Favorite Sensors

[Gdeaver]

For a 360 degree no dead band angular position sensor, I like the cost and performance of the TT Optek 6127V1a360L.5FS. It has worked very well for our swerve steering position sensing. For a quadrature encoder we are looking at the CUI AMT102-V. You can set the CPR by dip switches. So one unit can give 32 to 1024 CPR. We made a mount for it out of PVC with 2 ball bearings and a 1/4" shaft. For a tach the Melexis US2882 Hall effect bipolar latching switch has worked well for many teams. We are exploring the use of a Invensense MPU-6050 3 axis gyro and accelerometer this summer. One of the most stable gyro's that is affordable I have looked at yet.

[Hugh Meyer]

For end of travel, home, or just sensing something moving in and out of position a vane or slot sensor works nice.

http://www.digikey.com/product-searc...819z&x=10&y=13

See attached photo for application.

-Hugh

[Phalanx]

I've been taken by the USDigital H-5 series of shaft encoders.
http://www.usdigital.com/products/en...otary/shaft/H5

I started using them several years ago, when I couldn't get the Greyhill ones fast enough (EVERYONE was out of stock at the time, Mouser, Digikey, Newark).

Turns out, I like them better than the Greyhill 63R because....
1) 10K RPM versus 5K. (our shooter motors ran over 6K RPM)
2) Locking, captured signal cable, doesn't fall out, nor likely to break off the header pins.
3) Discount for FRC Teams.

[ekapalka]

Originally Posted by Phalanx

USDigital H-5 series of shaft encoders

My team (actually just myself) has been reluctant to buy any non-analog sensors other than the encoders supplied by AndyMark because we don't know if we'll be capable of writing our own classes. The encoder you linked looks stellar. Was it much of a pain to program (or could you use the classes supplied in WPILIB)? My personal favourite sensor is the USDigital MA3 Absolute Magnetic Shaft Encoder (analog option!). I wish we could get a Celesco Linear Potentiometer, but they apparently don't have a distributor in our area (Montana) and won't mail us one :/ I have no idea what for, but I'm sure we could think of something

[Phalanx]

Originally Posted by ekapalka

Was it much of a pain to program (or could you use the classes supplied in WPILIB)?

They work just fine using the standard WPILIB encoder methods. Nothing special is required.

[Mr. Lim]

For a 1-turn pot, I always use a Bourns 6639 Series Potentiometer.

They're pretty cheap, and they're continuous so you won't destroy them if you drive them past their extents.

I will never use a fixed 1-turn pot ever again.

We've had success with LV-MaxSonar-EZ Ultrasonic Rangefinders as well. They're easy to work with, and give reliable reads in the right conditions with a simple median filter.

When it comes to optical sensors, Banner's WorldBeam QS18 Series have never let me down. We like to use a visible light one, so we know whether the sensor is working, and what it's pointing at. They've held up in high-speed applications too, as we used one of these to measure our shooter speed by colouring parts of it black and white.

[Garrett.d.w]

My favorite sensor, hands down, is the lowly limit switch. You can do just about anything with these things. That and they are cheap, tough, little buggers.

My second favorite is a broken beam sensor. I don't know the make or model of the ones that we use. They are easy to install as well as easy to program. They also glow red in the dark, which you know, is kinda important

You have to be careful with the broken beam sensors, however. If you order some, make sure they use LEDs for the light rather than a laser. Also, you get improved reliability if they are in an environment where they are not exposed to too much direct light.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lim

For a 1-turn pot, I always use a Bourns 6639 Series Potentiometer.

They're pretty cheap, and they're continuous so you won't destroy them if you drive them past their extents.

I will never use a fixed 1-turn pot ever again.

Thanks for this, I had been looking for something like this for a while.