I originally posted this on the Unofficial Answers Thread; I apologize for any double posting.
[INDENT]So one of the sides of a diode on my team’s Cortex has busted
(It’s labled D8, 2 ICs up from the bottom-right):
https://vexforum.com/gallery/files/4/1/6/3/0/8/_324519.jpg
I think what happened is that an inexperienced member on my team plugged a 2-wire motor into a motor port 4 on the cortex without a Motor Controller 29, and ran it. Diode #8 on the Port 4 side is now busted, and Port 4 is now unusable.
The diode looks like a generic diode, with the code 502B written on the top.
[LIST=1]
*]If I replace this diode with an identical one, would this be considered a illegal ‘modification of electronics’ from the VEX Robotics Competition, or a legal repair?
*]If I am allowed to replace it, what specifications do these diodes have so that I may locate an identical one?
[/LIST]
Of course I can simply use a Y-cable, or a Y-cable + Power Expander, but repairing the cortex to the best of abilities is almost always better.[/INDENT]
jpearman said these things about the particular IC; is his information correct? And is this a legal repair of the VEX Cortex?
Thank you!