By the way, I am using this robot to vibrate my watermelon seedlings (to thicken their stems)
Cool. My garden person is using a huge sun lamp (LED) and a fan to get tomato plants started. They have stems about 3/16" thick at this point.
I grew tomatoes last year, but most were eaten or damaged by squirrels .
I may or may not be building a vex cortex bot with highly modified electronics (basically just passing all of the safety restrictions put in place) and then chucking it in the arena for a show match at the april Norwalk Havoc Robot League if I get the time to actually finish it…
BTW I realize this is IQ, but I figure it still pertains…
I like vex systems and would like to make actual deployable systems using vex, but the (v5) brain costing $200+ doesn’t help when I might only want one or two motors and one or two sensors (I.e. it’s overpowered). That’s why I just use arduinos/other MCUs with individual motor drivers for any permanent project. Maybe iq is cheaper, I should look
The vex system is certainly handy from a mechanical side…a robust “erector set” for light duty stuff where 80/20 t-slot systems might be overkill (and 80/20 stuff is pretty pricey). If you want to begin exploring “permanent” control systems, you might be interested in industrial controllers, PLCs (programmable logic controllers) are robust and practically bulletproof. Various models of PLCs run 90% of all industrial machinery. The “Click” line of PLCs from Automation Direct can get you started without breaking the bank. $85 for a basic unit (once the chip shortage is over):
https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/programmable_controllers/click_series_plcs/click_plcs_(stackable_micro_brick)/plc_units/c0-00dd1-d
Some more details: You’ll need to learn RLL programming but the software is a free download, most industrial stuff operates on 24VDC, so you’ll need a power supply or a couple 12volt batteries in series to run things, and PLCs are “bare-bones” and you’ll need to get some cables, housings, etc.
You should check out this thread, starting here about what the new V2 IQ brain can do.
The biggest stumbling block for me is connecting motors. Arduinos need motor boards. Most of them are only good for 1 AMP without being hugely expensive. VEX IQ has been a problem in the past because of the way I2C was set up. This seems to have gotten turned around with the new brain.
Now the next stumbling block is the wonky RJ connector. Finding them and crimp tools is hard. It would be nice if VEX would sell packs of the connectors.
Quick solution is to just by overpriced “smart cables” and snip of one end (or cut long ones in half for two) 
I’m not following how it works. Can we see a video?
Cutting the cable in half?
No, the original topic.
when humans use 100% of their brain they realise sprockets can be used as gears
Thinking of making a robot named “Baby Barry” that reads the colors of your shoes, and when it sees those colors (and sees you with an ultrasonic) it goes towards them. Hopefully you’re wearing Yeezys cuz otherwise it’s gonna go everywhere (if you’re wearing black shoes it’ll just go towards any black thing)
It wouldn’t let me upload a video, so I will just explain how it works:
The motor spins the axle which has a big gear on it. The big gear makes the small gear spin. The weighted (using wheels) attachment is on the same axle as the small gear, so it spins, and when it spins it vibrates (because it is at an angle).
That’s really cool, also just a tip just search up video to gif converter and you’ll be able to upload the video as a gif.
Or just upload to Google Drive, set sharing to anyone with link, and post the link.
Here’s the gif:
Also, thanks for the help with posting the gif.
Interesting use of sprockets (normally used in conjunction with chain) as gears.
I have been contemplating on creating a new thread for my wood mecanum drivetrain. I have two more motors, and I want to create a shooting mech to mount on top. I have access to a lot of nerf darts, marbles, plastic milk jug caps, and golf balls. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet, but I started working on a snapple bottle (steel) cap slinger. Those caps have relatively low friction and decent weight. If you have any ideas for me, I’d love to hear them!