What do you think of mounting the victors sideways to save space? We are buildin an under 14" robot, so space is at a premium, and some recent calculations show that some space can be saved by having victors mounted sideways. Does anyone have ny experiences with doing this before?
For the last two years my team has mounted victors sideways using velcro with no problems. I dont see any problem with mounting them upside down either. Just be sure the PWM cable can’t slip out.
Victors are solid state components… they dont care where or in what direction there mounted in.
it shouldnt be that much of a problem ^.^
~Pyro
I know that they will still work, I was wondering more about ease of access, especially when the vertical panels are attched at the bottom to another flat panel, and about how much space it frees up.
Simply turning a speed controller upside-down won’t save you any space; it’s volume is the same regardless of orientation. It will let you put it in a place that would otherwise be left as dead space, however. Whether or not this is benneficial depends on your particular robot and needs to be weighed carefeully against the disadvantages. These include being harder to access, having the PWM cable fall out more likely, and the inability to see the little LED for diagnostics.
Last year, we were so pressed for space we had relays and speed controllers mounted in every imaginable position and wire running all over the place. Whatever you do, plan it in advance and allocate enough space for the wires to attach to the sides.
If u put it upside down, while it is highly unlikely that the PWM cables would come unplugged i would still strungly recomend that you hot glue them etc un place. nothing permanent but something that will hold. maybie some kind of loctite product.
*Originally posted by srjjs *
**What do you think of mounting the victors sideways to save space? We are buildin an under 14" robot, so space is at a premium, and some recent calculations show that some space can be saved by having victors mounted sideways. Does anyone have ny experiences with doing this before? **
No you can’t, because the magic black smoke will float to one side of the speed controller, and it won’t work properly. The magic black smoke will only operate when positioned upright.
Just kidding… actually, last year we mounted the speed controllers on the top of a chunk of polycarb. Then we mounted the relays on the bottom. Mount them however you like.
You won’t quite “save space” as rbayer also said. By changing the orientation you may create more “open space” at certain points. There won’t be any problems with having speed controllers at an angle, just make sure you allow airflow or the magic smoke may show up… or maybe won’t show up (which can be worse because you can’t smell which one is frying)
if your moutning them in a tight space then u might want to consider using the muffin fans.
We are running into a similar problem it seems and we have a small 14x10X6 inch box we are mounting the entire electrical systems in and a 7.25X10x10 inch box to mount all the pneumatics in…
srjjs,
We have mounted them sideways whenever the layout dictated it. We have used peel and stick velcro to mount them as well. The PWM cable fall out is a real problem but that can be overcome in a variety of ways but most effective is a simple ty wrap of the PWM cable to the power supply wires near the controller. In the event of a failure this gives you the best repair time. Can’t wait to see you short bot.
Just make sure your light is mounted upright!! 
- Katie
*Originally posted by Katie Reynolds *
**Just make sure your light is mounted upright!!
- Katie **
Is the light mounting a requirement, or just a suggestion? I know that with the the velcro lights we had the last two years, it was a good idea, but these new screw-on (at least I think they’re screw-on) lights could conceivably go sideways. Is it a rule, though?
EDIT: Stupid me, I checked the rule book a minute later, and found my answer. It is required to be upright, per rule M8.
*Originally posted by Jeff Waegelin *
**Is the light mounting a requirement, or just a suggestion? I know that with the the velcro lights we had the last two years, it was a good idea, but these new screw-on (at least I think they’re screw-on) lights could conceivably go sideways. Is it a rule, though? **
Yes it is a rule, when i find it i’ll edit it back in.
edit he fixed it before I found it edit
Last year we did that…We mounted the Victors right on top of a lexan sheet that was mounted on to our transmissions. The only thing I can think of, is if it is going to be really cluttered in the area you are going to put the Vic’s in you might want to put a fan. That’s what we did. We had no problems with them whatsoever