Help: mBot IR not moving: IR light D3 rapid blink: sad son

#1

We can’t get this thing to work. Motors pulse but seems to “overload” and IR light D3 strobes until you turn off the mBot. When powered (6AA) the PWR light on Infrared Receiver is steady red. PWR light on Orion steady red. PWR light on Ultrasonic Sensor steady red.

Once I press any button on the ME IR Controller the blue light on the IR Receiver strobes and each of the 3 PWR lights strobe until I power down.

We have tried the following:

  1. every possible combination of wiring to motors to terminal block (orange)
  2. change ports on phone cable connections
  3. mode switching seems to have no impact

Please help. We want to get this mBot going and begin to explore the different possibilities. Thanks!

#2

Is this the mBot, the mBot Starter Kit, or the mBot Ranger? From your description it seems like it is the Starter Kit or the Ranger.

What power level have you set up or are you just trying to work from the default program?

Have you successfully connected via USB and upgraded the firmware and reset the default program?

What operating system are you using?

#3

Hi Chuck - thanks for the follow up questions - to the best of my knowledge (limited…):

  1. mBot Starter Kit IR (no bluetooth).
  2. power level: not sure what this means - 6AA batteries??? we just want to control the mBot from the IR controller for starters.
  3. Successfully connected via USP to mBlock platform - updated firmware for “Starter/Ultimate (Orion)” board, and upgraded firmware, and reset default program under “Connect” tab.
  4. Operating system on my laptop is "Windows 7 Professional"
    Thanks! André
#4

OK, I’ve got the mBot Ranger (and a small army of mBots) but not the Starter Kit. :wink:

The power level would be the “speed” on the “run forward” block.

I’m experiencing something similar with the mBot Ranger in the Explorer (tracked) configuration. I’m currently working with @tec_support to try to resolve. It looks like it might be a battery issue but I will post more when I figure it out.

#5