Where have the Spikes gone

[Ricky Q.]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Paul I don't see it in the VexPro pages.

Had a minor issue in our e-commerce system, the page is back now.

http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/.../217-0220.html

[Paul Copioli]

Here is a link to the VEXPro product page: http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro

The Spike is right underneath the Victor. It is out of stock because FIRST is the only customer (and FIRST teams) so they will be back in stock in time for the FRC season.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Paul Copioli

Here is a link to the VEXPro product page: http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro

The Spike is right underneath the Victor. It is out of stock because FIRST is the only customer (and FIRST teams) so they will be back in stock in time for the FRC season.

I promise, it wasn't there yesterday. Someone must have noticed the omission and fixed it.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by PAR_WIG1350

I promise, it wasn't there yesterday. Someone must have noticed the omission and fixed it.

Yup wasn't there when I looked yesterday. I even did a search for it and the only thing that came up was the fuse for the spike.

[heydowns]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

Did these fail the beta testing and get delayed a year?

Nope - it was known going into the Beta test that these items would not be used in the 2012 season. FIRST was putting them out there for testing regardless so they could get feedback and improve them before they (if they) are made available and legal.

We tested the new relay this past year and loved the form factor and the fact that you have a ground on the output side (in addition to fwd/rev) to give you more options for wiring your loads. The SPIKEs have always been pretty nice but they are a bit bulky and the outer shell always seems to split top from bottom for us (hot glue is pretty much a given here). If the new ones are made legal it will be nice to have a more compact option (this year our bot was so small we found ourselves having to make artificial surfaces to mount electrical components!); price, reliability (yet to be seen for the new module!), and the need for compact form factor will lead us to which we'll use in the future if both become legal. Both seem to be good options.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by heydowns

Nope - it was known going into the Beta test that these items would not be used in the 2012 season. FIRST was putting them out there for testing regardless so they could get feedback and improve them before they (if they) are made available and legal.

We tested the new relay this past year and loved the form factor and the fact that you have a ground on the output side (in addition to fwd/rev) to give you more options for wiring your loads. The SPIKEs have always been pretty nice but they are a bit bulky and the outer shell always seems to split top from bottom for us (hot glue is pretty much a given here). If the new ones are made legal it will be nice to have a more compact option (this year our bot was so small we found ourselves having to make artificial surfaces to mount electrical components!); price, reliability (yet to be seen for the new module!), and the need for compact form factor will lead us to which we'll use in the future if both become legal. Both seem to be good options.

Are they solid state? Any specs on frequency you can switch them at?

[heydowns]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Are they solid state? Any specs on frequency you can switch them at?

The specs we received during beta did not indicate max switching frequency. I also do not see anything in the documentation that specifies them as solid state; I don't recall if they were at all "clicky" but I do remember thinking "these things switch more quietly than a SPIKE".

[Pi Fighter]

Originally Posted by heydowns

The specs we received during beta did not indicate max switching frequency. I also do not see anything in the documentation that specifies them as solid state; I don't recall if they were at all "clicky" but I do remember thinking "these things switch more quietly than a SPIKE".

I also remember them being quieter than the traditional spike, but I could definitely feel the clicks when running it. As far as frequency, we were using the dual relay to switch lights on/off, and it was fine at 20ms. However, those were LED's, not motors.