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Unread 04-01-2009, 17:18
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Sparks333 Sparks333 is offline
Robotics Engineer
AKA: Dane B.
FRC #1425 (Wilsonville Robotics)
Team Role: Alumni
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Rookie Year: 2003
Location: Wilsonville, Oregon
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Re: Sensor Recommendations

This is an odd one...

For the Aim High challenge, we built a rotating turret that could shoot balls in a wide range of directions. It required motors and stops for both the X and Y direction for the turret, and the initial design depended on mechanical limit switches. When we tried it in competition, the switch arm often bent out of shape, allowing the motors driving the turret to stall and pop breakers. The solution to this problem (which worked wonderfully, I might add) was to install reed switches and magnets at the extremes. Vibration-induced false positives really never became a problem, which surprised us all. Future iterations of the robot are supposed to use hall-effect sensors (a reed switches' modernized cousin), but they require power as well, so for a quick 'n' dirty fix, use a reed.

Sparks
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ICs do weird things when voltage is run out of spec.

I love to take things apart. The fact that they work better when I put them back together it just a bonus.

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