Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

Is there any risk or disadantage to having a vertical or diagonal electronics board? What (if any) are the advantages of a horizontal board over said design?

One of the concerns raised by our team was that Jaguars, victors, and other dynamic electrical components might be damaged by gyroscopic forces as the robot turns. Is this valid?

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

No, it's not valid. The vertical board also helps keep "stuff" from falling into the parts, specifically metal shavings when you're drilling holes on stuff that's above a horizontal board.

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

We may do that this year. My only concern will be keeping a low center of gravity.

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

Mathgeek,
The only forces that may come into play will serve to slow the fans a little, nothing that you would notice. Please remember that the LEDs on all devices need to be easily seen when you mount the components. Specifically, the PD, Crio, digital sidecar and the radio. If you are having a problem and we can't see all the indicators, it will much harder to diagnose and get you playing.

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

It seems unlikely that you will see any problem with gyroscopic or other forces. But be aware that most vertical or diagonal mounting can leave the electronics more exposed to accidental damage from obstacles or the end effectors of other robots. Add protection where you can.

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

I'll second the need for more structure. The two years we've done it so far, we've had 2 vertical boards that faced inward towards each other.

The gyro can always be placed offboard. It's actually best to put it at the center of rotation than on the board itself.

Re: Vertical or Diagonal Electronics Board
 

If you're using an analog gyro with unshielded cable, an effort should be made to minimize the length of the wire and the amount of noisy components near it.

If you look at the 2009 game, a lot of teams did vertical electronics panels with success. 1717 and 1726 are the two that really stand out to me, along with 233 in 2006.