[Knufire]

Originally Posted by aphelps231

Our main technical mentor said we can't put an encoder on our shooter, driven by mini CIMs, because it would overload the code or something. Being the one who designed and built the shooter, I've been kicking myself in the butt trying to figure out how to get some type of low res encoder on it. So far we've tried a Hall effect sensor and a metal proximity detector, with magnets on the shaft and bolt heads on a hex hub, respectively. Both didn't work.

There is a 20 tick encoder on andymark that mounts directly to a mini cim. At this point, I'm willing to try it despite what our main technical mentor said in week three. My question: would an encoder reading downwards of 2,000 cps (counts per second, 5,800 RPM @ 20 ticks/rotation = ~2,000 cps) overload the code/RoboRIO? I'd like to say no since the RoboRIO operates in the MHz (I think) and that should be plenty but id love it if you would share your experiences.

The same mentor suggested we use an algorithm based on battery voltage to decide how much voltage to give the shooter. I really don't like this option, I'd rather run it open loop since battery voltage is constantly fluctuating.

The encoder AM sells is fine. Most other encoders would be as well. This is a limit you had to be mindful of on the cRio but the roboRio's limit is much higher.

A common trick in the past was to put a colored white/black pattern on the side of the wheel and point a IR sensor at it.