Vex Motors

[fredliu168]

Ok this MAY sound like a very stupid question to some of you, but here it goes.

So this afternoon we got a bunch of AA batteries tried attaching them to the motors (through alligator clips and the box where you plug the things.. (omg so embarrassed I forgot name). Basically nothing happened, the vex motors did not spin and the servo motors moved for a millisecond.

Can someone tell me why that is???

Also, are we allowed to gear down the motors?

Thanks,

Fred

[artdutra04]

The Vex motors do not work off plain DC current going to the motor. There are three wires there, one +5v, one ground/neutral, and the signal. The Vex motor - being a servo motor - will not work without a signal, which in this case is Pulse Width Modulation. Depending on this signal, this is how you control the output of a servo motor.

And yes, you can gear the Vex motors down to a slower speed with either the Vex gears or the Vex Chain and Sprocket kits.

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by fredliu168

Ok this MAY sound like a very stupid question to some of you, but here it goes.

So this afternoon we got a bunch of AA batteries tried attaching them to the motors (through alligator clips and the box where you plug the things.. (omg so embarrassed I forgot name). Basically nothing happened, the vex motors did not spin and the servo motors moved for a millisecond.

Can someone tell me why that is???

Also, are we allowed to gear down the motors?

Thanks,

Fred

Fred,

Both the motors and the servos are 3 pin connections. One pin is power, one pin is ground and one pin is a PWM signal.

Both motors and servos have internal electronics to utilize the PWM signal. In the case of a motor, the PWM signal commands speed. In the case of the servo, it commands position.

Does this answer your question?

Mike

[fredliu168]

Thank you very much =)