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Control System Primer

Welcome to Ironclad’s Control System primer. This page orients you to the full FRC control stack—RoboRIO, robot radio (VH‑109), networking, wiring, and CAN bus—and links to focused guides for each part.

1 What the Control System Does​

The control system powers and coordinates every device on the robot:

  • Runs robot code on the RoboRIO
  • Bridges wireless/wired traffic through the VH‑109 radio
  • Distributes power via PDH/PDP and fuses
  • Connects smart devices on the CAN bus
  • Communicates with the Driver Station over 6 GHz/5 GHz/2.4 GHz or USB

2 Ironclad Standards (TL;DR)​

  • Team number must be 5847 in Driver Station and build.gradle
  • Radio mode: Robot/Bridge for practice & competition
  • IP layout: Radio 10.58.47.1, RIO 10.58.47.2, Vision 10.58.47.11, DS via DHCP
  • Wiring: label both ends, correct gauge, strain‑relief everything
  • CAN: twisted pair, two terminators (RIO + last device), no long stubs

3 Hardware Map (Typical)​

Battery → Main Breaker → PDH/PDP
                 ├──> RoboRIO (12V)
                 ├──> Radio (12V/2A)
                 └──> Motor Controllers / PH / etc.

RIO USB/Ethernet  VH‑109 Radio  Driver Station
        CAN: RIO → PDH → TalonFX/NEO → CANCoder → Pneumatics Hub

4 Learn Each Piece​

5 Event‑Ready Checklist​

DS shows green Comms and Robot Code over radio/USB
RIO deploys code to 10.58.47.2 successfully
Radio VH‑109 is flashed for the current season and secured
Battery > 12.5 V; PDH solid green; all connectors tight
CAN utilization reasonable; no device faults

6 Where to Get Help​

  • Programming lead/mentor during meetings
  • The Troubleshooting tables on each subpage
  • Official docs linked throughout (NI/WPILib/Vivid‑Hosting)