blog; Motor Controller Options for 2015

[Paul Copioli]

Originally Posted by s1900ahon

I thought the Victor was reduced at the start of the 2010 competition season and to $90

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=80576

I made the decision in 2009

The price actually changed in December, 2009.

[Monochron]

The blog say that "A selection of [the old] controllers will be available in the 2015 Kickoff Kits and/or through FIRST Choice".

Were there motor controllers in the KOP this past year? Looking at the old FIRST Choice site, it looks like only one type of controller (Talons) were available through there.

Basically this makes me nervous on the availability of old Talon SRs come January. I have been wanting to move our team to all Talon SRs for next year (or the new Victor SPs) if they are available, but this lack of surety has me worried. Right now there is no guarantee that Talon SRs will be available through FIRST channels, and there is no guarantee that Victor SP will be available through private channels.

[BigJ]

Originally Posted by Monochron

The blog say that "A selection of [the old] controllers will be available in the 2015 Kickoff Kits and/or through FIRST Choice".

Were there motor controllers in the KOP this past year? Looking at the old FIRST Choice site, it looks like Victors were not available through there.

Basically this makes me nervous on the availability of old Talon SRs come January. I have been wanting to move our team to all Talon SRs for next year (or the new Victor SPs) if they are available, but this lack of surety has me worried. Right now there is no guarantee that Talon SRs will be available through FIRST channels, and there is no guarantee that Victor SP will be available through private channels.

If I remember correctly Victors/Jags were in the KOP through a voucher to IFI/VexPRO.

[qnetjoe]

Paul,

Since you are watching this thread can you post more details about the feedback available on the Talon SRX?

I would love to see an outline on what features would be available, ie encoder, limit switches, analog?

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by BigJ

If I remember correctly Victors/Jags were in the KOP through a voucher to IFI/VexPRO.

That sounds familiar. I wasn't the one on the team doing the ordering so I wasn't entirely sure.

Based on the nature of those vouchers I'm assuming that in 2015 they would be used on the new Victors/Talons which would really be fantastic.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by D.Allred

Definitely one for the Q&A.

By that logic, I could reuse a CIM (and the new Talons) if I used wirenuts and avoided a crimped connector.

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I'm leaning toward Wago Lever Nuts, myself. They're definitely easier to install than a set of PowerPole connectors. The continuous current rating isn't as high as I'd like, but intermittent operation on a 40A circuit ought to be okay.

I agree with Alan. The Wago lever nuts are made in Germany, where engineers are famously conservative about ratings. Their 32A rating should be sufficient for FRC connections between the new pigtail controllers and CIM motors. Recall that the CIM's own "normal" load is only 27A -- pretty conservative when you consider how hard they are routinely worked in FRC.

I also agree with D. Allred -- an official Q&A response would be helpful to teams (like mine) that have historically used 45A APP connectors between motors and controllers.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by Ether

cgmv123's common sense says it's not OK.

My common sense doesn't matter. I'm just cautioning against applying thermal paste/grease to motor controllers since the (2014) rule against modifying control system components specifically mentions gluing as an illegal modification.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by cgmv123

My common sense doesn't matter. I'm just cautioning against applying thermal paste/grease to motor controllers since the (2014) rule against modifying control system components specifically mentions gluing as an illegal modification.

Correct but the adhesive on velcro was readily viewed as okay, so there is a line. Placing that line can be challenging for some teams.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by qnetjoe

Paul,

Since you are watching this thread can you post more details about the feedback available on the Talon SRX?

I would love to see an outline on what features would be available, ie encoder, limit switches, analog?

I'd be curious if/when they will reveal distributors. It's unclear to me (probably on purpose since it isn't finalized) whether or not VEXpro will be selling both exclusively to teams and its authorized resellers, AndyMark will be selling at least the Talon SRX exclusively, or if everybody is selling both.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by cgmv123

My common sense doesn't matter. I'm just cautioning against applying thermal paste/grease to motor controllers since the (2014) rule against modifying control system components specifically mentions gluing as an illegal modification.

The point I was making is that "common sense" often does not lead to the same conclusion.

For example, my common sense tells me that non-curing thermal grease is *not* glue and therefore the gluing rule is not applicable.

But if the common sense of others differs, it's not "lawyering" to ask Q&A for clarification.

Then if Q&A doesn't answer (it happens), give it your best honest shot. Ask around and see what other respected teams are doing.

[wilsonmw04]

I would really like to see producers of these new produces comment on the stock levels they intend to have available on or before January 3rd, 2015. The only comment I have seen from Vex on this thread is correcting how much a Jag cost a few years ago.

[sanddrag]

Attn Paul and friends at IFI and CTRE.

How long are the wires on these things?

I'd pay an extra $10 per unit if the wires were something like 4 feet long, at least on the input and especially PWM wires. Can we make this an option?

[Jon Stratis]

On the parts we got for beta testing, the power and motor leads are 5.5" and the PWM wire is about 18" long.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

On the parts we got for beta testing, the power and motor leads are 5.5" and the PWM wire is about 18" long.

5.5 inches and 17.8 inches per the drawing: http://content.vexrobotics.com/vexpr...g-20140818.PDF

[Mark McLeod]

The high strand count Power Input/Motor Output leads appear to be 400 strand.
Nice and flexible.