pic: Seattle Cascade tubes.

[Madison]

loading photo ...

[Andrew Bates]

Those seem to be about twice as big as the ones in Bayou. Glad to see FIRST is improving on consistency across regionals....

[Vikesrock]

That top triangle looks like it could explode at any second.

[BrendanB]

Wow, I wish FIRST would have some visual control in this!

Speaking of Seattle, any ideas if there is a webcast? I really want to see/cheer on team 3126 from Hollis, NH!

[Austin2046]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Wow, I wish FIRST would have some visual control in this!

Speaking of Seattle, any ideas if there is a webcast? I really want to see/cheer on team 3126 from Hollis, NH!

there is a webcast it's at firstwa.org

[Madison]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Wow, I wish FIRST would have some visual control in this!

Speaking of Seattle, any ideas if there is a webcast? I really want to see/cheer on team 3126 from Hollis, NH!

firstwa.org should have the webcast.

[Francis-134]

FIRST does have some control, specifically the templates they send with every field. If the tubes are inflated to the template, they will at the very least be consistent.

At WPI, we inflated them until the tube touched both sides of the template, then stopped.

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Francis-134

FIRST does have some control, specifically the templates they send with every field. If the tubes are inflated to the template, they will at the very least be consistent.

At WPI, we inflated them until the tube touched both sides of the template, then stopped.

The problem is that the instructions/method for using the template doesn't seem to be consistent across events. I have heard a number of reports from multiple regionals, both on CD and from other contacts of tubes being inflated outside the template and then jammed into the template to prove compliance.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Austin2046

there is a webcast it's at firstwa.org

Originally Posted by Madison

firstwa.org should have the webcast.

Thanks guys!

[JordanC]

Yup this is pretty ridiculous, not really a big deal depending on design choices tho

[sanddrag]

Was the tube size template ever specified in the rules? Gosh, when we were designing our mechanism, the corners of the triangle did not look gigantic like that, and the tube still seemed adequately inflated. Why the need to really fill it so much?

[penguinfrk]

My friend from BC, an alumnus of Trobotics (is Jason here? ) was talking about how the Cascade Regional webcast is far louder than the Olympic Regional webcast. In the pits, Cascade music definitely drowns out Olympic music.

About the tubes--
For our practices matches, we've had to make judgment calls during the queue for Olympic because of the discrepancies in tube sizes. We have a strand of latex tubing across our gripper to more easily account for different sized tubes, and we change the tension based on how inflated the tubes are from the queuing line.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Was the tube size template ever specified in the rules? Gosh, when we were designing our mechanism, the corners of the triangle did not look gigantic like that, and the tube still seemed adequately inflated. Why the need to really fill it so much?

The device was not spelled out, but the spec was:

Originally Posted by 2.2.9

The body of each GAME PIECE has a tubular cross-section, nominally between 7 and 8 inches in diameter at their narrowest. The GAME PIECES are inflated to nominal size, not a specific pressure.

As I recall, the triangles use the 7" guage, and the square and circle use the 8" guage. The way the triangle is made causes it to bulge up at the corners. The square does so as well, but not as much.

[Jared341]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

The device was not spelled out, but the spec was:
As I recall, the triangles use the 7" guage, and the square and circle use the 8" guage. The way the triangle is made causes it to bulge up at the corners. The square does so as well, but not as much.

These tubes are easily 20% larger than the tubes in Florida (but still smaller than the tubes I saw in NJ).

I have it on good authority (from just asking refs and FTAs) that the field manual is pretty sparse on details as to HOW to use the gauge (blow up UNTIL the tube fits vs. blow up and FORCE the tube to fit vs. blow it up all the way and hey, it still fits!).

With a compliant object like an inflated inner tube, I have no doubt that a triangle on the verge of bursting could still fit into a 7" gauge...

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Jared341

With a compliant object like an inflated inner tube, I have no doubt that a triangle on the verge of bursting could still fit into a 7" gauge...

Jared, weren't the FTA's in week one Jamming the tubes into the Gauge..?

What bothers me most about over inflated tubes is that they don't fit through the feeder slot in some cases. If the tube doesn't fit through the slot then don't you think someone would realize that it's too big....?

(Also, you know there is a problem when someone who has never been exposed to Logomotion (My Boss/Our Sponsor) can tell that the tube sizes vary a lot more than they should.)