Phoenix Tuner X and Motor Testing

How to use Phoenix Tuner to test motors

All motors have devices known as motor controllers, as for krakens (the motors we use) they are built into the back and made by the company CTRE. All CTRE devices can be accessed and modified through the software Phoenix Tuner X which should by downloaded on just about all of the team's computers, and knowing how to use it is critical.

How to connect devices to Phoenix Tuner:

1. Make sure all devices are connected to power and CAN (either on the robot or via the test bench which lives in the corner pit)

2. Connect the computer to the robot (via radio or via usb b to the rio)

3. Press the three bars on the top left of Phoenix tuner, then select the drop down in the bottom left corner and make sure it has the correct setting for your mode of connection to the robot (roborio usb for usb connection, radio for either wifi connection to radio or ethernet connection to radio).

4. Once completed, all the CTRE devices connected to the system should show up after a few moments. If they don't, either adjust the setting in step 3 or wait for a bar to show up saying Run temporary diagnostics and wait a bit. If they still dont show up, then usually it is an issue with your connection to the robot or the robot itself.

The first use of phoenix tuner is updating devices to the latest software. If the device is up to date its card on the screen will be surrounded by a green border, if not, it will be yellow or orange. To update a whole bunch of devices at once, check the box in the corner of the device's card and press the up arrow in the top right of the screen. Then press "update to latest". Additionally, devices can be updated in their menus (accessed by clicking on their card).

The second use of phoenix tuner is to set a device's CAN ID. The ID is what identifies that device, and thus it must be unique. Additionally, it is what is used in code to address that motor, so setting them in a simple consistent fashion makes life easier for electrical + programming, and makes life a lot easier when replacing a system at competition (since the replacement motors have to be updated to the correct CAN IDs). To update a device's ID, click on the device's card and on the left of the menu should be a box with its ID. Change that number and then press "update". The motor should make a confirmation set of beeps.

This menu additionally has a bunch of settings such as whether the motor is reversed, whether it is classified as a follower, and stuff such as soft stops (link in programming?) for position or speed. However, these are usually set in code, not in phoenix tuner: it is better to be consistent on the location of settings, and code makes sure that every time the robot is turned on the motors are set to the right configuration. (otherwise, a misclick or test that was left unintentionally may go unnoticed)

Finally the 3rd critical use of Phoenix Tuner is to test Motors. If the robot is enabled in driver station and in Phoenix Tuner, power can be supplied to a motor. Well, and a lot more: below the "enabled" / "disabled" button, there is a drop down specifying the method of control (there are a lot, honestly I am not sure what the majority do). VoltageOut will supply the amount of voltage you have selected on the slider, while DutyCycleOut will run the motor at a speed between its maximum counterclockwise (-1) and clockwise (1) (in this case it performs PID for you). There should be a solid aluminum block for attaching motors to to test them, or you can just hold them (but hold tightly!).

Additionally, you can graph stats about the motor (top of the menu), such as its StatorCurrent (current being used by motor. Different from supply current, which is what is being supplied to the motor by the PDH. If they are significantly different from each other, something is very wrong, and its probably not the motor) or its speed or position (very useful for programmers optimizing PID). This can be done while robot is controlled via code as well, not just while controlled via Phoenix Tuner.

Phoenix Tuner has many more uses not listed here, and if you wish to add them please do.

Also, here are the docs for the software.