IFI Increases Support of FRC Teams

[Ricky Q.]

VEX Robotics and its parent company, Innovation First International (IFI), have been strong supporters of the FIRST Robotics Competition for more than 14 years. Each year, the company provides mentors, team sponsorship opportunities and is an official supplier for the FRC Kit of Parts.

For the 2013 season, Innovation First International has taken strides to support FRC teams more profoundly by increasing its Kit of Parts donation. In addition, we are excited to announce that from December 5, 2012 – April 15, 2013, FRC teams will be able to purchase the new Victor 888 motor controller (http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/217-2769.html) from VEX Robotics for only $50. Additionally, the Jaguar Motor Controller (http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/217-3367.html) will be available for $60.

We understand that many FRC teams operate with limited resources, and this new pricing is intended to help teams purchase the additional motor controllers they need for the upcoming season, without going over their budget. Various IFI stickers will be included in every FRC Kit of Parts so teams who take advantage of this donation can show appreciation by placing them on their robot.

We wish all teams the best in the upcoming season!

[IndySam]

OUTSTANDING!

[Brandon Holley]

Absolutely amazing news.

Thanks for continuing to support FRC in such substantial ways.

-Brando

[Pjohn1959]

I'll be in for 10. I was looking to get all new this year anyway. Thanks IFI!
:)

[Gregor]

Does this make it safe to assume that the Victor 888 will be competition legal for 2013?

[Walter Deitzler]

Does this make it safe to assume that the Victor 888 will be competition legal for 2013?

I would assume so.

THANK YOU IFI!

[Billfred]

Now THAT'S a steal. Thank you to The Powers That Be for making that possible.

[R.C.]

Oh Gosh,

Thanks IFI!

We'll be buying Vics for sure now. Not that we already don't but this price makes it hard to buy a Jaguar and/or Talon Speed Controller.

-RC

[sanddrag]

We'll proudly display that sticker should we choose to take advantage of this offer. This is wonderful news. It makes me feel like someone reads my KOP survey feedback and comments left on the FRC blog. At this price, we may even resurrect old robots with some new Victors.

[Joe Ross]

Does this make it safe to assume that the Victor 888 will be competition legal for 2013?

Frank already announced that they would be in the KOP, which would make them legal. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-10-03-12

[Nick Lawrence]

This is wonderful news. Excuse me while I go jump for joy.

-Nick

[Gregor]

Frank already announced that they would be in the KOP, which would make them legal. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-10-03-12

It doesn't specify which model of victor(s) will be legal, only that some form of victor will be allowed. However from this thread it is probably safe to assume that at least the 888's will be legal.

[MagiChau]

Frank already announced that they would be in the KOP, which would make them legal. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-10-03-12

Frank's post does not confirm that the Victor 888 specifically is 2013 legal. He actually replied on a comment by Jon Stratis about whether the Victor 888 and Talon are legal with "Jon, I'm glad you liked the info. Unfortunately, this is all the information we're releasing about motor controllers at this time."

[Travis Hoffman]

My question is whether 884's will still be legal. One would presume so, but hey, they had to make 883's obsolete at some point back in the day. It's gonna happen eventually - just hopefully not too quickly.

[Richard Wallace]

Smoothly powered FRC drivetrains just got a lot less expensive. See Ether's data (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2720) for details.

Bravo, IFI!

[waialua359]

I'm going to assume its legal as well, and after not seeing a limit to how much we can get, it looks like bulk order time!:)

[Travis Hoffman]

I'm going to assume its legal as well, and after not seeing a limit to how much we can get, it looks like bulk order time!:)

I wonder how many they are stocking to survive the anticipated large demand. It would be unfortunate for a few teams to make huge orders, leaving many teams who wish to purchase only a few in a bind if stock runs out, even for a short while.

[JohnSchneider]

This is outstanding!!!!

Is this only online or can we come get some in person? :cool:

[Paul Copioli]

This is outstanding!!!!

Is this only online or can we come get some in person? :cool:

You can order online and select the pickup option. If you do, then you can pick them up at the office and save shipping cost.

Paul

[Akash Rastogi]

This is excellent! Thank you IFI for staying strong with supporting FRC. This is a huge help to young and old teams alike!

[BigJ]

Dang! We just bought 8 884's last year ;) Just kidding, this is a great deal.

Thanks IFI!!!

[Ether]

If you like the 884's, you'll love the 888's. Much less ripple current, reasonably linear under load.

[Nemo]

Win! This just cut the our biggest parts expense by almost half!

[F22Rapture]

As a low-resource team, this is really great news :D

Looking at Ether's data though, it does look like the Jaguar and Talon still have slightly better consistency than the 888. Are there any situations where this would possibly matter, or are they essentially identical in the context of FRC use?

[Nemo]

As a low-resource team, this is really great news :D

Looking at Ether's data though, it does look like the Jaguar and Talon still have slightly better consistency than the 888. Are there any situations where this would possibly matter, or are they essentially identical in the context of FRC use?

To me, the absence of CAN in Victors is a bigger knock than a slight difference in ability to maintain a linear response. But you can always use the KoP voucher to pick up two Jaguars and use them in key spots where you deem that to be important. I might do that in case we want to control something using CAN.

[apalrd]

To me, the absence of CAN in Victors is a bigger knock than a slight difference in ability to maintain a linear response. But you can always use the KoP voucher to pick up two Jaguars and use them in key spots where you deem that to be important. I might do that in case we want to control something using CAN.

I've never required a CAN jaguar in an FRC application. In fact, I've never used CAN on a FRC robot (I have used can at work and school, so it's not fear of the unknown).

I still don't think it's required in any application. The cRio is usually a better place to implement algorithms anyway, since it's often good to design an algorithm around what you need rather than use a pure PID control.

[Jared Russell]

Fantastic news IFI! Hope you have the inventory to support the massive number of 888s we will surely be ordering!

As an aside, I wish I could be a fly on the wall at the Copioli family Thanksgiving this year...

[M. Mellott]

Great news! Thank you IFI and all of those involved in this decision. :D

My only question is...will other motor controllers follow suit with a similar price reduction?

[Taylor]

You can order online and select the pickup option. If you do, then you can pick them up at the office and save shipping cost.

Paul

If a certain somebody was to fly from Texas to Michigan or maybe Ontario, and a box of Victors fell out of the airplane, say near the south side of Indianapolis, that would be cool too.

[Jon Stratis]

Awesome news, I think we'll be stocking up this year! The biggest reason we switched to Jaguars on our drive train starting with Lunacy was the linearity difference. With Breakaway we then switched over to CAN (easier wire routing, and it made encoder feedback for our mecanum wheels easier), and have stuck with it ever since. It only caused an issue once, where a pinched CAN cable disconnected, leaving our entire drive train dead for a match.

The new Victor, especially with this new price point, is making me think twice about how we might want to handle things this year. CAN does have some benefits that we've used in the past (it lets you use more than 10 motor controllers without an extra digital sidecar, and we've used the limit switch inputs to automatically control some motors, reducing complexity in the code), but the smaller footprint of the Victors is definitely a plus.

[Karthik]

You can order online and select the pickup option. If you do, then you can pick them up at the office and save shipping cost.

This option is available for Canadian teams as well. Our pickup location is the IFI Canada office, in Pickering, just east of Toronto. Teams can order online and come pick up the products on the same day.

[Jimmy Nichols]

This option is available for Canadian teams as well. Our pickup location is the IFI Canada office, in Pickering, just east of Toronto. Teams can order online and come pick up the products on the same day.

So when do we open the Midwest office up in Cincinnati? :D

[Richard Wallace]

So when do we open the Midwest office up in Cincinnati? :DI was thinking of Chicago or St. Louis for the Midwest office.

Maybe just split the difference and go with Kokomo? ;)

[Ricky Q.]

I'm going to assume its legal as well, and after not seeing a limit to how much we can get, it looks like bulk order time!:)

I wonder how many they are stocking to survive the anticipated large demand. It would be unfortunate for a few teams to make huge orders, leaving many teams who wish to purchase only a few in a bind if stock runs out, even for a short while.

Fantastic news IFI! Hope you have the inventory to support the massive number of 888s we will surely be ordering!

While we are not anticipating any inventory problems, we will impose a limit of (10) Victor 888's per order during the period before kickoff to ensure availability in January.

[Andy Baker]

While we are not anticipating any inventory problems, we will impose a limit of (10) Victor 888's per order during the period before kickoff to ensure availability in January.

Oh phooey. There goes my plan to buy 1,000 for team 3940!

Andy B.

[Tom Line]

Ha! I sent an email to our head mentor saying "20?".

His reply was: "At least."

[waialua359]

While we are not anticipating any inventory problems, we will impose a limit of (10) Victor 888's per order during the period before kickoff to ensure availability in January.
Fair enough..........**waiting til kickoff**;)

[Peyton Yeung]

I was thinking of Chicago or St. Louis for the Midwest office.

Maybe just split the difference and go with Kokomo? ;)

AndyMark and IFI in the same town...sounds awesome :)

[Ricky Q.]

As part of our increased support for FRC teams in the upcoming season, we are pleased to announce that the Jaguar Motor Controller (http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/217-3367.html) will be available from VEX Robotics for $60 from December 5, 2012 - April 15, 2013.

[Richard Wallace]

A rising tide lifts all boats.

[Jared Russell]

I <3 the free market.

(sometimes)

[Allison K]

It now costs more to buy motor controllers for FTC (a program marketed as a less resource intense option) than it does to buy them for FRC. High fives for IFI.

[alb4h]

Wow! Fantastic! - Thanks!!!!!

[dcarr]

This link comes up with a 404 error for me.
http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/victor-888.html

Was anyone able to order today?

[Jon Stratis]

It looks like they changed the URL:
http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/217-2769.html

However, it looks like it isn't quite available yet...

[dcarr]

It looks like they changed the URL:
http://www.vexrobotics.com/products/vexpro/217-2769.html

However, it looks like it isn't quite available yet...

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out there. Planning to order a bunch once they go on sale since I don't have any expectation of how quickly they'll sell out (hopefully not too bad in case we need replacements).

We're taking this opportunity to move entirely to Victors from Jaguars in 2013...we're keeping our Jags around to power old robots for practicing and demos.

[Tom Line]

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out there. Planning to order a bunch once they go on sale since I don't have any expectation of how quickly they'll sell out (hopefully not too bad in case we need replacements).

We're taking this opportunity to move entirely to Victors from Jaguars in 2013...we're keeping our Jags around to power old robots for practicing and demos.

I'm curious, what motivated you to use Victors over Talons?

[dcarr]

I'm curious, what motivated you to use Victors over Talons?

We were motivated by low cost (Victors being the cheapest of the three options, adds up when you buy 10-12) and the proven track record they have. Plus the output on the 888 is linear so that's not a benefit exclusive to the Talons. The Talons do look good though, and since we haven't purchased any Victors yet, we may still change our minds.

[CalTran]

VEXPro (http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro) just went live, if you didn't catch the rest of the storm that took over Facebook and ChiefDelphi...

[dcarr]

VEXPro (http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro) just went live, if you didn't catch the rest of the storm that took over Facebook and ChiefDelphi...

Very hard to miss :D Certainly awesome news!

[gyroscopeRaptor]

The video they made (http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/video.html) is awesome. Will show this to mentors and probably place orders!

[Akash Rastogi]

I <3 the free market.

(sometimes)

This. So much this.

[dcarr]

The video they made (http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/video.html) is awesome. Will show this to mentors and probably place orders!

Definitely took a few cues from Apple's videos :)