pic: Our 2011 Mini-bot Tetrix motor grave

[audietron]

[cdm-description=photo]39055[/cdm-description]

[coalhot]

Those evil evil things. Glad I don't have to work with them anymore. (shivers, did FTC for a few years) :(

[ehochstein]

Tetrix motors are the one thing I dislike about FTC.

Also we found we could fix some of the motors by replacing the resistor on the inside plate. I suggest using a higher watt rating resistor, just keep in mind the motor is not legal as this is considered a modification.

[Gdeaver]

I hate mini-bots.

[Justin Montois]

That's a lot of learning.

[Chris is me]

Ugh, this brings back painful memories. Honestly, a big reason minibots were copied verbatim that year was because it was way too costly to develop your own. I even remember having a design discussion where we determined "wait and copy" was the clearly most favorable option for our team's constraints. That year, we were on such a shoestring budget we simply could not afford to try development ourselves.

[cgmv123]

Also we found we could fix some of the motors by replacing the resistor on the inside plate. I suggest using a higher watt rating resistor, just keep in mind the motor is not legal as this is considered a modification.

That's not a resistor. That's an inductor.

[ehochstein]

That's not a resistor. That's an inductor.

Huh. The guy who has been repairing them for us has always told me he replaced them with resistors. I'll have to look into that.

[Nemo]

Actually, these weren't all burned out in minibots. Our FTC teams have toasted their share as well.

These motors let out the nasty smelling smoke if you stall them for even a few seconds. I've complained to Pitsco that these motors need to be improved, but they are in denial that it is a problem. I was told that they work fine as long as you use them for what they're designed for. Of course I disagree. Hopefully we'll track down the funding to test out some Matrix motors and see if they're more durable.

[Andrew Schuetze]

...Hopefully we'll track down the funding to test out some Matrix motors and see if they're more durable.

Be advised that Matrix motors are of a different voltage, have integrated encoders and a custom connector that includes power and the encoder signals. Nothing that is a deal breaker for your potential experiments. Just wanted you to be aware that they are not a 1 to 1 comparison.

[Andrew Schreiber]

I was told that they work fine as long as you use them for what they're designed for. Of course I disagree.

As long as what they were designed for is to make a boat load of money by selling a cheap motor for $30 and letting it cook off if you stall it at all.

[Richard Wallace]

As long as what they were designed for is to make a boat load of money by selling a cheap motor for $30 and letting it cook off if you stall it at all.Straight talk is refreshing. I could not have stated this better.

Life lesson: you do not always get what you pay for -- sometimes you get less than that.

[cgmv123]

Huh. The guy who has been repairing them for us has always told me he replaced them with resistors. I'll have to look into that.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89848

[Nemo]

Be advised that Matrix motors are of a different voltage, have integrated encoders and a custom connector that includes power and the encoder signals. Nothing that is a deal breaker for your potential experiments. Just wanted you to be aware that they are not a 1 to 1 comparison.

Yeah, I figured changing the motors would end up changing quite a few other components on the robot. But if they're better, it ends up being a pretty significant benefit. Thanks for the info.

[tr6scott]

I counted 20 motors, $600, poof!

We have/had (not sure of the status) a similar pile...

For a team that has never used a 2 speed gearbox, vision processing, mercaium wheels, or canbus due to funding...

Yet we still have two 1.3ish second minibots that have not moved, since the Kettering Kickoff for Rebound Rumble.

Such a shame.

[Bill_B]

I divided up our team's tetrix remnants and had a grab bag ceremony at last year's FTC CT tournament. I offered the motor carcasses in a seventh bag, and it was snapped up by some enterprising youngster. I wished him well with the parts as the chances they would/will be useful in FRC future are slim indeed.

IMNSHO - GDC/FIRST failed big-time with the mini-bot challenge. They should have required construction of minibots by a registered FTC team and braced themselves to withstand the inevitable whining by FRC teams complaining of a lack of FTC resource in their area. Point would have been promotion and wider recognition of FTC.

[Gregor]

IMNSHO - GDC/FIRST failed big-time with the mini-bot challenge. They should have required construction of minibots by a registered FTC team and braced themselves to withstand the inevitable whining by FRC teams complaining of a lack of FTC resource in their area. Point would have been promotion and wider recognition of FTC.

If your goal is to have no Canadian* teams with minibots, that sounds like a fantastic idea.

*and other areas where FTC doesn't exist

[wilsonmw04]

IMNSHO - GDC/FIRST failed big-time with the mini-bot challenge. They should have required construction of minibots by a registered FTC team and braced themselves to withstand the inevitable whining by FRC teams complaining of a lack of FTC resource in their area. Point would have been promotion and wider recognition of FTC.

That was suggested at some point here on CD. Then the Trolls came out. We have a few around here ya know. Something about "if I wanted to do FTC i would have done FTC." There was some raging and a bit of whining in there too, but that was the gist of it. Oh, and throw in a "FIRST is anti IFI/Vex" in there for good measure.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Huh. The guy who has been repairing them for us has always told me he replaced them with resistors. I'll have to look into that.
The part is an inductor with a current rating of something like 3 amps as I remember. A higher current rating will not fit in the allowed space. Although not legal at the time, two or three inductors could be wired in parallel and make the motor happy while still lying flat inside the case end.

[Karthik]

//Edit: Can't seem to be able to delete my post, only edit it...

[StevenB]

As long as what they were designed for is to make a boat load of money by selling a cheap motor for $30 and letting it cook off if you stall it at all.

I can't find the original (it's somewhere here on CD), but I had to repost:

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/38185862.jpg