Using the Classmate with your cRIO

This document details the basics of connecting your Classmate Computer to a cRIO.

Hardware Setup

Hardware Setup

Plug the following devices into your Classmate:

  1. Joysticks
  2. cRIO using an Ethernet cable

Classmate Login

Power on the Classmate PC and log in to the Driver Account.

Power on the cRIO

Turn on your cRIO using the 120A main circuit breaker.  Make sure that the Analog Breakout Board is attached to the 9201 module in slot 1 of your cRIO and that it has the jumper installed for battery voltage tracking.

Set your Team Number in the DS

Set your Team Number in the DS

Click on the Set up Tab and enter your team number in the field provided and Tab out of the field. We’ve used team number 3 for this example.

Confirm Communication

Confirm Communication

On the left side of the Driver Station window, check the status indicators to confirm that the Classmate has communication with the cRIO (meaning that IP addresses are set and the cRIO has been imaged). This will be indicated with a green light next to Communications.

Confirm Joysticks are Recognized

Confirm Joysticks are Recognized

In the Setup Tab, confirm that the Driver Station recognizes your joysticks. Joysticks should be listed in green. You should also see the Joysticks indicator in the left pane turn green.

Writing and Loading a Program

To being programming teams need to install the software update for the appropriate language. Teams should proceed to the install instructions for the appropriate language, C++ (Start with the section titled C++ WPILib Workbench Update), Java (Start with Setting the internet plugin location in NetBeans or Set the local path to the downloaded plugins for pre-downloaded encrypted plugins), LabVIEW (Start with Installing the LabVIEW Update). Teams can continue on from the end of those documents to the documents describing how to write and load their first program.