Is there a maximum encoder pulse rate the system can handle?

[David Lame]

We are trying to start getting a bit fancier with our drive system. We put encoders on the drive wheels, and are trying to make use of them as part of camera lineups and autonomous code. Unfortunately, we have a problem. During testing, I drive forward, and then drive back to where I started, and the encoder doesn't read 0. Not even close. It seems to count consistently faster, meaning almost twice as many raw ticks, when moving forward.

Obviously, this isn't good, but what might be the cause?

We are using the CUI 102V encoders. I really like them. However, we just put them on the shaft of the transmissions, verified that we were reading a value that went up when it ought to go up and down when it ought to go down. One thing we didn't do is set the DIP switches inside the housing. Those DIP switches control the pulse rate, with the default value being 4096 pulses per revolution.

Once I realized there was a problem, I wondered if that was just too fast for the rio/wpilib to count. Could it be that we need to reduce our resolution? We don't need that high of a resolution value. We just stuck with what was set on the switches. However, before we go fiddling with things, I figured I would find out if there is some maximum value of pulses/second that ought to be used with our systems.