Quote:
Originally Posted by ajd
What are the pros and cons of using the 2CAN adapter versus the black jaguar serial-to-can bridge? It seems like the 2CAN is more expensive and adds some weight to the robot; I've read that the 2CAN gives you somewhat faster communication. Are there any other factors? How have others decided this issue?
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Team 88 used CAN for all 6 speed controllers on this year's robot, via the Black Jaguar RS232 interface.
Although 2CAN is about 5 times faster theoretically, we never got close to the serial bandwidth limits using the Black Jaguar in normal operation. We originally planned to log most of the status messages from the Jags for post-match analysis, but this task dropped from the priority list and is now an off-season project. That will increase the messages on the bus but IIRC it will still be within the serial bus bandwidth (I don't have the CAN packet specs to hand).
Our 2CAN vs Black Jag decision was fairly prosaic:
Since we were buying additional speed controllers for our practice bot, it was a no-brainer to get Black Jags at almost no additional cost. I also misunderstood the rules in Week 1 and was uncertain about 2CAN legality, although that was quickly clarified !