The big picture#
Every FRC robot runs the same core set of electronics, supplied in the Kit of Parts and governed by the FRC Game Manual, Section 8 (Robot Construction Rules). Understanding how the pieces fit together is the foundation for everything else in this branch.
Think of the system in five roles:
- The power source - a single 12V, ~18Ah Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery that can briefly supply over 180A.
- The power distributor - the power distribution device (PD), which splits battery power into protected branch circuits. Legal options are the REV Power Distribution Hub (PDH), the CTRE Power Distribution Panel (PDP / PDP 2.0), and, new for 2026, AndyMark Power Distribution.
- The brain - the NI roboRIO (currently roboRIO 2.0), a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor plus a Xilinx FPGA that runs your code and the FRC safety system.
- The communication link - the Vivid-Hosting VH-109 radio (Wi-Fi 6E), which connects the robot to the Driver Station and the field.
- The muscles - motor controllers (Talon FX, SPARK MAX/Flex, Victor SPX, and others) that take low-power signals and switch high battery current to motors.
How signal and power flow#
There are two separate networks on the robot:
- Power wiring carries high current. It runs from the battery, through the main 120A breaker, into the PD, then out through branch breakers to each motor controller and device.
- Control wiring carries low-current signals. The roboRIO commands motor controllers either over PWM (a simple pulse signal) or over the CAN bus (a digital network that daisy-chains many devices on two wires).
Rule R609 requires the high-current path - the battery, the Anderson SB connector pair, the 120A main breaker, and the PD - to be wired with 6 AWG copper wire or larger.
Why this matters#
The most common reason a competitive robot fails on the field is not a software bug - it is an electrical fault: a loose connector, an undersized wire, a tripped breaker, or a brownout. The teams that win consistently treat wiring as a craft, not an afterthought.
Sources to bookmark#
the part worth keeping
Key takeaways
- The FRC control system splits into power wiring (high current) and control wiring (low-current signals).
- Core components: 12V SLA battery, a power distribution device (PDH/PDP/AndyMark PD), roboRIO, VH-109 radio, and motor controllers.
- The main power path must use 6 AWG or larger copper wire per Game Manual rule R609.
- Most field failures are electrical, not software - wiring quality directly affects reliability.
Electrical & WiringThe FRC Control System: Meet the Componentslesson 1 of 4
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where this came from
Sources and corrections
This lesson is AI-assisted: drafted from primary sources, then reviewed and edited by hand. Errors still get through. When one is reported we fix it and write down what changed, in public, in the corrections log.
sources and further reading
- docs.wpilib.orgWPILib Hardware Component Overview
clipped to this lesson
Articles that go further on this
The lesson gets you through the topic. These go wider on it, and they read in one sitting.
- 19 min readFRC PDH: The Power Distribution Hub Explained (Channels, Fuses & Wiring)A complete guide to the REV PDH (Power Distribution Hub): all 24 channels, breaker and fuse sizing, clean wiring, the switchable channel, CAN telemetry, and PDH vs PDP./blogread it
- 8 min readThe FRC Control System Explained: roboRIO, PDH, Radio, and Everything BetweenThe FRC control system explained: how the roboRIO, REV PDH, radio, motor controllers, and CAN bus connect to make your robot drive — a plain-English electronics board tour./blogread it
- 7 min readFRC LED Lights: Wiring, Power Budgeting, and the WPILib AddressableLED APIHow to wire addressable LEDs off the PDH's switchable channel, budget their current draw, and use WPILib's AddressableLED API to signal robot state./blogread it
answer sheet
Lesson quiz
All 4 right completes the lesson. Miss one and only that question comes back, anything you already answered correctly stays banked.
0 of 4 answered
01In the FRC control system, which component runs the team's robot code and commands all the other hardware?
02What nominal voltage does the FRC robot's Sealed Lead Acid battery supply to the control system?
03What is the role of the power distribution device (PDH or PDP) in the control system?
04Per rule R609, how must the high-current path (battery, connectors, main breaker, and PD) be wired?
Answer every question to submit.
All 35 lessons in Electrical & Wiringopenclose
01 / prerequisites
02 / control-system-components
03 / power-battery-breakers
04 / motor-controllers-can-bus
05 / connections-rules-troubleshooting
06 / worked-examples-mini-projects
- Not read yet:Mini-Project 1: A Single-Motor Test Stand from Battery to Spin
- Not read yet:Mini-Project 2: Current-Limited Drivetrain (CTRE and REV)
- Not read yet:Mini-Project 3: A Live Power-Monitoring Dashboard
- Not read yet:Mini-Project 4: A Switchable Channel for Lights and Vision
- Not read yet:Mini-Project 5: CAN Device Bring-Up with Tuner X and the Hardware Client
07 / common-mistakes-troubleshooting
08 / advanced-techniques-case-studies