true but im talking about something around $50 to $100 dollars that is an add-on to vexplorer, like a min starter kit with more metal, and new parts just for vex blue (althogugh perhaps compatble with red?)
Where can I find the datasheet/Inventor’s Guide for the new quadrature shaft encoders? I can only seem to find the original, single sensor one.
-JonA
It will probably be released when the new encoder is actually released. We know it’s probably coming but not when.
They are already shipping as my team somehow already has a couple of them. They ship with a printed version but I was looking for the pdf.
-Jon
Wha? Perhaps your team is beta testing them?
I don’t see them anywhere on the All Vex Products list. If you have a link to where we can order them, please share!
Thanks,
- Dean
Well, we just ordered the regular Vex Optical Shaft Encoders and we got the new ones. They have the same catalog number (276-2156) but they are totally different parts.
Could you scan the new encoder’s inventors guide and put it on the forums? I’d like to see what they’re like.
also send a pic plz!!! thank you 
Well I guess these would be useful. But you can tell which way a shaft is spinning just by reading which way your power a motor. So if your going forward then the shaft encoder is reading forward clicks, if motors are going backwards then your reading backward clicks.
You sure these new encoders are not just a miss order of Potentiometers?
They look exactly like the single channel encoder but have 2 channels coming out of them.
Yes, they are definitely 2-channel quadrature encoders.
Here is something I put together for the students on my team on why quadrature shaft encoders are better than single channel shaft encoders:
Quadrature Shaft Encoders are useful if you have a system that is not immediately responsive. If your motor/shaft is turning a load, the commanded direction is not necessarily the rotating direction. This is mostly due to the inertia of the load (physically) and the motor/controller (electrically).
A way that you guarantee that your commanded direction is the rotating direction with a single channel encoder is to “stop” for a while, which is usually a good idea anyway to avoid damage to your motor/controller/drive-train. You wouldn’t want to put your car in reverse if you are going 65 mpg on the freeway. An s-curve is best for this but it depends on your particular application.
In the end, the 2-channel quadrature shaft encoders do provide you with direction as one of the channels will fire before the other because they are 90 degrees out of phase but they also provide you with input at double frequency so you can more accurately determine the angle and angular velocity. This gives you more accurate and responsive control over your drive system and allows you to half your “stop” time.
Can someone from VEXLabs confirm that they are indeed shipping new encoders?
yes this would be great, JVN, Ricky Torrance??? i wonder why they would do this though, i think it was a mistake and this team should get a normal one just in case the other one is faulty
Well, they do appear to work as expected when I hook them up to my scope. I get two signals with a 90 degrees phase shift when turning the wheel.
In the end, this is what we really wanted but we were willing to settle with a single channel encoder.
I have attached a photo. And yes, I modified the connector.
Yes, we did a running change. If you order an encoder you will be receiving the new upgraded encoder.
cool, is this meant to be a beta test or are they just officially coming out soon and you guys said heck, why rip them off when they might just want them in a week?
They’re out. Webpage will be updated shortly. But since this is an upgrade to an existing product, we just started shipping the new ones when they came in.
Is vex going to come out with their own Acceleration/Tilt Sensor?
Outstanding! I see the product page and insert pdf have been updated… will be picking up a few next time I order.
So, does this mark the fulfillment the recent list of “upcoming products” or is there anything else on there I missed?
(answering my own question)
re-reading the list from the first post on this thread, I see two line items that haven’t made it to the “All Products” list yet:
Vexplorer Booster Kit (Parts to expand your Vexplorer)
I’m curious about this one, since it may have some interesting parts that are not already available, or at least not available independent of the Vexplorer kit.
CHAN-121 C-Channel Kits (various lengths)
This one would be handy, but doesn’t really bring anything new (just more convenient).
Thanks again for introducing all these great new products and keeping the Vex[plorer] line fresh!
Thanks,
- Dean
VexLabs has been coming out with a lot of new products lately, and so far I love everyone of them! but something i really really really want from vex is an accelerometer!!!
Do you see the press release of the August release of VEX wifi control and programming!!! That would be so awesome!