Hey VCS, just so you know, this is what professional software development looks like.
And since we are on this topic of wireless downloading…
We received 2 sets of V5 about 1 week before our SingOpen (or now renamed as SG VRC National).
We were all excited… unboxed the 1st brain, and tried plugging in the downloading cable (to make sure all the firmwares are updated) into the downloading port… and guess what - the entire downloading port went right inside the brain!?
So yes, we are now left with 1 V5 brain in the whole of singapore and yes… please at least make wireless downloading an option (even if it might not be as quick as wired).
You might use a stealth screw driver and open it up to bend the usb connector back down, then plug cable in and never remove it from brain. It might work and you will be back up to two systems.
I did this for a classroom V5 Robot Brain. VEX Support has been not responsive in providing RMA numbers as they said they would.
We were tempted to do that… but would opening up the brain made the warranty void?
Hence the Stealth Screw Driver.
If the problem is simply the connector is bent back with no leads removed from the circuit board, I would consider that a mechanical glitch. If you open and rewire everything, then yes that should void the warranty.
Also, in the past the CORTEX out of warranty repair cost in the US (I am not sure what the outside US cost is…) was $50… not too expensive.
Now if you go out of your way to test the V5 Robot Brain in a fish tank in preparation for the much anticipated water game, pretty sure you are out of luck.
Just take a closer look. It may save you grief, and these days, less grief is a good thing.
Haha… I should have notice the keyword - stealth…
Ok… it is definitely repairable at our end, don’t think any wires are disconnected, but just need to bring the port out and glue it down.
what we have done is get short Micro USB extension cables, they are attached to the V5 Brain at all times. Middle schoolers are brutes!
we’re using that magnetic connector option that was floating around here recently. They’re pretty nice.
But yeah, not having wireless programing is a stupid limitation.
Wireless downloading should’ve been a first 90 days feature, especially with how flimsy these ports are
Thanks for the tips… and yup… half of my club are middle school age… Even though I registered them as high school.
And from an economical point of view, surely it would have been better for vex to spend the extra money (if someone knows the actual cost figure that would be great) on USB-C instead of dealing with the RMA costs associated with broken micro-B ports?
I’d imagine the same is true for putting opto isolators on the smart ports.
Yeah, it’s 2019. Micro-usb shouldn’t have been used at all.
The hands of a programmer after they’ve reached into their robot to download their code.
I think the idea of hurting yourself when you try and plug your cable in is kinda ridiculous, you really should build your robot around the brain as you will have to program at some point. just for record however, it was super handy with cortex and pretty nice to not have to plug anything in. 