#teamtether club

[Caleb Sykes]

Who's in the club? Post video and/or pictures if you have any.

148 (https://vimeo.com/119664649) is the club founder, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have inspired some other teams to build tetherbots with their withholding allowances.

At Lake Superior, 2177 added a tether ramp to aid in loading from the feeder station.

Additionally, 1657 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjfZ-jpPCWA&feature=youtu.be) has a tetherbot named Fetchy that grabs RCs for Stretchy.

[GKrotkov]

Cut & Paste, from 1285:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135445&highlight=1285

ROY G BIV, from 4039:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgmfHsDHyPI&feature=youtu.be

[Shrub]

2175 also added a tether ramp. C:

[Michael 4499]

Also 1296 had a tethered robot at Dallas

[BBray_T1296]

Also 1296 had a tethered robot at Dallas

Allegedly. ;)

[wireties]

Also 1296 had a tethered robot at Dallas

True - ours was a tethered design since sometime late in week one...

http://www.rockwallrobotics.com/robot.html

[ronlottem]

i dont think 148 is the founder. we actually thoght on that idea at day 3

[ccresta1386]

Our team (4954) added a tethered Tote Chute(Yes, Tote Chute) extension at the Hatboro District event. It's name is ReviveR.https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10941835_1609296269300385_8389601841717164017_n.jp g?oh=d3ca757900a4356e2306e079b6bace4b&oe=557E94A8&__gda__=1435812241_00b6d1d362564e5d7282af88b13ccee e

[Caleb Sykes]

i dont think 148 is the founder. we actually thoght on that idea at day 3

I should have been more clear. By 148 is the founder, I meant that they were the first team to publicly reveal a tetherbot. Additionally, I believe they were the first to use the sign #teamtether.

Obviously many teams were developing tethered systems before 148s reveal, and I didn't mean to take anything away from them.

[EricH]

I'm aware of two tote ramp-type tetherbots out here, could be more (and more coming). 1197 and 3408 both deployed ramps at Inland Empire on the last day (Sunday).

[Caleb Sykes]

For the teams that have powered tetherbots, I've seen a couple of different casings for the wires. I am curious to know what kind of materials are being used for this, and how well you or your partners can drive over it.

[Green Potato]

We may be joining the club soon, as we're working on integrating an active tether connected to a stationary lift near the feeding station. If things go as planned, we'll likely use it next at Virginia regional.

[orthoravioli]

The winning alliance at MAR Springside-Chestnut Hill consisted of team 225, 1218, and 204. 204 included a tethered ramp lovingly called the "robox" or "Eugene".

[2789_B_Garcia]

We were on #TeamTether at Alamo. The best part about our setup was the tether itself...to say that the robots had problems would be an understatement, but we had fun, nonetheless, & needless to say, plenty of lessons learned!

Will continue iterating for TRR :)

[nandeeka]

Team 2881 also had a tethered ramp at the Alamo Regional.

[DanielPlotas]

Team 1984 had a Litter-manipulating tetherbot at the Greater Kansas City Regional.

[CalTran]

Team 1984 had a Litter-manipulating tetherbot at the Greater Kansas City Regional.

That thing was adorable. Also at GKC, Team 1806, S.W.A.T. was part of #TeamTether via their HP tote ramp.

[Billfred]

4901 jumped on the bandwagon in Orlando with an unpowered ramp. Slightly jealous of 1523's cardboard box ramp, though.

[Rob3653]

4901 jumped on the bandwagon in Orlando with an unpowered ramp. Slightly jealous of 1523's cardboard box ramp, though.

3653 also built a ramp for Orlando. Only issue throughout the matches was the masons line getting caught in our wheels/axles. Having to remove our wheels after every match was torture.

[nikeairmancurry]

At the Woodhaven district event the following teams all had tethered tote ramps in eliminations.

1023

3604

469

280

[Sperkowsky]

We are in the process of developing an extremely light weight tether ramp design. Its going well.

[Vinh pham 4587]

Team 4587, Jersey Voltage, has a tether bot similar to 148's. For those who are wondering what to use to pass power through your tether. I used one paired 12 gauge wire to drive a cim, and a CAT 5 straight through cable for our sensors like a encoder and limit switch. I then used electrical tape and bundled the cables together every 6in. On each end of the tether we used Andy Anderson connectors, and had a Ethernet breakout board on both robots. All of this is encased inside mesh sleeving.

[Dunngeon]

Team 955 will be part of #teampassivetether at PNW Philomath next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUi3I1mCQbo

[The other Gabe]

955 has released a practice video of themselves tethered to a passive ramp at the feeder, making them the first PNW teamtether bot that I know of

[Dominick Ferone]

Tech Valley had 195 303 and 5030 at the start and as the competition went on 3624 and 20 had joined as well as a few more i believe.

[azcalg]

Team 1212 will be going to the Arizona West regional with a tethered bot. And by tethered, we have two completely identical (minus the electronics) robots. Each robot has 7 different motors, two limit switches, and a camera so there's a massive cable running between the two of them. If I remember correctly our 20 foot cable weighs something like 8 pounds.

We're using corrugated wrap around sleeving that's held together with electrical tape as casing for the wires. The sleeving has held up really well despite our relatively inexperienced (myself included) drivers constantly driving over it. It's relatively easy to drive over but it's a rather large bump so it's definitely noticeable. The tape has begun to come undone in a few areas but a fresh new strip will easily fix that. My only problem with it is that over time it has developed some kinks that may prove difficult to undo and it doesn't stretch quite to 20 feet, more like 18, which may be because there's lots of wire but the sleeving certainly doesn't help. Would it be worth it to go through the effort of switching to mesh sleeving? How well has it held up for other teams?

I'll try to post pictures or maybe a release video if we manage to make one in the next couple weeks. We still aren't quite done making minor adjustments and we haven't practiced a whole lot... it's going to be a very stressful Thursday making all the changes.

[Ryan Dognaux]

4329 joined #teamtether this past weekend. We created a fairly lightweight ramp out of 1/16" thick L-angle and a few pieces of sheet metal. It at least doubled our tote stacking speed and allowed us to create at least a capped 6 stack in almost every match that we used it -

http://i.imgur.com/vDIvREml.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RCrReQMh.jpg

To my knowledge we were the only ones at St. Louis trying this and we never had any entanglement issues since we would just stay in the corner with our ramp the whole match.

For champs we are working on making the ramp start folded up and have it fold down in order to not interfere with teams that have a 3 tote autonomous.

[Kevin Leonard]

Tech Valley had 195 303 and 5030 at the start and as the competition went on 3624 and 20 had joined as well as a few more i believe.

During eliminations, we had 5254's ramp tethered to our robot. They needed it to increase their scoring output, but they didn't have the weight to have both the ramp and their crossbow to grab containers from the step (which we badly needed).

20 had the weight since we removed our active intake, and we tethered their ramp to our robot. We were concerned about the tether getting caught in our wheels, but we managed to avoid it for most of playoffs by accounting for it in match strategy.

Our third partner, 3624, also used a ramp for their last qualification match, and looked fairly impressive. In their first match with a ramp, they managed to make their first capped stack of 5 of the tournament. They were also excellent at capping stacks of 5 with their other manipulator.

[alo098]

How did your teams get around these rules for the robot?

No Risk of Damage to Other Robots - e.g. spearing, entangling, upending or adhering. <G16, R08>

[EricH]

How did your teams get around these rules for the robot?

No Risk of Damage to Other Robots - e.g. spearing, entangling, upending or adhering. <G16, R08>

You use a tether that is difficult to tangle up in. Also, generally speaking, if you do such things to your partners, you've inflicted enough of a penalty on yourself that the refs probably won't call it. (They may send you back to the LRI, though, for reinspection of the hazard.)

I know for 1197, we only tangled once, and it was ourselves we snagged. Figures it'd happen in F2 at L.A....

[Dominick Ferone]

For us we always stayed in just the radius of the feeder and scoring platform and warned other to watch out if they come near. Our thither is one that you don't get stuck on as much as you have to climb over it then.

[rick.oliver]

4028 constructed and added a passive ramp and tether at CIR when we confirmed our available weight.

[Louisiana Jones]

That thing was adorable. Also at GKC, Team 1806, S.W.A.T. was part of #TeamTether via their HP tote ramp.

Here is an up close video of our ramp, "mini-fridge", in action at GKC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXGRC6AF2Ng

[camtunkpa]

222 is planning to join the #teamtether club at Bridgewater.

[ThePancakeMan]

For our elimination matches we had constructed a ramp for our second pick(#167) to use. It worked out pretty well in terms of the totes sliding into the field pretty well. Took all of 20 mins to make it. We had started right after alliance selection.

[Wayne TenBrink]

How many of these tethered-ramp bots can work the "tight" (right) corner?

How are you planning to get RC's from the step?

[c.shu]

How many of these tethered-ramp bots can work the "tight" (right) corner?

How are you planning to get RC's from the step?

Quitting #TeamTether seems like a reasonable option. ;)

[Dominick Ferone]

Our ramp worked better feeding from the right station rather then the left, as we liked to sit up against the alliance wall drive up grab the tote and back up.

[AdamHeard]

Quitting #TeamTether seems like a reasonable option. ;)

I've heard rumors of #TeamTether Cheesecake.

[Dragonking]

We are planning on having a tethered ramp weighing .5-1lb including tether for Bedford District Event.

[Sperkowsky]

So we entered #teamtether for one match thanks to 2601 cheesecakeing us :). I can say whatever you do try to keep that cable off the ground. It rendered our poor little robot useless because even though we had a ramp. The tether was in the way of us getting to the ramp. It was a small string and when I slightly pushed the robot forward it tangled in our mecanum wheels. :( Thanks again to 2601 for helping out even though it didn't work.

But hey our team was part of team tether for all of 5 minutes

[Brian Maher]

Team 1257 may be joining #teamTether for North Brunswick. We're testing a few ideas.

[Nyxyxylyth]

I can say whatever you do try to keep that cable off the ground. It rendered our poor little robot useless because even though we had a ramp. The tether was in the way of us getting to the ramp. It was a small string and when I slightly pushed the robot forward it tangled in our mecanum wheels. :(
The first time we tried, we used a relatively small string. Huge mistake - it wrapped around and then snapped the driveshaft.

One transmission later, we changed to a Home Depot braided rope. No problem through the playoffs. I'm not sure how it would fare with mecanums - we have fat Colsons in the front and skinny omnis in the back.

[Sperkowsky]

The first time we tried, we used a relatively small string. Huge mistake - it wrapped around and then snapped the driveshaft.

One transmission later, we changed to a Home Depot braided rope. No problem through the playoffs. I'm not sure how it would fare with mecanums - we have fat Colsons in the front and skinny omnis in the back.
It could have been bad. As soon as a ran over it I decided not to move the robot much. I tried a back and forth motion without much wiggle. After the match it was a simple pull out but if I pushed it we would have had to take those wheels apart to untangle them.

[wireties]

Our robot has one active tether between two robots all the time and during one match in OKC we debuted a third piece. We used a ramp connected to our stacking cube to help out an alliance partner Saturday morning. So #TeamTwoTethers?

[cglrcng]

After volunteering & working (I will emphasize work, because resetting this game is real work...my hat is off to all who choose to do so too, as that is a crazy amount of game pcs!), at the Las Vegas Regionals this weekend, and I'm very sore, and popping a few Advil right now.

The #TeamTether dynamic duo (148, but really more like a trio w/ 987 added again)...Congrat's to all of them again on their Big Win, along w/ their 3rd. Alliance partner 5012, they all were a very tough hill to attempt to even climb. (Thanks to 3309 & 4322 for even attempting that feat w/ our team today)....After the final semi match, it gave all a slight bit of hope, it just wasn't to be today...But, we will see all at The Championships soon enough as all 6 qualified and were invited to do so, by wins, prestigious awards, or wildcards.

(My only wish was that there had been a matchup -in either practice or qualifying, where the 3 teams could have played just once together as 1-2-3 seeds....Just to see how many points the quad could have racked up together, as a few others, were lucky enough to do during the event.

Even though it was certainly a lot of work for the field reset team (and the Refs and others all participating and sharing the huge load), watching 148~60 take out the entire backfield once, was very fun to watch from the sidelines (only the empty very lonely lidless litter container was left behind along w/ the bare carpet), along w/~991 munching totes from the landfill to put up 208 in Q36 (also answered by 3577~2478~1828w/ 114 points of their own for a total match score of 322).

148/987/ came very close to doing the very same thing a few matches later in Q49. (leaving only 2 very lonely totes in the backfield, 1 in the chute, 1 on the carpet below the chute). And of course a lonely litter container filled above the brim w/ litter.

I also noticed that there was something a few have crafted as an artform to emulate the tethered ramp, only without the tether (No, it wouldn't be Robin ~Trusty friend of the other caped crusader Batman (and their other trusty friends The High Rollers, and whoever else will help out), who stacks as one delivers, and also accomodates a partners robot too, by allowing the early stack steal).

But, a single upside down grey or yellow tote very properly & carefully placed, directly under the tote chute parallel to the Tote Chute wall, is at the perfect height & angle w/ nice rounded smooth slick edges.

And the totes slide out smoothly bottom down, and flat on the carpet. (*So, don't waste those upsidedown tote mistakes either, just create a ramp w/ them if you are a bottom stacker! And go make some really sweet tall stacks.)

Kudos to those that found another different solution post robot build, to a sometimes very tough backfield HP to-field tote delivery system.

[RamZ]

Team 4 has been in #teamtether since our last match at the LA regional, with our tethered ramp. We fixed it up between LA and Ventura, and it helped a ton at the Ventura Regional! In eliminations (shoutout to Teams 399 and 1458), we tied on a second ramp for 1458 to use while we used ours. #teamdoubletether?

[EricH]

Team 4 has been in #teamtether since our last match at the LA regional, with our tethered ramp. We fixed it up between LA and Ventura, and it helped a ton at the Ventura Regional! In eliminations (shoutout to Teams 399 and 1458), we tied on a second ramp for 1458 to use while we used ours. #teamdoubletether?

I was going to bring you guys up, that second tethered ramp to the first tethered ramp was brilliant.

[RamZ]

I was going to bring you guys up, that second tethered ramp to the first tethered ramp was brilliant.

Thank you! As driver, the ramp worked wonders. Our rope kept getting caught in our wheels though, so we replaced it with belt (similar to this stuff (http://www.zitic.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/11.jpg)) and it never got caught again. I would definitely recommend it to any teams looking to join #teamtether in the last few weeks of competitions.