Speed controlling a relay..?!?!?one/????

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Ben Englert

Spikes are mechanical - that is, the current is controlled by moving parts. (Victors also are, internally, but they're tuned for high speed switching) You can probably wear one out pretty quickly by clicking it on and off too fast.

Untrue. The only moving parts on a victor are the fan. They switch using MOSFETs (transistors).

Spikes do use mechanical parts. They do not like being switched quickly. However, nothing says you can't do so provided you are willing to live with the consequences. It is very possible that you will burn your Spike out.

Modify this code to fit it into your program.

spike_pwm_timer++;
if(spike_pwm_timer>=spike_pwm_max_value)
spike_pwm_timer=0;
spike=spike_pwm_timer<spike_pwm_ontime;


This will pulsewidth modulate your spike's output with a frequency of 40Hz/spike_pwm_max_value, with a duty cycle of spike_pwm_ontime/spike_pwm_max_value.

I did this one year for the last 8 rounds of nationals. It worked, sort of.

I think my values were
spike_pwm_max_value 32
spike_pwm_ontime 10
but your mileage may vary.

Again, you do run the risk of breaking things, so don't blame me for lighting your Spikes on fire.