One wheel starting before the other

[3xSketchy]

Hi all! I am trying to get my Spike robot to move straight, but when I use the .straight() function one wheel starts before the other and creates an error that can't really be fixed even with use_gyro. Any help?

[techcatgato]

Same problem

[laurensvalk]

The motors have quite a bit of free movement on the inside, which is unrelated to software. You can feel it by moving the wheel a bit.

So when one wheel happens to be already pushed one way or the other, you can see the robot rotate a bit at the start. Depending on the robot design and wheel size, this can be a bit more visible.

But the gyro will maintain and correct the initial position it had when starting the move, so it still drives straight.

[3xSketchy]

So could swapping the delayed motor with a new motor solve the problem if the delayed one is internally broken ?

[laurensvalk]

It's not broken. You'll notice that every motor has quite a bit of slack. You can feel the wheel move without pushing the real motor inside, right? Just a few degrees means your robot can wiggle quite a bit without the internal motor even moving.

[3xSketchy]

Idk it also looks and feels slower than the other wheel

[techcatgato]

I think what he means is that compared to other motors this one starts out with a big delay thats also my case

[laurensvalk]

Right, it is always possible that something is broken or partly stuck. You can probably get a better view with a separate small program. Run both at 75% "Power" and see how fast they go.

I just meant that in general, a small wiggle at the beginning of a move is expected.