VEX Coder Card Reference Guide

Coder cards are used with the Coder to code a 123 Robot. Each Coder card represents a command, and when inserted into the Coder, it will instruct the 123 Robot to complete a behavior.

There are seven different categories of Coder cards, and each category is color-coded. The categories are:

  • Motion - The blue Motion cards drive and turn the 123 Robot.
  • Sound - The pink Sound cards control sounds from the 123 Robot.
  • Looks - The purple Looks cards control the color that the indicator light in the center of the 123 Robot will glow.
  • Control - The orange Control cards control the flow of the project and allow the 123 Robot to make decisions.
  • Event - The red Event cards start or stop a 123 project.
  • Action - The green Action cards enact a series of movements and sounds from the 123 Robot.
  • Time - The gray Time cards control a focused amount of time for the 123 Robot to wait until the following action is executed.

Motion

Card Behavior Count per Kit
motion drive 1 123 Robot will drive forward for 1 robot length. 4
motion drive 2 123 Robot will drive forward 2 robot lengths. 1
motion drive 4 123 Robot will drive forward 4 robot lengths. 1
motion turn left 123 Robot will turn in place 90 degrees to the left. 4
motion turn right 123 Robot will turn in place 90 degrees to the right. 4
motion turn random 123 Robot will turn right or left a random number of degrees. 1
motion turn around 123 Robot will turn in place 180 degrees to the right from its starting position. 1
motion drive until object 123 Robot will drive forward until the Eye Sensor detects an object. 1
motion drive until crash 123 Robot will drive forward until it has crashed into an object or wall. 1
motion drive until line 123 Robot will drive until it detects a line on the surface it’s driving on. 1

Sound

Card Behavior Count per Kit
sound play honk 123 Robot will play a sound similar to a car horn. 1
sound play doorbell 123 Robot will play a sound similar to a doorbell chime. 1
sould play crash 123 Robot will play a sound similar to a collision. 1
sound play random 123 Robot will randomly select and play a sound effect. 1

Looks

Card Behavior Count per Kit
looks glow purple The indicator light in the center of the 123 Robot will glow purple. 1
looks glow green The indicator light in the center of the 123 Robot will glow green. 1
looks glow blue The indicator light in the center of the 123 Robot will glow blue. 1
looks glow off The indicator light in the center of the 123 Robot will not glow a color. 1

Control

Card Behavior Count per Kit
control if object Uses the Eye Sensor to check if an object is detected directly in front of it. 1
control if no object Uses the Eye Sensor to check if an object is not detected directly in front of it. 1
control if red Uses the Eye Sensor to check if the color red is detected. 1
contro if green Uses the Eye Sensor to check if the color green is detected. 1
control if blue Uses the Eye Sensor to check if the color blue is detected. 1
control if bright Uses the Eye Sensor to check if bright ambient light or a bright object is detected. 1
control if dark Uses the Eye Sensor to check if no ambient light or a dark object is detected. 1
control if right button Checks if the right button is pressed on the 123 Robot. 1
control if left button Checks if the left button is pressed on the 123 Robot. 1
control if move button Checks if the move button is pressed on the 123 Robot. 1
control if sound button Checks that the sound button is pressed on the 123 Robot. 1
control if crash Checks if the 123 Robot runs into an object. 1
control else Used together with an ‘If’ Coder card. The ‘Else’ Coder card will run Coder cards under the ‘Else’ if the condition of the ‘If’ Coder card is not met. 1
control end if Ends a sequence of ‘If’ and ‘Else’ Coder cards. 1

Event

Card Behavior Count per Kit
event when start 123 Starts the project when the ‘Start’ button on the Coder is pressed. 1
event go to start The Coder will loop back to the ‘When Start 123’ Coder card and continue running the project. 1
event stop Stops and ends the project. Any cards following the ‘Stop’ card will not run. 1

Action

Card Behavior Count per Kit
action act happy 123 Robot turns right 360 degrees and plays a laughing sound to mimic a happy behavior. 1
action act sad 123 Robot drives in reverse, turns left then right, plays an ‘uh oh’ sound, and then drives forward to mimic a sad behavior. 1
action act crazy 123 Robot turns left in a circle, and then turns right in a circle, all while playing a ‘loopy’ sound to mimic a crazy behavior. 1

Time

Card Behavior Count per Kit
time wait 1 second 123 Robot will wait one second before moving on to the next Coder card in the project. 1
time wait 2 seconds 123 Robot will wait two seconds before moving on to the next Coder card in the project. 1
time wait 4 seconds 123 Robot will wait four seconds before moving on to the next Coder card in the project. 1

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