Driving Straight with Encoders

[Ether]

Originally Posted by raptaconehs

We have tried this and it appears that the right side spins much easier than the left side.

That could be the cause of your left-drift problem.

Have you tried putting it up on blocks and advancing the throttle slowly and observing the speed on each side? This is easy to do.

Originally Posted by raptaconehs

We aren't sure how to measure belt tension

OK, but can you tell if the belt on the left side is tighter than the belt on the right side? Push¹ on the belt midway between the two pulleys and see how much it deflects. The tighter the belt is, the less it will deflect.

If you want to be a little more accurate, ask around to see if anyone on your team has a fish pull-scale. Hook the scale to the belt midway between the pulleys and pull¹ it. Measure how far the belt deflects for a given force.

¹see attachment