PWMs

[Chief Hedgehog]

We have found in the last two years that faulty PWM wires have caused most of our headaches. This season, we had considerable trouble with these during our first 4 matches of our Regional (we went 1-2-1). Once the Fighting Calculators (FRC Team 2175) helped us out by providing their own PWMs - we had great success (going 11 straight matches with any problems).


Does anyone have similar experiences with pwm wires from AndyMark? And if so - what have you done to rectify this situation?

[Joe G.]

We make all our own PWM wires to custom lengths using materials purchased here.

[Mr V]

While helping a team trouble shoot a non functioning "motor" this season we found that they had 5 yes 5 bad PWM cables. I didn't ask them where they got them though. They were N.E.W. (Never Ever Worked) this season.

[BigJ]

We also make our own from materials from Hansen Hobbies. We also usually have a box of spare/old PWMs for testing things. The number one rule is to always check your PWMs with a multimeter before using them!

[Danny Diaz]

Wow, we've rarely had problems with PWM wires. A lot has to be said about how you store your wires, how much they're bent (as in frequency, not deflection), how well the connector and housing has been treated, etc... When we had a problem with a PWM wire it was because the wire itself had a short in it - we could measure the resistance of the wire and saw it was much higher than the rest. The PWM wires are a much smaller gauge than other wire, you have to be very careful not to damage or overwork the wires.

-Danny

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Chief,
At least one of those had bent pins and was not able to be inserted properly.