Battery connected backwards to robot

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I know it's prohibitively difficult to put reverse voltage protection on the PDP input. But what about adding an inexpensive (~$2) 70dB buzzer with a diode so that it screams when you apply power backwards? That might give the user a chance to open the breaker quickly enough to avoid frying everything.

An interesting cost/benefit analysis... assuming that this worked, adding $2 to the cost of every PDP would cost more than replacing the occasional one that is hooked up backwards.

Sorry to hear about the damage... we hooked up our speed controllers the wrong way in 2004 and let the smoke out of one of them. It has NEVER happened again... I suspect this lesson will remain with your team for just as long!

The moderately expensive screw-ups we make in school and FRC are good learning for preventing the truly expensive screw-ups we can make later in life.
Jason