FTC:Control Hubs
The REV Control Hub is the “brain” of a FIRST Tech Challenge robot. It has many different ports to connect to the motors, servos, and sensors on the robot. It is the most important part of a robot because it connects to the Driver Station and allows a team to control their robot.
Ports
There are many different types of ports on the REV Control Hub, and each of them is meant to connect to different electronics.
| Label | Connection Type | Location | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery | XT-30 | Top Left | Connects to the battery |
| Motor | 2-Pin JST VH | Left Side | Connects to the motor’s power |
| Encoder | 4-Pin JST VH | Left Side | Connects to the motor encoders |
| Servo | 0.1” Header | Bottom Side | Connects to 5V servos |
| 5V Power | 0.1” Header | Bottom Side | Provides power to other devices (ie: LEDs) |
| Analog | 4-Pin JST PH | Lower Right Side | Connects to analog devices (ie: potentiometer) |
| Digital | 4-Pin JST PH | Middle of Right Side | Connect to digital devices (ie: buttons or switches) |
| I2C | 4-Pin JST PH | Upper Right Side | Connects to I2C applicable devices (ie: color sensor) |
| RS485 | 3-Pin JST PH | Upper Right Side | Connects to an Expansion Hub |
| UART | 3-Pin JST PH | Upper Right Side | Used for debugging |
Video Guide
Here is a quick video guide we created on where different wires attach to the REV Control Hub.
Connection to Expansion Hub
The REV Control Hub only has four motor ports and six servo ports on it. If teams want to use the full eight motors and twelve servos allotted to them, they have to connect their Control hub to a REV Expansion Hub. The REV Expansion Hub is essentially the same as the Control Hub but without a wireless connection to the Driver Station. To connect the two Hubs, teams have to connect an XT-30 battery cable between the two hubs as well as a 3-Pin JST PH cable between the two hubs RS485 ports. Here is a quick video we made demonstrating how to do this.
Status Light Guide
The light on the Control Hub has many different patterns each of which means different things.
| Color | Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Constant | The Control Hub has power and is waiting to connect to a Driver Station |
| Green | Constant | The Control Hub has power and is connected to the Driver Station |
| Blue | Flashing | The Control Hub has lost connection with the Driver Station |
| Orange | Flashing | The Control Hub has low power |
| Purple/Turquoise | Flashing | The Control Hub is currently being configured |
| Magenta | Flashing | The Control Hub has changed to 5 GHz wifi |
| Yellow | Flashing | The Control Hub has changed to 2.4 GHz wifi |
Additional Resources
- REV Robotics Control Hub User Manual
- Where do you connect wires to the Control Hub Video Guide
- How to connect a Control and Expansion Hub Video Guide
