USB com reset when motors running

First off you can see in the image how i powered everything. I tried to go by what you said in the manual but when i take a meter to the grounds on the power side and the db25/control power side its all grounded internal to the controller. When i use the controls on the roborun or have the roborun running and use the joystick it kicks the usb offline and i have to exit and unplug usb. now if i barely move the joystick it seems ok. I have kept all power and com cables well away from one another so what else can cause this? Do i have to have opto isolated usb cable?

We have observed from time to time that USB would disconnected when power is applied to the motor. \"Unfortunately\" this has been quite rare so we have not been able to do any serious tracking of the problem.

If you can cause the failure systematically, please perform the following test which will help determine if the problem is with the controller stopping USB communication, the PC loosing the USB connection, or a problem in the PC utility.

If you have a PC with XP, do not launch Roborun but launch instead the Hyperterm terminal emulator. If you have Vista or Windows 7 install and run a terminuial emulator software. Select the COM port that windows will automatically assigned to the controller. Port settings are 115200bps, 8 bit, no parity, one stop bit.

When typing in the console, the controller will respond. Try for example ?FID(enter) to read the firmware revision.

Then type
# c(enter)
?a(enter)
# 250(enter)

The controller will send Amps values every 250ms. It will look like this:
A=0:0
A=0:0
...

Move your motors with the joystick. Let us know if at some point communication is lost. If communication hold, this would point to a problem with the PC utility which should be reasonably easy to fix.

Thanks

when i first installed it i tested it for a few minutes, wasn\'t sure if i used joystick while hooked to usb. I think i figured it out i was messing around with the serializer and installed there example apps. When i did, it upgraded my .net to 3.5, i think this might be the problem. Using hyperterminal as you suggested worked with no disconnect but the following didn\'t work

Then type
# c(enter)
?a(enter) This is what i had to keep typeing to show Amps
# 250(enter) This didn\'t do anything

The controller will send Amps values every 250ms. It will look like this:
A=0:0
A=0:0
...

I forgot to mention i\'m using a hdc2450

I have had similar problems. Usually the problem goes away when I recharge the battery. This is well before any low voltage warning.

I do not believe that it is on the software side as I disconnect and reconnect the usb cable to reestablish the connection. The computer shows the loss of connection not just the Roborun+ software.

yes dead battery was my first thought until i put the charger on it. Both battery packs were fully charged and i left them hooked up while i test everything up on blocks. I haven\'t looked in windows device manager yet to see i bet your right that it is completely dropped.

What type and voltage are the batteries?

12v battery on the motor side of the controller and 24v on the computer side