Maximum motor voltage

VEX V5 Technical Support
1

As part of the Science Olympiad Robot Arm competition, I managed to get my hands on some old VEX 269 motors my science teacher had lying around. As I am using neither the VEX cortex nor the VEX voltage limits, I looking to squeeze some extra performance out of my motors by overvolting them.

Currently, using 3 paralleled SN754410 driver chips, I am running the motors at 9 V. However, on the datasheet, it says the motors take 7.2 V. Will I damage the motors by running them at 9 V? Does anybody even know what the maximum voltage is for the 269?

I am also considering upgrading to the 393, as I can get more torque out of them. Could I run the 393’s at 9 V?

2

I’ve run 393s from a 3s lipo (12v) and they performed very well, I never had one burn out.

3

Thanks. Did you ever have trouble with the polyfuse blowing?

4

For college courses I have run 393s as high as 15V with little ill effects. You should have no issues.

5

7.2V is the minimum voltage. In an ideal situation, a fully charged Vex legal NiMh will read about 8.7V when fresh off the charger.