I have thought of this for a while, and I am wondering what other people think.
What is better? A 20 point autonomous that works 70% of the time, or a 5 point autonomous that works 100% of the time?
Why not program both and use an lcd/potentiometer/jumper clip to select which one you need? Vex matches are a team effort and rely on having partners with compatible autonomous routines. If your alliance has a reliable 20 point autonomous, you can run your 5 point and vise versa. However, if you could only have one, I would choose the 5 point autonomous. A 5 point will put points on the board and collide with your alliance less than a 20 point. During qualifiers, you will come up against teams that don’t have auton so a consistent 5 point is more condusive to ranking in the top 8. Also, a first or second seed alliance likely will already have a robot with a 20 point autonomous so you will be a good 2nd pick if you have a really consistent 5 point.
20 x 70% = 14
5 x 100% = 5
14 > 5
you win
I agree with marsgate17. You should try to program both and then use an lcd to switch between programs. There are plenty of online resources for lcd code and an explanation. I think there is even some sample code in robotC to get you started. But like he said, if you can only use one autonomous make a reliable 5 point one. In my area about 85% of teams don’t have an autonomous so it should help boost your ranking in qualification.
It is always best to have more than one option for autonomous. The LCD is a great way to select between autonomous routines, but if you do not have one and cannot afford one, a less expensive and equally reliable way of choosing is the use of a potentiometer. It is less expensive and it only takes one analog port on the cortex. It is also lighter and smaller making it easier to place on the robot.
We used pots last year for this for a number of different auton routines. Just make sure you average the pot well first before taking the value, so you reject noise and pick the right thing.
Just set a value range and mark on the pot center of each range. This way, all you need to do is be close.
yeah, we make them, but we had 8 last year and when you first grab a value or two you could be in the wrong one. Pre-auton is a great place to calculate an average
Will someone please explain to this beginner how potentiometers affect auton picks?
I’m not a programmer but the concept it to have the robot run a different autonomous program based on what position the Pot is in when the robot starts up. We use the pot differently because we have an LCD but if you don’t have one, that’s how you’d use a pot.
Ahh, thanks for explaining @TheLordsChipsBuilder