[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Chris Hapstack

I was thinking about that, but wondered if it would compromise the steering encoder setup. Currently the steering encoder is a VP integrated encoder after the last stage, and the external gears are 1:1, which means the encoder is 1:1 with the wheel. Does that mean you can use the VP encoder as an absolute encoder? I should probably make a point of knowing more about the encoders needed here... If you had such an external reduction, would you need to mount a separate absolute encoder somewhere else?

You don't need a 1:1 reduction for an absolute encoder to work, you just need to be sure you account for reduction in the code (and if your encoder has a deadband or something you need to make sure that isn't a problem). The VP encoder can be used as an absolute encoder. I don't know too much more about the details of electronics, but your mechanical design isn't necessarily constrained by your encoder here.