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Originally Posted by gdo
a "y" connector would be nice to allow more batteries to be used.
also I would like to see some improved motors (in torque and speed)
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Y-cables are easy to make. If you go to RadioShack and buy two of their
$3.49 7.2v battery connecter repair kits and some heat shrink tubing, you can make your own Y-cables for less than $10 each. Just make sure you connect the two batteries in parallel and NOT in series. I am planning on making some of these Y-cables soon so that my future Vex robots can run for longer periods of time at public demonstrations.
You can also make smaller rotation sensors by using one of the line following sensors and a high contrast disk like
this. Of course you can make the disk a lot smaller and build it into the side of one of the wheels on your robot.
Also, if used correctly, the chain in the Vex kits is plenty strong enough. I was able to use a single loop of Vex chain to power the double stage
"space elevator" Vex robot that I built last fall. I never really had any problems with breaking strength, even with three mini-tetras at one-pound each on the end of a 14-inch arm, extended perpendicular to the ground, while trying to lift both elevator stages. If you find the chain breaking too much, try re-gearing your mechanism. Sure, it might become slower, but you have to make some trade-offs to make a reliable robot.
EDIT: Also, I have never had any problems with the motor clutches either. Again, it is all how to apply them. The same drivetrain for the "space elevator" robot in the above link was only powered by two motors. That was a very heavy Vex robot, and it was still powered with a 1:1 gear ratio. Sure, I had to swap out the four end wheels for omni wheels to make it turn easier, but the end result proved more efficient and it was drove better.
Vex is not a "Here is a completed solution for you" kind of program. Vex is about using the resources you have and pushing the envelope on what you can do with them. Sure, asking for some new parts from IFI is fine, but asking for them to design everything you can ever need is a but too much.