Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

Many teams still use the Banner sensors that were included in the KoP in the past. However these sensors cost $50+ a piece.

I have been searching for a suitable replacement. The best option I have found so far seems to be this.

http://www.alliedelec.com/search/pro...x?SKU=70048630

However these run on 12v which make them slightly harder to wire than a 5v sensor. The B version is 5v but I haven't found a source that keeps that part number in stock.

Does anyone know of or used a good reflective sensor that can replace the banner sensor?

Re: Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

What is the application? If you need a sensor to detect If a ball is in position, I'll post what we used this year with recommendations.

Re: Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

We're actually planning on using it as an optical encoder for our shooter. I asked specifically about a banner replacement, because it's a very versatile sensor and I have been looking for a good replacement since they stopped putting in the kit of parts.

Re: Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

If you want to see if some thing is in front of a sensor with no contact(limit switch replacement), These worked well for us this year to detect where the balls were in our bot.
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1134
A couple of things to know about their use. Direct natural sun light and some florescent lighting can cause problems. Best used in the robot with some light shielding. We had problems with the digital side car 5 volt power supply. We added 100uf to the side car bus and 22uf at the sensor. The motion of the object should be perpendicular to the sensor. Once we addressed these issues, they worked very well for our ball racking system. The other Sharp analog distance sensors also have worked well for us with the power fix. Not for the shooter velocity. There are several threads on the velocity and encoders.

Re: Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

It's not terribly difficult to set up a 12V supply line. We just take one of the screw terminal sets from the KoP and bring a power line from the PDB to it and use that to feed power to the sensors. We have a similar setup for our signal and ground lines, so it provides very little hassle to set up.

If you want a cheap optical encoder, 1023 used this encoder and pigtail with success.

Re: Cheap alternative to Banner Sensor?
 

The Banner (and Rockwell) sensors from the Kit of Parts were 12v devices as well, weren't they? The OPTEK part you linked to looks like essentially a drop-in replacement for them.