Well, I'm away for a day-and-a-half and I return to find weapon systems for NXT! My how this product matures quickly!
After playing around with the compass some more, I realized I wanted a little more detail on how the motors interact (conflict) with the new Compass Sensor. So I did some quick tests:
1. I built a small frame to hold the sensor away from the Brick and one motor.
2. I got the Compass Sensor to return a fixed value of 0 (North).
3. I then slowly moved the motor towards the sensor and watched the value.
In this figure, the compass still returns a value of 0. The Brick shows 358, but it would change a few times and settle to 0.
In this figure, the motor is slightly closer and the value stayed consistently at 2. Not bad. But at other times, the reading would jump to near 280 and then back to 2. An accurate reading, then an inaccurate one. Maybe some pulses from the motor or compass or both?
In this final image, I held the motor next to the sensor. The value fluctuated between 190 and 220 - a 140 degree difference!! So the lesson is this: Keep that Compass Sensor AWAY from your motors.
I imagine that plugging in more motors and sensors may cause even more trouble. I'll play with the sensor some more and let you know what I find.
After playing around with the compass some more, I realized I wanted a little more detail on how the motors interact (conflict) with the new Compass Sensor. So I did some quick tests:
1. I built a small frame to hold the sensor away from the Brick and one motor.2. I got the Compass Sensor to return a fixed value of 0 (North).
3. I then slowly moved the motor towards the sensor and watched the value.
In this figure, the compass still returns a value of 0. The Brick shows 358, but it would change a few times and settle to 0.
In this figure, the motor is slightly closer and the value stayed consistently at 2. Not bad. But at other times, the reading would jump to near 280 and then back to 2. An accurate reading, then an inaccurate one. Maybe some pulses from the motor or compass or both?
In this final image, I held the motor next to the sensor. The value fluctuated between 190 and 220 - a 140 degree difference!! So the lesson is this: Keep that Compass Sensor AWAY from your motors.I imagine that plugging in more motors and sensors may cause even more trouble. I'll play with the sensor some more and let you know what I find.