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Build Your Own Combat Robot

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FIGURE 7-13<br />

Associated Runner<br />

Plus hobby ESC and<br />

Innovation First<br />

Victor 883 speed<br />

controller.<br />

Victor 883 Speed Controller<br />

Chapter 7: Controlling <strong>Your</strong> Motors 147<br />

A more serious option is the Innovation First (IFI) <strong>Robot</strong>ics Victor 883 speed controller<br />

(www.ifirobotics.com). The Victor 883 is an offshoot of technology developed<br />

for the FIRST robotics competition. The competition needed a heavy-duty speed<br />

controller, usable for drive motor or actuator duty, that would fit in a small space<br />

and lend itself to high design flexibility. Built like a hobby-grade controller “on<br />

steroids,” the IFI <strong>Robot</strong>ics Victor has a built-in cooling fan and uses three FETs in<br />

parallel for each leg of its motor control H-bridge, for a total of 12 FETs. Figure 7-13<br />

shows the Victor 883 alongside a hobby ESC.<br />

The IFI <strong>Robot</strong>ics Victor controller can handle 60 amps of continuous current<br />

and up to 200 amps for short duration, and it is designed for up to 24-volt motors.<br />

Because the Victor 883 was designed specifically for competition robot use, it<br />

gives consistent and matched performance in forward and reverse.<br />

The Victor was originally designed to be used exclusively with the IFI <strong>Robot</strong>ics<br />

Isaac radio control gear. Following marked demand, IFI <strong>Robot</strong>ics released a new<br />

version of the controller that is compatible with hobby-grade radio gear. Some<br />

R/C receivers, such as the Futaba receivers, do not deliver enough current to drive the<br />

opto-couplers in the Victor 883. Because of this, IFI <strong>Robot</strong>ics sells an adapter that<br />

boosts the signal. Knowing whether your radio will need the signal booster or not

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