What will it take to overheat A victor?

[Andy A.]

In many of my non FIRST related robotics projects I regularly remove the fan from the victor and operate normally without it. I do this to reduce overall hight, weight and most importantly noise. Some projects require up to 12 of the things, and those fans make a racket. My non-first stuff usually has to run for very long durations under continuous draw (albeit less then a typical FIRST 'bot). I have never, since they were debuted, found a Victor that failed due to overheating or experienced any odd behavior as a result.

Let's put it this way- If you manage to overheat a Victor, chances are the motor overheated and failed a long time ago.

I do however keep my victors well spaced and unobstructed, within reason. I do this not for any consideration of cooling but to keep wire runs clearly defined and easy to follow. I've seen some electronics boards, both in FIRST and outside of it, that are very compact but seem just about impossible to work on or troubleshoot. I usually favor ease of repair and understanding over tight packaging. I do agree with what Mike said though, if you aren't pushing the envelope, your not being competitive. It's a balancing act.

-Local