, turn the buggy appropriately.

Of course, you also need to check the forward IR sensor to make sure the buggy does not crash. If there is a wall detected in front and to the left of the buggy, then you need to spin it right until it can continue straight on.

Yup, figured as much, My idiot partner just wouldn't listen so it came to this That bonehead will probably tell me to request a picture tomorrow when I tell him that I was right about how it should work. I would do the darn thing myself but I tend to get lost in the menus .