Greetings! I am the newest of the newest newbie. I have Vex Cortex 2.0. I've followed all instructions to load/update firmware and receive messages that the downloads were successful. When the robot is turned on the wheels of the robot spin continuosly. I checked the Robot, Advanced Tools, File Mgmt and show the following:

Communications Link: USB-to-Serial Link (COM5) from Cortex to PC

Standard Firmware File Names:
=============================
VEXNET Joystick: .\Firmware\JOY_V3_21.BIN
VEX Cortex Master CPU Firmware: .\Firmware\CORTEX_V3_21.BIN
VEX Cortex CPU Firmware: .\Firmware\VEX_Cortex_0912.hex

VEXnet Joystick Integrity:
==========================
No joystick connection. Direct USB-to-Serial connection to PC.
Joystick State: No joystick. USB-to-Serial

Cortex Master CPU Integrity: Value Status
============================
Firmware Version: 3.21 Up to Date
Main Battery: 3.3V Poor (<5.6V)
Backup Battery: 0.0V Poor (<8.0V)
Team Name: "00ROBOTC" Default. Not Assigned

Cortex User CPU Integrity: Value Status
==========================
Firmware Version: 9.12 Up to Date
Program Type: Standalone Wi-Fi Not valid for competition use




Communications Link: COM Port 'COM6' to VEXNET Joystick


Standard Firmware File Names:
=============================
VEXNET Joystick: .\Firmware\JOY_V3_21.BIN
VEX Cortex Master CPU Firmware: .\Firmware\CORTEX_V3_21.BIN
VEX Cortex CPU Firmware: .\Firmware\VEX_Cortex_0912.hex

VEXnet Joystick Integrity:
==========================
Firmware Version: 3.21 Up to Date
Battery Voltage: 8.4V Good (>7.1V)
Calibrated: No
Joystick State: Powering Up

Cortex Master CPU Integrity: Value Status
============================
Data not available

Cortex User CPU Integrity: Value Status
==========================
Data not available.


What can be done to get the wheels to stop spinning? I've tried downloading a basic program to go forward without success!

Here are a few other error messages received.

761.672 No response from Robot to message <<SystemFunction>>
762.516 No response from Robot to message <<SystemFunction>>
2756.547 No response from Robot to message <<SystemFunction>>
2757.392 No response from Robot to message <<SystemFunction>>
Help

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

There are a couple of things that stand out to me: first, the battery attached to the Cortex is low (3.3V) and may be causing corruption when you try to download the firmware/programs. Make sure the batteries have sufficient charge before downloading any firmware or programs and it will save you a lot of headaches.

Next, I see you have the VEXNet Joystick attached to the computer but it's not connected to the Cortex at all. We have a tutorial that can walk you through the process here.

Could you post the code on here (using the [code][/code] tags) so we can take a look at it for you?

John

Edit: Also (I missed a big one here, thank you Jesse for reminding me) check to make sure your motors are plugged into the correct ports (2 wire in the 2 wire ports, 3 wire in a 3 wire), ROBOTC is configured for the motors correctly, and that the motors are not plugged in backwards (they are keyed to the microcontroller).