FRC RADIO ( VH‐109 ) - frc-7603/VespaRobotics2024-25 GitHub Wiki

Ports

RIO Port:

  • Input voltage: 4.5-19V
  • Intended for NI roboRIO connection
  • Speed: 10/100 Mbps

AUX1 Port:

  • PoE passthrough (Switch on bottom)
  • Suitable for PI, RIO, camera, switch, etc.
  • Speed: 10/100 Mbps

AUX2 Port:

  • PoE passthrough (Switch on bottom)
  • Suitable for PI, RIO, camera, switch, etc.
  • Speed: 10/100 Mbps

DS Port: (Driver Station)

  • For switch, laptop, etc.
  • Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps

Port usage

After repetitive trial and error and talking with other teams and completely ignoring the official documentation, what we found works best is if we used both the aux ports and have DC 12v powering the radio that was more effective and heats the radio less.

We are using the aux ports because we can manually turn off the PoE

We dont want PoE because it heats the radio a lot and we dont use it at all

  • Note: Keep the aux PoE OFF

aux 1 and 2

We are using just the dc power (12v connector) and the RoboRIO 2 plugged into the Aux 2 port.

This is because the RIO will try to send power to the radio and make it really hot, Note: power isnt consistent enough to use from just the RIO and why were using the DC input instead of the PoE

  • USE 12v
  • AUX 2 <- RIO

front of radio

In the back of the radio, the DS port is the one that will be connecting to the PC running driverstation etc.

The Aux 1 port will be used to connect the PI.

  • AUX 1 <- RaspberryPI
  • DS <- PC

back of radio

Connecting to your PC

Use the DS (Driver Station) port to connect to your pc.

Can be used as a hard wire or to config the radio

Radio config and management

The VH-109 device is also pre-programmed with a failsafe/management IP address in the 192.168.69.0/24 subnet to reach the management IP of the VH-109 radio.

Try:

Radios running firmware >1.1.0 (released 02/04/2024) include an mDNS responder. The radio can also be reached at http://radio.local/

radio setup example

Use robot radio mode when you only have one radio.

When DIP switch #3 is in the ON position AND a valid connection to an 6GHz 802.11ax Wi-Fi access point is not present, the radio will simultaneously broadcast as a 2.4GHz 802.11ax Wi-Fi access point with the SSID of "FRC-7603".

My radio doesnt work as a robot radio but it worked last time i tried!!!!!!!!!

What I found works:

  1. Shut off power to radio
  2. Turn off 2.4/2.5 GHz mode (Switch labeled "3" at the bottom.) -> set to OFF
  3. Power on radio with mode off
  4. Wait until the radio lights stay consistent for a handful of seconds
  5. Switch on 2.4/2.5 GHz mode

It is most likely expecting itself to be in 5/6 GHz mode because it wants to connect to another radio set up as your PC's access point.

Documentation:

Housing that im printing as the mount for the 2025 season https://cad.onshape.com/documents/1def8df335f32ce6183d33ff/w/ca76820e8058cb956912ce89/e/acf7540fc3cea0e02a8d2703?renderMode=0&uiState=663cdae17df36a0cab58ca48

  • Note: Please make a little bigger to not be super tight with the radio