Updated 01/05/2011

This guide follows the T-HEX assembly guide.

The purpose of this guide is to calibrate the servos and control the robot with a PS2 remote control.

Hardware/Electronics:
  - 3DOF T-HEX Hexapod
  - SSC-32
  - Bot Board II
  - BASIC Atom Pro 28
  - PS2 Cable
  - PS2 Wireless Controller

Software:
  - Basic Micro Studio

Download and install LynxTerm or higher. Connect the SSC-32 to the serial port and apply power. The green LED should light and stay on until it receives a valid serial command.

Please consult the serial troubleshooting guide if you have difficulties with this.

Apply power to the SSC-32 again, make sure it's connected to the PC, and click on "Firmware" along the bottom of the LynxTerm screen.

Click on "Open" and browse to the firmware file you just downloaded.

Click on "Begin Update".

Now do the "ver" test: type "ver" into the terminal then press "Enter". You should see the proper firmware version returned.

Step 4. SSC-32 Registers.
Place the robot in a position as close to neutral as possible. Click on "All=1500" in the bottom right portion of the screen. Your robot should go to and hold the neutral position, and should resemble figures 6, 7, and 8.

If the joints are off by more than 15° you may have made an error in assembly. To correct this, remove the center screw from the round servo horn, pull the servo horn off the servo, rotate until it's aligned, then reattach the servo horn.

Click on "Default" to initialize default values.

Do this for servos #00, 04, 08, 16, 20, 24.

Note, the mouse's scrollwheel or keyboard's arrow keys can be used to make fine adjustments.

Figure 6.

Do this for servos #01, 05, 09, 17, 21, 25.

Figure 7.

Do this for servos #02, 06, 10, 18, 22, 26.

Figure 8.

Step 9.
Now, we need to make one final adjustment to completely set the legs up.

Remove the center screws on the four corner hip servos (front right, front left, rear right, rear left), pull the servo horn off of the servo and rotate the leg outward 3 'clicks', or 45°. Replace the screws when you are finished.

Figure 9.

Step 12. Setting up the Bot Board II
To connect the Bot Board II to the SSC-32, you will need to modify a 6" servo extender cable. Remove the header pins from the cable so you have two female ends. Then use an exacto knife to gently pry the tab up to pull the red wire free on one end. Cover the exposed female connector with heat shrink to avoid accidental shorts.

Remove the TX and RX jumpers from the lower-right corner of the SSC-32, and plug the unmodified end of the cable in. Yellow on TX, red on RX, and black on ground.

See the schematic below step 13 for detailed information.

Step 13.
Install the Playstation 2 cable as illustrated in Figure 13-1.

Make sure that the ABC buttons / LED jumpers are removed. Install the speaker enable jumper. Install the DC-01 to I/O P8, where black is closest to the outside of the board and yellow is on the I/O pin. Consult the manual for the Bot Board II if needed.

Note: Refer only to Figure 13-1 for PS2 cable connection information. The cable colors in the picture may be outdated. If your cable's colors do not match the diagram, you can find a complete listing of possible colors here.

Figure 13-1.

Schematic.
Double check your connections against the schematic below.

 Schematic.

Please consult the serial troubleshooting guide and the Basic Mirco Studio Programming Guide if you have difficulties with this.

When you are finished programming the robot, you should hear a few short beeps, the legs will not snap to position until the START button on the PS2 remote is pressed. At this point, if you properly calibrated the servo offsets, the legs should be perfectly aligned.