Motors and Victors/Spikes

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Anna Marie,
It is a good bet to follow the electrical FRC rules when connecting motors from the kit and speed controllers/victors. There are various reasons why the rules are specified the way they are. The chief among these is that any motor, when not turning, will draw it's specified stall current for a short time after you apply voltage. If you take a look at the current ratings for the speed controllers you will see that they are not rated for continuous stall currents. The spikes are designed for even less current, although there have been occasions where two globe motors have been tied to a single spike and worked OK. However, it is possible that several non-kit, motors can be wired to work with one controller if they are small enough. If you are not planning an FRC event robot you can check the stall currents of non-kit motors against FRC motors. If you don't exceed the summed specifications of a kit motor for stall current and run current the combination ought to work OK.