Re: So, How do you shift?
 

We've been using a foot pedal since 2002. This was the preference of the driver. He just wired up a guitar pedal switch and went from there. It works well, but makes the OI cumbersome.


Andy B.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

Our drivers prefer to use 2-sticks, so a button on the left joystick was low gear, another on the right was high gear. We also had a redundent toggle switch on the OI as a backup, but the joystick buttons were what got used.

The driver experimented with a trigger toggle early on, but wanted to be positive of the gear rather than have to remember. The OI had an indicator, but the OI LEDS never get looked at by the driver who never takes his or her eyes off the field. If he or she is unsure they just press the appropriate button again for the gear they want to be in.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

We use the triggers.

I can't remember if both shift or if it's just the right one, cause that's the only one I use.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

For the past two years we've used a shift lever attached to a rotary switch with resistors in series. We wire that to an empty aux or wheel pin on an OI joystick port. This gives us an "analog-digital" input. We read that in the FRC and interpret it as a gear request, to send a pwm value to our shifting servos. The shifting itself is open loop. Testing it is a part of our pre-match check-out in the pit.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

So, how many speeds to you have?

If you have 4, does one servo switch between the 4 base on how far it moves?

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

We've been running 3-Speeds with the "Nothing But Dewalts" gear boxes, since 2005. We center the servo for 2nd gear (so give it 127), and have the full range of the servo in either direction(255 or 0) to give us 1st or 3rd. We typically get about 4, 8 and 12fps max in the 3 gears. Our drivers spend most matches in 1st and 2nd.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

We don't my team hasn't really agreed on the whole multi-speed gearbox

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

We use the buttons on the joystick. Left switches the left and right switches the right. Although it doesn't always work and sometimes gets stuck in a gear... like it did at Monty Madness and Brunswick Eruption.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

Oooh... that should've been obvious to me. Why do you recheck the servos before each match? do they tend to drift or something like that?

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

It's the lever attached from servo to shift collar that tends to get loose. We use these small threaded shafts with what I'd just call a turnbuckle (probably not the right word) on them. You can get them from a hobby store that carries R/C airplanes. As they loosen,we tend to not quite make 3rd - accompained by a lovely grinding noise - HA! Also, since competition mode sends out a pwm of 127, we check to see that the 'bot is in 2nd prior to each match. It avoids some ratcheting when autonomous starts. Setting the appropriate gear in auto mode is just one of the things we need to program for. The Dewalts do quite nicely with shift-on-the-fly, so that's not a huge deal.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

Another cool way to shift is the throttle wheel at the bottom of the stick. This allows the driver to keep his hands low.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

This is how Team 1114 shifts. We employ single stick drive, and our drivers tend to hold the base of the joystick in their left hand, using their thumb to shift with the throttle wheel.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

thats how 177 shifts! its easy cause then the driver just has to use the thumb to rotate the wheel, and it gives a better control of the joystick.

Re: So, How do you shift?
 

Right Trigger- Up Shift/High Gear
Left Trigger - Down Shift/Low Gear