New Countdown To Kickoff 2015 Website

[Team118Joseph]

I have created a Webpage that counts down to kickoff!
http://frccountdown.hosthorde.net/

I'm running the server off of a Beaglebone Black.

[cjl2625]

Nice, I'll be checking this frequently.
I like watching the milliseconds fly by :P

[devg29]

i am putting this on my favorites bar:D

[Bryce Paputa]

http://imgur.com/fBpIAup

Here's a screenshot of my countdown, it's just stored locally on my computer and set to my home screen. Clicking on the portal area expands it to take up the entire area. I can post the code if anyone wants, but it probably won't work perfectly on very many browsers.

[Bryce Paputa]

Mine is set to 10am EST. I think this is the broadcast time, but I never actually looked it up. Really the hours and minutes are just for show.

[Team118Joseph]

The broadcast starts at 10:30 EST and 9:30 CST
That is 142029900 in epoch seconds for the software

[Bryce Paputa]

The broadcast starts at 10:30 EST and 9:30 CST
That is 142029900 in epoch seconds for the software

Thanks, with javascript you can just enter it in year, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond format instead of calculating the time in seconds.

[Team118Joseph]

I decided to use the milliseconds and convert it over with this code


var d = new Date();
var time_until = (kickoff_date - d.getTime());
var days = Math.floor(time_until/86400000);
time_until = time_until%86400000
var hours = Math.floor(time_until/3600000);
time_until = time_until%3600000
var minutes = Math.floor(time_until/60000);
time_until = Math.floor(time_until%60000);
var seconds = Math.floor(time_until/1000);
var milliseconds = Math.floor(time_until%1000);

[Bryce Paputa]

var kickoff = new Date(2015, 0, 3, 10, 30, 0, 0)
var diff = kickoff - new Date()
var d = Math.floor(diff/1000.0/60.0/60.0/24.0)
diff -= d * 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24
var h = Math.floor(diff/1000.0/60.0/60.0)
diff -= h * 1000 * 60 * 60
var m = Math.floor(diff/1000.0/60.0)
diff -= m * 1000 * 60
var s = Math.floor(diff/1000)
dDiv.innerHTML = d
hDiv.innerHTML = h
mDiv.innerHTML = m
sDiv.innerHTML = s
document.title = d + " Days Until Kickoff"

Here's how I did it, just a little bit easier to read and modify. The -= vs %= difference for the calculation is interesting.

[Team118Joseph]

The %= is modulus equal. Its used to get the remainder of the division. I use it to get the leftover hours, minutes, ext. then use that for the next equation. Once you start using modulus its hard to stop :].

[Bryce Paputa]

The %= is modulus equal. Its used to get the remainder of the division. I use it to get the leftover hours, minutes, ext. then use that for the next equation.
Of course, it's just interesting that we did the exact same calculation differently.

[Team118Joseph]

I was also wondering if anyone had some cool robot pictures I could use for the background. I was thinking of either having the page choose a random robot background or showing a robot of the day.

[waialua359]

Im not creating a link to this!
Everytime I see one of these, I cringe at how little days left we have before the 6 weeks of hell.:eek:

[Calvin Hartley]

I was also wondering if anyone had some cool robot pictures I could use for the background. I was thinking of either having the page choose a random robot background or showing a robot of the day.

(I'm no website builder, so I don't know how complicated this would be, but here's an idea)
Could you make it reference CD media? I believe that's how The Blue Alliance gets photos (correct me if I'm wrong). Showing a daily random or predetermined lineup would be cool.

[Team118Joseph]

I got the slide show code in! Now I just need pictures!:D
Just send pictures to Joseph.Foster118@gmail.com and I will put them into the slide show.

[Team118Joseph]

After I started this thread, new countdowns started popping up. Luckily competition is one of the many great things about FIRST.

[Team118Joseph]

I added a team display to show what team are in the photos. Go check out all the teams that are displayed!

[Team118Joseph]

Less than 50 days left! Thanks to everyone who submitted photos and please keep sending them in!

[DarkRune]

Does anyone else have this error?

[Team118Joseph]

It seems to be a browser issue. I get the same error in Firefox. The site runs best in explorer but will also work in chrome.

[devg29]

Nice updates to the site -- I use chrome and I haven't had any problems so far :)

[Team118Joseph]

I have created a form for uploading photos for the slideshow. Just click the here button in the footer and upload the photo. This should be easier than emailing the photos to me.

[Team118Joseph]

So far the new upload page has been a huge success! Thanks for all the images and keep them coming!

[Team118Joseph]

Less than a month until kickoff! Thanks to every one who has sent in photos and keep them coming!

[g_sawchuk]

Lesson learned. Don't go on this website with full volume on in the middle of a quiet class. That was awkward.

[dellagd]

Lesson learned. Don't go on this website with full volume on in the middle of a quiet class. That was awkward.

Don't worry, I'm in the same boat...

:P

[Whippet]

Lesson learned. Don't go on this website with full volume on in the middle of a quiet class. That was awkward.

You, too? :ahh:

[Team118Joseph]

Sorry about that :p I just thought the site could use a little Macklemore.

[g_sawchuk]

Sorry about that :p I just thought the site could use a little Macklemore.
Trust me, I still enjoyed the music. ;)

[Whippet]

Trust me, I still enjoyed the music. ;)

As did I. :)

[Hgree56]

I love this webpage. It's in my favorites bar and check it everyday at school in my Robotics class.:D

[Team118Joseph]

I love this webpage. It's in my favorites bar and check it everyday at school in my Robotics class.:D

Thanks man. You made my day!

[Whippet]

Hey, I just noticed that your website is 30 minutes ahead of the one on us first.org . Still love the website! My friends are all jamming to the music as I am writing this!

[Team118Joseph]

This problem may be due to how the site gets its time. It takes the time from the clients computer and subtracts that from kickoffs date. If the clients clock is wrong, the timer will be off. I have found this problem occurs on my schools old laptops that have trouble keeping time. I have an idea of how to fix this problem but it isn't ready for deployment yet.

[adammiller3122]

May I ask why you don't just take the time from the server? I know that in PHP it is very easy!

[BBray_T1296]

When I try to load the page it simply locks down Firefox until the plugin crashes

[swwrobotics]

Does the site have explosions and all when the countdown reaches zero? It should show a clip of some video. I think that would be great.

[Team118Joseph]

May I ask why you don't just take the time from the server? I know that in PHP it is very easy!
The issue with that is the site can only load from php one per refresh, and the site gets the time from the client every 37 milliseconds. But you gave me an idea that could help me fix the issue. I can get the time from the server, calculate the error between the client and server times, then add the error time onto the clients time.

When I try to load the page it simply locks down Firefox until the plugin crashes
Firefox has had a ton of issues with the site. Most of these are due to Firefox not liking the positioning and sizing code for the footer. If the site crashes, it usually means I made an error updating and should be fixed within 5 minutes of being made.

Does the site have explosions and all when the countdown reaches zero? It should show a clip of some video. I think that would be great.
When the counter hits 0, It will change the music citing box into a player for the stream. Explosions would be cool... An example can be found here http://frccountdown.hosthorde.net/beta.php

PS. Is the kickoff stream hosted on the NASA education stream?

[Team118Joseph]

I'm sorry to report that the server has been attacked and is shut down at the time being. Some one found a mistake I made in the file submission page and uploaded a malicious file. I do have backups and will have the site back up ASAP.

[Team118Joseph]

The site is back up and running! It took a while to re-flash the Beaglebone and load the backups but the site is back up!

[Team118Joseph]

The site now works with Firefox. There are only 4 and a half days until kickoff! I would like to thank everyone that has sent in images for the slideshow. With 78 and counting, you all have helped the site grow!

[Team118Joseph]

With less than 12 hours until kickoff, the final updates to the site have been made. I have corrected all known timing issues, the steam is displayed 20 minutes before it hits 0, and you can download the manual from the site. Thanks to everyone who has helped the site grow and have a great 2015 season!