Getting Started
This page is dedicated to any person who is picking up the Mariokart project from where it was left at the end of 2011. It covers first getting the tool chain working, then programming one of the boards and finally setting all five boards up so they can communicate with each other over the CAN Bus.
This is quite well described on the Software Compilation page, so there's no reason to go over it again. At the time of writing this, no Linux or Mac OS X distribution had a decent binary tool-chain package. So you will need to follow the steps and build your own. It's not too difficult, just takes a few hours.
Once again this is described on the Software Compilation page, so look there for instructions. It could be worth starting with the test-led or similar program. This way you can ensure that everything is working.
To have all the boards communicating over the CAN Bus, first program them with your software. Once this has been done, disconnect all but one of the power sources. Then using CAT5 or better Ethernet cables, connect all boards in the same way as shown in the following image.
Being very careful to make sure that when you connect the steering and sensor boards, the blank connectors aren't used. These connectors aren't actually connected to the CAN transceiver, instead they are connected to termination resistors. The blank connectors should be marked with black felt tip pen. Or they can be spotted by the missing zero ohm resisters at the back of the RJ45 connector.
Once the boards are connected with Ethernet cables, connect 26V to the brake board. This will power all the boards via the Ethernet cables.