FRC Blog - Get Ready to Make FIRST Choices

[cgmv123]

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-Get-Ready-to-Make-FIRST-Choices

Today’s blog post was written by Kate Pilotte, FIRST Robotics Competition’s Kit of Parts Manager.

I’ve challenged myself to write this blog in a way that it has all the information needed if you’re new (or need a refresher), but also so experts out there can just skim the bolded content and get the gist. Here goes…

We’re doing FIRST Choice again. If you already know what FIRST Choice is, you can skip this part. If you’re still reading, you’re a rookie team, want a refresher, or can’t resist reading something you were told you could skip.

I’ll start with a general introduction of what we mean when we talk about the “Kit of Parts” (KOP). The KOP is a term that’s evolved to mean “goods we obtain from companies on behalf of, and provide to, FRC Teams.” These items then get to you, our customers, via three different methods:


the Kickoff Kit: items that we pack in totes (mostly in totes, there are typically exceptions for late or big items) and distributed to Teams at local Kickoff sites. There are two permutations of this – one set of items that go to all Teams and a second container that goes to 1st year, aka “Rookie,” Teams
the Virtual Kit: items donated by Suppliers, but don’t actually come to FIRST for redistribution. Custom orders (like Bimba cylinders), software downloads, and Product Donation Vouchers all fit this category.
FIRST Choice: FIRST Choice consists of an online menu of items available to 2016 FRC Teams, and it’s hosted by our friends at AndyMark (for free!). Its purpose is to make available a variety of sweet goodies that Suppliers cannot provide in volumes to support all of the Kickoff Kits. Instead, Teams use a limited number of credits to pick and choose the items they prefer. Because of the limited inventory, we typically run out of popular items, but we’d rather make a variety of items in limited quantities available than none at all.


Priority Lists are back, and we’ll do two rounds (one before Kickoff and one after Kickoff). The Priority List process, illustrated in more detail here (http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/2016%20FIRSTChoice%20Process.pdf), is a little complex. Based on feedback from last year, we believe that what it lacks in simplicity, it makes up for in user experience and satisfaction. The Priority List is optional, and the deadline for Round 1 Priority Lists is noon (Eastern Time) on Sunday, December 6, 2015.

Each Priority List created by the deadline (one per Team), will be assigned a random rank. The order in which individual teams complete their Priority Lists before the deadline does not affect their rank. All teams that add at least one item to their Priority List by the deadline are put in a common pool and then randomly sequenced. This is what we mean by ‘random rank.’

Then, in rank order, AndyMark’s auto draft system will query the Team’s highest priority item and, provided the Team has the credits and FIRST Choice has the inventory, issue the item to the Team. This applies to each Priority List line item as ranked. If the team doesn't have enough Credits to cover the entire amount (but at least one) or FIRST Choice inventory doesn't have the entire quantity (but at least one), the team will get as many as their credits/FIRST Choice inventory allow. If credits or inventory can’t cover one, it will move on to the next ranked item so the team is not skipped for that round.

Once it gets to the last ranked Priority List, the draft system will query that last Priority List’s next item and work its way back up the ranks (for Teams that know how we’ve done Alliance Selection in the past, this serpentine process probably seems familiar). This draft continues until inventory’s gone or Priority Lists have been exhausted. Inventory will be updated for when FIRST Choice opens for traditional “first come, first served” live orders.

A few other notes about the process:


Login information will be posted to each Team’s TIMS account. Only registered FRC Teams will see their login information in TIMS and thus only registered FRC Teams will be able to create a Priority List.
Priority Lists will be created using the Priority List feature on AndyMark’s FIRST Choice site.
Shipping charges will apply (details to be posted on FIRSTChoiceByAndyMark.com (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/) before Priority Lists are due), and unlike last year, a billing address, shipping address, and credit card information must be provided before creating your Priority List. For international Teams, additional charges may apply, for which the Team is responsible and AndyMark will address on a case by case basis.
Priority Lists are saved each time the user clicks “Update,” letting teams add, subtract, and reprioritize items until the deadline.
Upon the deadline, any existing Priority Lists will be locked, processed, and no additional changes may be made.
We will not publicly publish Teams’ Priority Lists, the assigned rankings, or final order contents.
Items will not ship until a Team has secured first event registration payment with FIRST (please allow at least one business day for this transaction to be processed and the status to be relayed to AndyMark).

So, the timeline for FIRST Choice is as follows (all events happen at noon, Eastern):

ROUND 1


11/19/15 Round 1 begins, FIRST Choice login information live in TIMS (for registered teams) and credit allotments live at FIRSTChoiceByAndyMark.com (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/).
12/06/15 Round 1 Team Priority Lists due
12/08/15 AndyMark notifies each Team of their Round 1 draft results


Traditional Ordering


12/11/15 FIRST Choice opens for traditional live orders
01/08/16 FIRST Choice closes


ROUND 2


01/09/16 Round 2 begins, additional credits issued (unused credits do carry over).
01/16/16 Round 2 Team Priority Lists due
01/19/16 AndyMark notifies each Team of their Round 2 draft results


Traditional Ordering


01/22/16 FIRST Choice opens for traditional live orders
04/14/16 FIRST Choice closes for the 2016 season


I’d like to take this opportunity to thank AndyMark for their generosity and commitment to improving the FIRST Choice experience. They donate such a valuable service, and we’re so happy they’ve continued their support.

If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to ask in the comments below or post them to the FIRST Choice Forum (http://forums.usfirst.org/forumdisplay.php?1577-2016-FIRST-Choice).

[pabeekm]

A blog post! I guess I'll start reading into everything as though it were a very vague game hint....

....wait a second....
how we’ve done Alliance Selection in the past
:yikes:

[z_beeblebrox]

So when are the items available in FIRST Choice listed on AndyMark's site? November 19th?

[JB987]

November 19, Cyber Gods willing...

[sanddrag]

Round 2 is 10 days after kickoff? There must not be much of anything important left after round 1. 10 days in is pretty late. That's practically 1/4 of the build season.

[BrendanB]

Round 2 is 10 days after kickoff? There must not be much of anything important left after round 1. 10 days in is pretty late. That's practically 1/4 of the build season.

Not a bad idea. First choice usually tapers off quickly in terms of highly useful items teams need during build season with the more valuable items going in the very early stages of Round 1. Then teams might be able to grab a few Round 2 items that might actually be useful once they get an idea of which direction they are going.

Might also allow Andymark to focus their first week on the initial rush of after kickoff orders for game specific items.

[Lil' Lavery]

Not a bad idea. First choice usually tapers off quickly in terms of highly useful items teams need during build season with the more valuable items going in the very early stages of Round 1. Then teams might be able to grab a few Round 2 items that might actually be useful once they get an idea of which direction they are going.

Might also allow Andymark to focus their first week on the initial rush of after kickoff orders for game specific items.

The counterpoint is it's harder to place your "real money" orders early in build season if you don't know what you're getting from FIRST choice. Also, the parts will show up later (obviously).

[Travis Hoffman]

FIRST Choice goes Fantasy Football.

[page2067]

FIRST Choice goes Fantasy Football.

Not quite Draft Kings / Fan Duel though

Need to wait 2 weeks!

- we need more immediate gratification!?

[Foster]

Not a bad idea. First choice usually tapers off quickly in terms of highly useful items teams need during build season with the more valuable items going in the very early stages of Round 1. Then teams might be able to grab a few Round 2 items that might actually be useful once they get an idea of which direction they are going.

Might also allow Andymark to focus their first week on the initial rush of after kickoff orders for game specific items.

Just a reminder, these are free items that AM is storing, cataloging, entering into the FirstChoice System, picking, packing and shipping. So it makes sense that this happens well before kickoff. And it makes sense to do it after the week one rush is done so AM can get their real jobs done.

The takeaway from this post is 1) this is again free stuff, not your birthright, not paid for by your entry fee. 2)AM is adding extra work to their busiest time of the year to help support FRC 3) You should be sending thank you notes to AM even if you get one item for doing this.

[zcohen]

The takeaway from this post is 1) this is again free stuff, not your birthright, not paid for by your entry fee. 2)AM is adding extra work to their busiest time of the year to help support FRC 3) You should be sending thank you notes to AM even if you get one item for doing this.

1) Since when was this free? I spend $5000 to get this stuff. The kickoff kits used to be much larger, with many of the things we've seen in FIRST Choice in them for everyone. As teams grew though they couldn't get the supplies for everyone and they set up this system. Yeah it allows for some cool new stuff, but at the loss of quite a few items that we used to get, so I would never say its free.
2) Did Andymark ever say that they do this for nothing? Maybe they had and if thats the case kudos to them (ignoring the probably huge tax writeoff they can get for this). If not though, it doesnt make much economic sense for a company of Andymark's size to deal with FIRST Choice for free. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of monetary support so that they at least get close to breaking even.

[mwmac]

1) Since when was this free? I spend $5000 to get this stuff. The kickoff kits used to be much larger, with many of the things we've seen in FIRST Choice in them for everyone. As teams grew though they couldn't get the supplies for everyone and they set up this system. Yeah it allows for some cool new stuff, but at the loss of quite a few items that we used to get, so I would never say its free.
2) Did Andymark ever say that they do this for nothing? Maybe they had and if thats the case kudos to them (ignoring the probably huge tax writeoff they can get for this). If not though, it doesnt make much economic sense for a company of Andymark's size to deal with FIRST Choice for free. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of monetary support so that they at least get close to breaking even.

Just a thought, before pressing submit reply, read what you write and ask if your post conveys your true thoughts. Ingratitude plus speculative musings based upon no information does not reflect a positive image.

[Taylor]

1) Since when was this free? I spend $5000 to get this stuff. The kickoff kits used to be much larger, with many of the things we've seen in FIRST Choice in them for everyone. As teams grew though they couldn't get the supplies for everyone and they set up this system. Yeah it allows for some cool new stuff, but at the loss of quite a few items that we used to get, so I would never say its free.
Okay, semantics. It's not free. But if you were to buy everything yourself, I'd bet you're getting close to a 75% discount overall.
Plus, I don't know about you, but our shelves are crammed with things we got in past KoPs that we never used (but might be useful later-?). Smaller KoPs with the freedom to choose among some of the more auxiliary parts help streamline our warehouse.
2) Did Andymark ever say that they do this for nothing? Maybe they had and if thats the case kudos to them (ignoring the probably huge tax writeoff they can get for this). If not though, it doesnt make much economic sense for a company of Andymark's size to deal with FIRST Choice for free. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of monetary support so that they at least get close to breaking even.
The 'kickback' they get is that they get to say they are a Crown Supplier. This is a donation of their time, materials, manpower, website hosting and construction, and space. So, yes, kudos to them.

[Mark McLeod]

FIRST Choice - Update for 2015 (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-FIRST-Choice-Update-for-2015)

FIRST Choice is hosted by our friends at AndyMark (for free!) and consists of an online menu of items available to 2015 FRC Teams.
AndyMark also contributes FTA's (a volunteer position, but they pay their employees to volunteer for FIRST) and other field support personnel for many events during the season. Andy and Mark really believe in and support the FIRST mission.
You can check their website (https://www.andymark.com/aboutus.asp) for what everyone does.

[Foster]

1) Since when was this free? I spend $5000 to get this stuff. The kickoff kits used to be much larger, with many of the things we've seen in FIRST Choice in them for everyone. As teams grew though they couldn't get the supplies for everyone and they set up this system. Yeah it allows for some cool new stuff, but at the loss of quite a few items that we used to get, so I would never say its free.

Hi, you must be new here. it's a well known fact that your $5,000 donation goes directly to FIRST. All of the parts, all of the totes, all of the shipping to your kick off site is donated.

Oh, that regional you "paid for". Donations make that happen.

Time for you to search in the CD archives about FIRST financials.


2) Did Andymark ever say that they do this for nothing? Maybe they had and if thats the case kudos to them (ignoring the probably huge tax writeoff they can get for this). If not though, it doesnt make much economic sense for a company of Andymark's size to deal with FIRST Choice for free. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of monetary support so that they at least get close to breaking even.

Andy Mark does amazing things to help roboteers. VEX does amazing things to help roboteers. While they meet bottom lines, the employees and owners put passion in front of profits. Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast made $32.9 million last year. If all the First FRC teams bough ALL their parts from AM, the gross would be less than half of what Brian made.

People do amazing things for stuff the have a passion for.

I salute the robotics suppliers, I think they are awesome people with bad business sense. I buy as much stuff from them as I can, just to keep them (parts, same day shipping, talk to an engineer on a call, phone answered on the weekend) around for another year.

You, on the other hand, should do some research before you post and look like an idiot.

[Jared Russell]

Every time I feel compelled to complain about the size of the kit of parts now versus in the past, I remember that the incredible growth in the quality, diversity, affordability, and availability of FRC-specific COTS items over the past decade (and general loosening of allowed COTS parts rules) means we are getting a MUCH better deal now than at any other point in FRC history.

Think about it:

15 years ago, the registration fee (for a single regional, where you were probably getting 7-10 matches) was still $5000. Adjusted for inflation, that's $6900 today. In 2005, it was raised to $6000, or $7300 today. In the past, you got a slightly larger kit (although no kitbot until...2005?), but there was no AndyMark or VexPro. There were heavy restrictions on what you could use outside of the kit.

Today we pay ~$2000 less for the same registration (which is also going to tend to be for a closer event with more matches than in the past) and have FIRST Choice. Yes, you might not end up with your preferred parts. Yes, you haul less stuff home from kickoff. But compared to the past, a $2000 voucher for the 2015 version of AndyMark + Vex is BY FAR the best deal we've EVER gotten.

[bigbeezy]

I really like FIRSTChoice. They've done a great job with it (continuing to make improvements) and have cut down on team's stockpiling useless (to them) items. We used to get so many things that my teams would never touch and would just sit on a shelf taking up space, and eventually they'd get thrown away. I'm glad that now I don't have to deal with that (mostly, please no more throttle motors ;) ) and teams that do want those items have the opportunity.

[pribusin]

A huge thank you to AndyMark and their staff for providing this very much free service to the teams. Without your efforts and the generosity of the donors, these FirstChoice parts may not be available to us at all and we would have to spend team funds to purchase similar items.

THANK YOU :)

[sanddrag]

Every time I feel compelled to complain about the size of the kit of parts now versus in the past, I remember that the incredible growth in the quality, diversity, affordability, and availability of FRC-specific COTS items over the past decade (and general loosening of allowed COTS parts rules) means we are getting a MUCH better deal now than at any other point in FRC history.

Think about it:

15 years ago, the registration fee (for a single regional, where you were probably getting 7-10 matches) was still $5000. Adjusted for inflation, that's $6900 today. In 2005, it was raised to $6000, or $7300 today. In the past, you got a slightly larger kit (although no kitbot until...2005?), but there was no AndyMark or VexPro. There were heavy restrictions on what you could use outside of the kit.

Today we pay ~$2000 less for the same registration (which is also going to tend to be for a closer event with more matches than in the past) and have FIRST Choice. Yes, you might not end up with your preferred parts. Yes, you haul less stuff home from kickoff. But compared to the past, a $2000 voucher for the 2015 version of AndyMark + Vex is BY FAR the best deal we've EVER gotten.Absolutely agreed on all points. All factors considered (vouchers, FC, etc), it's a great value. Back in the day, we never had the kind of product donation vouchers we do now. Bimba was about it.

As for the kitbot, that came about in 2003. Anyone remember those right angle helical gears, plastic gearbox pieces, and gigantic 2x4 aluminum rectangular tubes? I think it even included some Skyway 9x2 wheels. Ah, Skyway wheels, that takes me back. As much of a failure as that system was along with the terrible Bosch drill gearboxes, the Bosch drill motors were amazingly powerful for their size, and I wouldn't mind something like that returning (so long as they didn't have the fragile plastic brush-holder assembly). 2005 was the first year of the "modern"-era kitbot with the metric gearbox designed by Paul Copioli, and then I think in 06 it went to an AndyMark Toughbox, and at some point it changed to a CIM-ple Box.

[bigbeezy]

2005 was the first year of the "modern"-era kitbot with the metric gearbox designed by Paul Copioli, and then I think in 06 it went to an AndyMark Toughbox, and at some point it changed to a CIM-ple Box.

The '05 gearbox was still used in 2006. 2007 teams got Banebot planetary that had some issues at first. Toughbox was in the 2008 kit.

[Munchskull]

I think that FIRST Choice is great. I always love to look at the stuff and am excited since this year I will have a large say in what my team gets. The tool that I would absolutely love to see on the list would have to be a 1/2" hex broach.

[MrRoboSteve]

Your mental model of FC is important to understanding it.

FIRST Choice is _not_ a bunch of stuff selected by FIRST to help you build this year's robot.

FIRST Choice is a bunch of potentially useful stuff donated by suppliers. You're buying not just for this year but for your stockpile as well.

Last year, we got solenoids, NPT fittings, a crimper, pneumatic tubing, among other things. None of it ended up on the robot.

[JB987]

I think that FIRST Choice is great. I always love to look at the stuff and am excited since this year I will have a large say in what my team gets. The tool that I would absolutely love to see on the list would have to be a 1/2" hex broach.

Pretty sure you won't be seeing that broach on FC anytime soon...:D

[Team3844]

FIRST Choice - Update for 2015 (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-FIRST-Choice-Update-for-2015)
AndyMark also contributes FTA's (a volunteer position, but they pay their employees to volunteer for FIRST) and other field support personnel for many events during the season. Andy and Mark really believe in and support the FIRST mission.
You can check their website (https://www.andymark.com/aboutus.asp) for what everyone does.

We host an off-season event using an Andymark field. they only charge us $100 for the FTA that they send down to help setup and run the event, last year they sent 2 for that price. The FTA they send is always great and they go way beyond what you would think to help have a good event. We use Andymark for as much of our robot purchasing as we can. It pains me when we have to purchase from Vex.

[Foster]

It pains me when we have to purchase from Vex.
That's sad. VEX does a ton of things each year to help teams. Their staff and parts are first rate (pun intended).

You should be going "Love AM, lets buy there. Sigh AM is out, let me look at VEX they support us too. Really, No stock?. Hey RC at Westcoast? In stock! Ship it" Yay us, doged the weird overseas groups and E-Bay. "

I have a serious robot crush on AM and VEX (the restraining order gets lifted next month). I'm excited to see new suppliers that are robot friendly, I try to make sure they are all aound next year.

[Mark McLeod]

We host an off-season event using an Andymark field. they only charge us $100 for the FTA that they send down to help setup and run the event, last year they sent 2 for that price. The FTA they send is always great and they go way beyond what you would think to help have a good event. We use Andymark for as much of our robot purchasing as we can. It pains me when we have to purchase from Vex.
The $100 for the FTA is probably just to put them up in a hotel room and two fit in a room as easily as one does.
Transportation is the field truck.

[Jimmy Nichols]

The $100 for the FTA is probably just to put them up in a hotel room and two fit in a room as easily as one does.
Transportation is the field truck.

The truck stays for the event, so usually the hotel costs for the driver is figured in with the overall costs. To provide an FTA is a separate $100 cost. The events I have organized and been involved with we have a local FTA run and we aren't charged this $100 fee, even though one of their FTA's is usually the person who drives the truck out anyway.

[Jimmy Nichols]

That's sad. VEX does a ton of things each year to help teams. Their staff and parts are first rate (pun intended).

You should be going "Love AM, lets buy there. Sigh AM is out, let me look at VEX they support us too. Really, No stock?. Hey RC at Westcoast? In stock! Ship it" Yay us, doged the weird overseas groups and E-Bay. "

I have a serious robot crush on AM and VEX (the restraining order gets lifted next month). I'm excited to see new suppliers that are robot friendly, I try to make sure they are all aound next year.

Same here, I go AM first, as if it gets out the door in the morning I usually have it the next afternoon. Vex takes longer, obviously, so they are my second choice.

[feverittm]

Has anyone been able to figure if/when FC will open for "window shopping"? Will we have to just wait until the 19th to even see what might be available?

I guess it isn't a really big deal with 'wish lists', but it was nice last year being able to just look at what might be there and do some early planning.

[Taylor]

http://isFIRSTChoiceavailableyet.com

Somebody make that a thing :)

[Nemo]

FIRST Choice is awesome. That plus the product donation vouchers means teams have flexibility. The generous AndyMark PDV vs kitbot option is especially helpful. This type of system is a lot more efficient at getting the donated resources to teams that will use them than a one-size-fits-all KOP.

[Team3844]

I let the opt out period get past us this year.:(
We really need the Andymark voucher for parts shopping after kickoff.
One of the teams we work with locally has offered to buy the KOP chassis to use in a summer camp program. I hope it works out or we will be stripping our 14 and 15 bots.

[mrnoble]

I let the opt out period get past us this year.:(
We really need the Andymark voucher for parts shopping after kickoff.
One of the teams we work with locally has offered to buy the KOP chassis to use in a summer camp program. I hope it works out or we will be stripping our 14 and 15 bots.

Wait, what? I've been on TIMS several times a week to make sure we are up to date, but I never saw anything about opting out yet. I thought that was the November 19th thing. Am I wrong? That would stink.

[marshall]

Wait, what? I've been on TIMS several times a week to make sure we are up to date, but I never saw anything about opting out yet. I thought that was the November 19th thing. Am I wrong? That would stink.

The AndyMark PDV opt-in was back in October:
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-KOP-Drive-System-Opt-Out

[orangemoore]

Wait, what? I've been on TIMS several times a week to make sure we are up to date, but I never saw anything about opting out yet. I thought that was the November 19th thing. Am I wrong? That would stink.

Opt out was 10/1 to 10/16. It got past us too.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-KOP-Drive-System-Opt-Out

[GeeTwo]

Nov 19 is when FIRST Choice priority-ranked selections begin, which is a different thing than the KoP opt-out. KoP opt-out for a product voucher has already passed.
It was open noon 1 Oct to noon 16 Oct (http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-kop-drive-system-opt-out).

[ghesla]

So, it's today. Waiting! :D

[Sperkowsky]

Opt out was 10/1 to 10/16. It got past us too.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-KOP-Drive-System-Opt-Out
It got past us as well... Surprised so many people missed it.

[rcoren22]

So now that USFIRST has changed to USInspires, it seems that the back end / TIMS has changed as well.
I just logged in to check on the password for FIRSTChoice Credits and the new dashboard does not have any team information for me.

Am I missing something, or do other people have this situation?

[Mark McLeod]

The old TIMS link is still active.
https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso

[rcoren22]

The old TIMS link is still active.
https://my.usfirst.org/frc/tims/site.lasso

Thanks Mark!

Exactly what I needed.

[ghesla]

FC is open!

http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/everything/

[seg9585]

Is anyone else having trouble logging in? I get a "Bad Request HTTP Error 400" when I attempt to login. I'm just trying to figure out how many credits we get (I can still "window-shop" before logging in to submit the list)

[Bruceb]

ok I am missing something
How many points do we get?

[mastachyra]

600 points. This is better than Christmas!

[ghesla]

New motor controller legal for 2016 season!

SPARK from REV Robotics (http://www.revrobotics.com/product/spark/)

[Bruceb]

thanks Ya I found it in the bar at the top of FC along with the login button

[AdamHeard]

Anyone else unable to add the Fluke meter to priority list?

EDIT: That works now, but Pressure switch won't let me add...

[sanddrag]

Anybody have a spreadsheet of all the items, quantities, and costs yet? :D

Disappointed to not see the nVidia graphics cards return. Overall pretty decent offerings once again though. It's nice to see some pneumatic cylinders.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Looked through list not much different then last year.

Key take aways
- PDP, VRM, and PCM won't be in the veteran kits this year. That's means teams either get them in FC, buy them, or pull them off last year's robot. Only a 1000 of each in FC and 3000+ teams worldwide now.
- Talon SRX, Victor SP, and Spark are all the same FC credit yet price per piece varies a lot in the open market.
- This adapter (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-105) I believe will power the new openmesh radios. It looks like the barrel is the correct size.
- New automotive motor with feedback (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-059)

[Oblarg]

Looked through list not much different then last year.

Key take aways
- PDP, VRM, and PCM won't be in the veteran kits this year. That's means teams either get them in FC, buy them, or pull them off last year's robot. Only a 1000 of each in FC and 3000+ teams worldwide now.
- Talon SRX, Victor SP, and Spark are all the same FC credit yet price per piece varies a lot in the open market.
- This adapter (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-105) I believe will power the new openmesh radios. It looks like the barrel is the correct size.
- New automotive motor with feedback (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-059)

Oh wow, a window motor with built-in position sensing? Dream come true.

I've always felt those motors were very useful and under-appreciated.

[Mark McLeod]

Here's a spreadsheet.

Another sheet with most of the prices.

[Mark McLeod]

Key take aways
- PDP, VRM, and PCM won't be in the veteran kits this year.
I think the VRM might possibly still end up in the KOP this year.
We're beta testing a VRM with a slightly revised circuit to make the radio power even more robust.
We're doing some stress testing now.
The old VRM does also work fine with the new OpenMesh radio though, so maybe there will be no need to have the new model in the KOP.

[marshall]

Here's a spreadsheet.

Needs quantity available as well. Also, would be cool to see someone workout probability of getting an item based on total number of FRC teams... though it's random and lists differ so that could be a difficult problem. Someone with math skills would need to weigh in.

[AllenGregoryIV]

I think the VRM might possibly still be in the KOP this year.
We're beta testing a VRM with a slightly revised circuit to make the radio power even more robust.
We're doing some stress testing now.
The old VRM does also work fine with the new OpenMesh radio though.

And the VRM isn't the best deal on FC anyway at 100 credits for $46 item.

[PayneTrain]

Looked through list not much different then last year.

Key take aways
- PDP, VRM, and PCM won't be in the veteran kits this year. That's means teams either get them in FC, buy them, or pull them off last year's robot. Only a 1000 of each in FC and 3000+ teams worldwide now.


While our list reflects this assumption, do you think there is a chance that FIRST will officially announce the status of control systems parts in the veteran KOP?

[Mark McLeod]

Needs quantity available as well. Also, would be cool to see someone workout probability of getting an item based on total number of FRC teams... though it's random and lists differ so that could be a difficult problem. Someone with math skills would need to weigh in.

Added quantities.
I won't finish prices for awhile.

[AllenGregoryIV]

While our list reflects this assumption, do you think there is a chance that FIRST will officially announce the status of control systems parts in the veteran KOP?

On each item page it says if the item is going to be in the kit of parts or not. For these three control system parts they specifically say they will only be in the rookie kit. Unless this is a mistake on FIRST's part, I don't think this is an assumption.

Edit: Looks like the Spark motor controller was just removed. It's page wasn't loading earlier at one point but you could add it to your priority list.

[Jon Stratis]

Looked through list not much different then last year.

Key take aways
- PDP, VRM, and PCM won't be in the veteran kits this year. That's means teams either get them in FC, buy them, or pull them off last year's robot. Only a 1000 of each in FC and 3000+ teams worldwide now.
- Talon SRX, Victor SP, and Spark are all the same FC credit yet price per piece varies a lot in the open market.
- This adapter (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-105) I believe will power the new openmesh radios. It looks like the barrel is the correct size.
- New automotive motor with feedback (http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/fc16-059)

Where did you see that? Yes, they are available through FC, but I don't think that means they won't also be included in the KoP. These could be provided as extras for practice boys or backups for teams.

Edit: nevermind

[mman1506]

Gee, that Pocket Toner will come in real handy.

[mastachyra]

I noticed that the SPARK has been removed from the list. :(

[waialua359]

No classmate this year.....

[Greg Needel]

Edit: Looks like the Spark motor controller was just removed. It's page wasn't loading earlier at one point but you could add it to your priority list.

I noticed that the SPARK has been removed from the list. :(

Don't fret, SPARK controllers will be available in round 2.

We are in the process of getting inventory of the SPARK to Amazon warehouses and they should be available late next week (although with the holiday next week it might be delayed a few days before they go live).

I'm sorry for the late change, but look at all the other cool things you can spend your credits on!

[xtine]

Are any other teams having trouble finishing Step 3, "Select Shipping and Payment Method" after you log in? :confused:

I click the button to complete that task, and get a page that says, "We're sorry, an internal error occurred."

[Lil' Lavery]

Am I blind, or is there no RoboRIO option? :(

[R.C.]

Am I blind, or is there no RoboRIO option? :(

Sadly no was hoping for one too :(

[Jim Wilks]

Are any other teams having trouble finishing Step 3, "Select Shipping and Payment Method" after you log in? :confused:

I click the button to complete that task, and get a page that says, "We're sorry, an internal error occurred."

Same here.

[Joe Derrick]

I remember hearing somewhere that the VRM module listed is somehow different from last years. Re-Designed to accommodate the new Radio supply voltage. Is there any more information available on this?
Will the VRM's from last year still be able to supply the required voltage for the new radio?

any links to the appropriate information would be appreciated.

[Sperkowsky]

I remember hearing somewhere that the VRM module listed is somehow different from last years. Re-Designed to accommodate the new Radio supply voltage. Is there any more information available on this?
Will the VRM's from last year still be able to supply the required voltage for the new radio?

any links to the appropriate information would be appreciated.
If you read up mr.McLeod said something about it. It seems to me like both will work but the new one will be better. Similar to how there's 2 ways to connect the vrm to the radio one is just more robust.

[PayneTrain]

Am I blind, or is there no RoboRIO option? :(

Sadly no was hoping for one too :(

That's because everyone is getting another one in the kit, right?

Right?

Guys?

[Donut]

That's because everyone is getting another one in the kit, right?

Right?

Guys?

Past history says those are not betting odds...

On the note of controllers, when discussing motor controller options with my team I stumbled upon this note that I somehow missed earlier from Kate Pilotte's post on Frank's blog (http://archive.firstinspires.org/roboticsprograms/frc/blog-2016-motor-controllers) about new legal controllers:

Every team will get a voucher to order three Victor SPs or two Talon SRXes from VEX Robotics. Additionally, Rookie teams will receive 2 Victor SPs in their Kickoff Kit. There will also be limited quantities of Victor 888s, Victor SPs, Talon SRXes, and Sparks in FIRST Choice.

Since all of the motor controllers on FIRST Choice list a "No" for being in the kickoff kit I was initially a little worried about having to make a separate order for them if I couldn't get any from FIRST Choice, but the blog post details ensure that all teams should have access to at least 2 or 3 motor controllers in the kit. I think it is safe to assume from the post that Sparks will be a FIRST Choice only item as well.

Also worth noting, Victor 888's are discontinued and no longer for purchase on Vex Robotics, so the stock in FIRST Choice is likely it. Keep that in mind for spares or design changes during the season since you won't be able to replace or add on with a like part.

[PayneTrain]

Past history says those are not betting odds...



I know

[sanddrag]

For reference, attached is a list of last year's (2015 competition season) offerings. Thanks to whoever originally compiled this last year.

[DaveL]

In some cases the part does not have a minimum quantity. From last year does that mean we can order as many as we want, only 1 or is it a typo?

Dave

[Christopher149]

In some cases the part does not have a minimum quantity. From last year does that mean we can order as many as we want, only 1 or is it a typo?

Dave

Should be as many as you want, can afford, and are still in stock.

[DaveL]

Should be as many as you want, can afford, and are still in stock.

Thanks!

I noticed 2 motor-transmission combinations with a 775 motor.

I'm wondering if they were included by mistake.
(see the details on PG71 gear-motor)

Dave

[Munchskull]

Thanks!

I noticed 2 motor-transmission combinations with a 775 motor.

I'm wondering if they were included by mistake.
(see the details on PG71 gear-motor)

Dave

If you are referring to the fact that it has a RS-775 motor on it, then no it was not a mistake. It was only the banebot motors that were disallowed for the 2016 season. Andymark sells their own RS-775 which is perfectly legal.

[mastachyra]

It says for round two more credits will be issued. I wonder how many and will there be a new stock of parts to choose from? If we get another 600 credits that's gonna blow my mind. The second round will be interesting because we'll have an idea of what our robots will need.

While I like trying to predict what items will sell out first, It'd be really cool if we could do a live draft. I know its a ridiculous thought considering there's 3000 teams, but I think it would be so much fun.

[EmileH]

For those interested, our team has created a Google Sheet allowing teams to organize what their students want for parts.

To get started with the sheet:

Be sure you are logged in with a Google Account
On the sheet (accessible here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Enr3NK8SFasNEX9M0BgbNqDzIKhm-jbPneb0X2pe5Cs/edit#gid=0)), click File>Make a copy. Your new copy of the sheet will save to your main Google Drive folder.
By default, we have set the sheet to not allow editing in the grayed columns by protecting them from edits (by default the main owner can edit those columns). In order to allow others to edit these columns (although it is not needed for normal use) select Data>Protected sheets and ranges and add or remove collaborators.
Share the sheet with your team members via the blue "Share" button - make sure to give them edit permissions. They should receive an email containing a link to the sheet.
Once requesters have opened the sheet, simply have them type their name, part number, quantity, and item priority for each part they want to order.
You (the sheet owner) can set whether or not you receive notifications when the sheet is changed. To do this, go to Tools>Notifcation rules.


Hope this helps. For any questions feel free to PM me. Kudos to Mark McLeod for the Inventory sheet.

[thatnameistaken]

It says for round two more credits will be issued. I wonder how many and will there be a new stock of parts to choose from? If we get another 600 credits that's gonna blow my mind. The second round will be interesting because we'll have an idea of what our robots will need.

While I like trying to predict what items will sell out first, It'd be really cool if we could do a live draft. I know its a ridiculous thought considering there's 3000 teams, but I think it would be so much fun.

For reference, we received an additional 300 credits for round 2 last year. No guarantee it'll be the same this year, but it seems to be a fairly safe bet.

In regards to item stock, while I don't recall any items from round 1 being restocked, there will be additional items to purchase. Game pieces went up during round 2 last year (and are usually available on FIRST Choice after kickoff, even before the draft system), and it was confirmed earlier in this thread that the SPARK motor controllers will be available then as well.

[xtine]

Are any other teams having trouble finishing Step 3, "Select Shipping and Payment Method" after you log in? :confused:

I click the button to complete that task, and get a page that says, "We're sorry, an internal error occurred."

Same here.

To follow up, when I emailed AndyMark they fixed this right away and we now have access. Thanks, AndyMark! :)

[Mark McLeod]

Here's a spreadsheet.


I just noticed a mistake I made in my earlier spreadsheets.
I listed the iglide® PRT slewing ring (fc16-056) as being in the Kit totes, but it is NOT in the totes.

[Mark McLeod]

In case this might be of interest to anyone, here is a spreadsheet showing what was most popular in last season's round 1 of FIRST Choice.
I did separately calculate odds of getting individual items last season, but I don't remember how they fared compared to what actually was taken.
Odds on the quantity limited items is pretty easy and large supply quantity items are also easy, but the in between items are difficult.

It shows the initial lottery results and then columns detailing what was taken during the followup Open Ordering.

Past results may not reflect future results...

[Wetzel]

Whilst they said the deadline was 1200, it appears they removed the passwords from TIMS at 0600, for anyone that tried to do this today.

[Mark McLeod]

Received confirmation of my Priority List at 1:50pm EST

[AllenGregoryIV]

Received confirmation of my Priority List at 1:50pm

I received mine at 2:30PM central time.

[Ken Streeter]

Received confirmation of my Priority List at 1:50pm EST
Interesting. Was the confirmation via email? We on 1519 haven't received any sort of email confirmation yet.

I wonder if we should be concerned?

[Sperkowsky]

We got a confirmation email as well.

[Mark McLeod]

Whilst they said the deadline was 1200, it appears they removed the passwords from TIMS at 0600, for anyone that tried to do this today.


I wonder if that had anything to do with maybe the IT person thinking it was after midnight and removing the TIMS FIRST Choice passwords (thinking it was the day after they were needed or something like that).
It's still odd that they were removed at all, since I can still login and I think we need to in order to view our submitted priority list. We also need to look at everything for when general ordering opens on Dec. 11th.

You know, there is a discrepancy between a couple of the dates listed in the flowchart and the dates listed in the Blog post.
e.g.,
• 01/16/16 Round 2 Team Priority Lists due
• 01/19/16 AndyMark notifies each Team of their Round 2 draft results

[Mark McLeod]

Interesting. Was the confirmation via email? We on 1519 haven't received any sort of email confirmation yet.

I wonder if we should be concerned?
It was by email.
I seem to remember it taking a long time last year for everyone to get their confirmations, but probably not this long.

[rcoren22]

Interesting. Was the confirmation via email? We on 1519 haven't received any sort of email confirmation yet.

I wonder if we should be concerned?


Ours was in the quarantine folder, if that helps.

[MrRoboSteve]

Whilst they said the deadline was 1200, it appears they removed the passwords from TIMS at 0600, for anyone that tried to do this today.

Yeah, that's kind of a problem.

[PayneTrain]

Interesting. Was the confirmation via email? We on 1519 haven't received any sort of email confirmation yet.

I wonder if we should be concerned?

I believe the email will not be on the account your TIMS profile uses, but whatever email was submitted to FIRST Choice. We have a joint account on 422 that is independent of both contact accounts, so I was confused as well.

[Wetzel]

Yeah, that's kind of a problem.

A quick email to FRC teams and AndyMark got everything squared away for us.

[sanddrag]

Order confirmation e-mails are rolling out. Stealth wheels went faster than I expected them to. Looks like inventory quantities on the website have not been updated yet.

[GreyingJay]

Can't wait to see what we got (and didn't get)!

[Christopher149]

I'm surprised we got a Victor SP (it was 3rd on our list) - I was expecting those to go faster.

Got a battery, 1 Victor SP, 2 Victor 888s, 2 air tanks, 8 couplings, a pack of T-fittings, and 2 ethernet cables. All in all a decent result.
Edit: and 2 gearmotors with encoders.

[GreyingJay]

I'm surprised we got a Victor SP (it was 3rd on our list) - I was expecting those to go faster.

Got a battery, 1 Victor SP, 2 Victor 888s, 2 air tanks, 8 couplings, a pack of T-fittings, and 2 ethernet cables. All in all a decent result.

Is it just me or does that seem likes less than 600 credits?

Still waiting for our email... hope that's not a sign of how low down the ranking we were :ahh:

[MrForbes]

We only used 590 credits :)

But we got everything at the top of our wish list, except the power distribution panel.

[nuclearnerd]

Our credits are used up, and we've been given an order number, but we haven't received an email and the order is not showing up on our My Account -> orders page. Hmmmm. Yes, I am clicking refresh maniacally, what's your point? :)

[Nebster]

Our credits have been used up but we don't have an order number or anything on the website.

[MechEng83]

I'm really frustrated that the login password is not available on TIMS. It seems ridiculous to remove the password from there. I was hoping to log in to check order status for "shipping" but I don't have any ability to do that now.

[Michael Corsetto]

The order list is distributed via email. It is rolling out from Noon EST, but I got mine at 12:23 EST.

We won the PDP lottery, pretty excited about that.

Best of luck everyone!

-Mike

[GreyingJay]

Wow, we got almost everything we wanted, up until the 600 credits ran out!

We were in for Victor 888's, PG71's, and a variety of small bits and pieces like cylinders, shaft collars, couplers, ring lights, encoders, battery cables, to get us started. The big stuff - Talons, Victors, battery, and stealth wheels - were all gone but that meant we chewed right through the list of smaller items. Woot!

[Mark McLeod]

Our "what we got" email came in at 11:43am ET

Missed out on a Talon SRX, but got everything else.

[Jon Stratis]

Ours came in at 12:30 est, got just about everything from the top of our list, other than the Talon SRX, but I figured we would probably miss that one. Just need our AndyMark voucher for the KoP opt out now so we can get our season orders started!

[mwmac]

First Choice lottery favored the Tators! Only missed one of our top choices: 1 PDP; 1 PCM; 1 VRM; 1 Victor SP; 0 Talon SRX and 2 Victor 888....

[AllenGregoryIV]

They are still sending out confirmations, ours came in at 1:13PM EST.

Didn't miss on anything.

http://i.imgur.com/7ogeQXO.png

[Donut]

Just got our confirmation about 30 minutes ago. All of our top 5 items came through, 1 battery, the crimp tool, 4 victor 888s, 1 PG71 w/encoder, 2 cylinders, and 2 couplings. We figured the odds of winning the lottery on getting the PDP, VRM, and Pneumatics module were low so we didn't list them in the hopes of better odds elsewhere, looks like it worked!

[Taylor]

1 12v battery
1 pneumatic control module
1 pdp
1 voltage regulator module
1 ratcheting wrench set
2 battery connectors
1 compressor
1 15-ft Ethernet cable

[Kellen Hill]

We did well in receiving the following:

1 PDP
1 VRM
1 PCM
4 Victor 888s

Only missed on the battery. Pretty pleased with the results.

[rsisk]

Robokong is pretty happy with our FC results

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr94/robokong2493/FCOrder_zpsryczj7xm.png

[bigbeezy]

just received ours at 12:40 Central

1 PDP
1 Compressor
1 PCM
1 VRM
2 Motor and Harness
3 Air Tanks (wanted 4)

missed on the Talon SRX and Battery. I'll take it.

[mastachyra]

Yay! 2781 got a TON of great things, including a PDP! Woohoo for saving $200!

RoboPride wants to express our sincerest gratitude to AndyMark for facilitating FIRSTchoice again and to all the generous donors.

[Ken Streeter]

It was by email.
I seem to remember it taking a long time last year for everyone to get their confirmations, but probably not this long.
We never did receive a confirmation a couple days ago.

Today, however, at 12:17pm EST, we received our "order confirmation." Looks like we prioritized our choices correctly. We received our top 8 requests, with no missed items at all!

1 - Talon SRX (fc16-064) - qty 1
2 - Freelin-Wade Transparent Blue Tubing (fc16- 042) - qty 2
3 - Digital Multimeter & DVD 2538790 (fc16-038) - qty 1
4 - Power Distribution Panel (fc16-023) - qty 1
5 - Pneumatic Control Module (fc16-022) - qty 1
6 - Green Ring Light (fc16-099) - qty 2
7 - Parker Fitting Kit (fc16-104) - qty 1
8 - Battery Connector from Anderson Power Products (fc16-008) - qty 1

[jkelleyrtp]

Is there a way we can check it in TIMS or on the website? We haven't received an email and I want to make sure we didn't forget anything.

[Christopher149]

Is it just me or does that seem likes less than 600 credits?

I missed the two motors with encoders we received. :rolleyes: It's exactly 600 credits of stuff.

[Mykey]

We just received confirmation and it is a wonderful help for this rookie team.

It can't be said enough: Thank you AndyMark!

[FrankJ]

Is there a way we can check it in TIMS or on the website? We haven't received an email and I want to make sure we didn't forget anything.

If you have your firstchoice log in password, you can check there. If you look on the my credits page, it will show the number of credits used & an order number. I don't see a way of actually looking at the order with the link from the email.

[Sperkowsky]

We got a compressor, 4 air tanks, a livecam, a pdb, 2 green ring lights, a ratcheting wrench set, and the drylin linear guide system.
Only missed the srx which we weren't expecting and a proximity sensor.

Pretty happy with everything

[Mark McLeod]

If you have your firstchoice log in password, you can check there. If you look on the my credits page, it will show the number of credits used & an order number. I don't see a way of actually looking at the order with the link from the email.

You can see your order using the Order Number without any leading characters,
e.g.,
http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/orderdetails/ordernumber

[Gil3075]

Where is the confirmation email sent to? I don't have my team's password and haven't got anything yet, I'm written as the Lead Mentor on TIMS.

[GreyingJay]

Where is the confirmation email sent to? I don't have my team's password and haven't got anything yet, I'm written as the Lead Mentor on TIMS.

Whichever address was used when filling in the FIRST Choice website, I think.

[David Brinza]

Team 980 is very happy with getting our top 5 FIRST Choice picks (600 credits):

1 Talon SRX
1 PDP
2 Victor 888
1 PCM
1 Victor SP

Sometimes the blind squirrel finds a nut!

[Wetzel]

You can see your order using the Order Number without any leading characters,
e.g.,
http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/orderdetails/ordernumber

This redirects me to a login screen.

[Mark McLeod]

This redirects me to a login screen.
You do have to login to the FIRST Choice system using your team # & password.
If you are already logged in it goes right to the order list (or maybe it just likes me).

[Michael Corsetto]

Just got email notice that my FIRST Choice order is packed and ready to ship!

Honestly surprised by the quick turn-around, well done AndyMark!

-Mike

[aldaeron]

You can see your order using the Order Number without any leading characters,
e.g.,
http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/orderdetails/ordernumber

Worked for me.

Make sure you are doing it correctly (it took me a few reads for my tired brain to get it).

Make sure you're logged in

Get the Order Number from: https://firstchoicebyandymark.com/customer/credits (should say something like "Redeemed for order #CH12345")

Then go to http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/orderdetails/12345 (where you substitute in the correct number)

Note: You cannot view other teams' orders so make sure you type the correct order number

[GeeTwo]

Good haul - got everything from the top ten but the SRX and Battery.

Pri FC # Name Credits # # Total
1 fc16-005 PG71 Gearmotor With Encoder 100 2 2 200
2 fc16-029 Encoder Kit AMT103-V 10 2 2 20
3 fc16-099 Green Ring Light 10 2 2 20
4 fc16-021 Air Volume Tank, 32 cu. in... 20 4 4 80
5 fc16-102 Compressor, Model 90C 100 1 1 100
6 fc16-064 Talon SRX 100 0 1 0
7 fc16-036 12V Battery NP18-12 50 0 1 0
8 fc16-052 Lead Screw w/ Nut 20 6 6 120
9 fc16-084 1/2" Hex Shaft Collar... 10 2 2 20
10 fc16-085 1/4" x 1/4" Rigid Coupling... 10 4 6 40

[Ari423]

Team 423 is very happy! We got everything we wanted.


1 PDP
1 VRM
1 PCM
2 Encoder Kits
2 6 ft Encoder Cables

[Jimmy Nichols]

1038 got:


1 fc16-023 Power Distribution Panel (fc16-023) 200 1 1 200
2 fc16-024 Voltage Regulator Module (fc16-024) 100 1 1 100
3 fc16-022 Pneumatic Control Module (fc16-022) 100 1 1 100
4 fc16-066 Victor SP (fc16-066) 100 1 1 100
5 fc16-036 12V Battery NP18-12 (fc16-036) 50 0 1 0
6 fc16-005 PG71 Gearmotor With Encoder (fc16-005) 100 1 2 100

[yarden.saa]

3339 got:
PDP
4X Pneumatic tubing
Compressor
Ratcheting set
Ring Light
Parker Kit
2X Bettery connector
4X Pneumatic cylinder
Microswitch set of 10
3X Teflon tape
2X Snow Blower
Camera

[Mark McLeod]

The top 10 most desirable items in Round 1 were:

#Taken -- Credits -- Max Qty -- Item
1200 ------- 20 --------- 4 ----- Air Volume Tank, 32 cu. in., Black Plastic AVT-PP-35 (fc16-021)
1000 ------- 10 --------- 2 ----- Encoder Kit AMT103-V (fc16-029)
500 -------- 100 -------- 2 ----- PG71 Gearmotor With Encoder (fc16-005)
500 -------- 100 -------- 1 ----- Talon SRX (fc16-064)
500 -------- 100 -------- 1 ----- Victor SP (fc16-066)
500 -------- 50 ---------- 1 ----- 12V Battery NP18-12 (fc16-036)
300 -------- 10 ---------- 2 ----- Freelin-Wade Black Tubing (fc16-039)
300 -------- 10 ---------- 2 ----- Freelin-Wade Blue Tubing (fc16-040)
205 -------- 10 ---------- 2 -----1/2" Hex Shaft Collar - CL-8HX-A (fc16-084)
200 -------- 20 ---------- 2 ----- Proximity/Gesture Sensor (fc16-103)

A total of 22 items sold out.
Items I thought would have sold out first, e.g., control system components, did not.

[Mark McLeod]

I noticed that the FIRST Choice password is posted again in TIMS.

[hectorcastillo]

I noticed that "good alliance partners" aren't on the list...

[Joe Ross]

Looks like only around 50% of teams submitted lists.

[Christopher149]

Looks like only around 50% of teams submitted lists.

Last year, I think for round 2, 1689 teams (https://web.archive.org/web/20150114012954/http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/submittedlists) submitted lists.

[Paul Copioli]

Hey Mark,

Your Top 10 list doesn't seem to have the actual top 10, but Top 10 that sold out.

For example:

919 Victor 888s were taken
848 PDPs were taken
799 4" Stealth Wheels were taken

...

You get the point.

Was this on purpose to highlight the sold out items? I am just curious.

Thanks,
Paul

[Mark McLeod]

Last season's round 1 of FIRST Choice (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131320) had 1806 teams on the submitted list or ~62% of the team headcount at the time.

[Mark McLeod]

Hey Mark,

Your Top 10 list doesn't seem to have the actual top 10, but Top 10 that sold out.
...
Was this on purpose to highlight the sold out items? I am just curious.

Hi Paul,

I indeed highlighted the sold out items first, sort of treating them as a percentage sold vs available.
It wasn't meant to be a top ten volume, since it was a random volume restricted list, but a top ten popularity.
The high volume, max quantity limited, high credit per piece, sold out items were obviously most in demand.
However, the more limited quantities of most of those out-of-stock items impact judging whether they would have "sold" a lot more or not. That's also why I limited the list to ten and cut off the lower end of items that had fewer than 200 originally available.

We'd need a bunch more people to post their complete results lists (with misses too) to tell us which round some of the items ran out, hence their more absolute popularity. For instance, we know from posts approximately which pass the Talon SRX's or the air tanks ran out.

That's why I posted the entire list, so people could do their own sorting and interpretations of the results.

[IndySam]

The Goats are pretty happy with our haul.

1 fc16-064 Talon SRX (fc16-064) 100 1 1 100
2 fc16-066 Victor SP (fc16-066) 100 1 1 100
3 fc16-036 12V Battery NP18-12 (fc16-036) 50 1 1 50
4 fc16-021 Air Volume Tank, 32 cu. in., Black Plastic AVTPP-35
(fc16-021)
20 2 2 40
5 fc16-022 Pneumatic Control Module (fc16-022) 100 1 1 100
6 fc16-069 Pneumatic Pressure Switch (fc16-069) 20 1 1 20
7 fc16-104 Parker Fitting Kit (fc16-104) 50 1 1 50
8 fc16-102 Compressor, Model 90C (fc16-102) 100 1 1 100
9 fc16-003 AndyMark 9015 Motor am-0912 (fc16-003) 20 1 1 20
10 fc16-059 Motor and Harness (fc16-059) 20 1 2 20
11 fc16-023 Power Distribution Panel (fc16-023) 200 0 1 0
12 fc16-104 Parker Fitting Kit (fc16-104) 50 0 1 0
13 fc16-003 AndyMark 9015 Motor am-0912 (fc16-003) 20 0 1 0
14 fc16-044 Microsoft Lifecam HD3000 Camera (fc16-044) 20 0 1 0
15 fc16-021 Air Volume Tank, 32 cu. in., Black Plastic AVTPP-35
(fc16-021)
20 0 2 0
16 fc16-044 Microsoft Lifecam HD3000 Camera (fc16-044) 20 0 1 0
17 fc16-040 Freelin-Wade Blue Tubing (fc16-040) 10 0 1 0
18 fc16-042 Freelin-Wade Transparent Blue Tubing (fc16-
042)
10 0 1 0
19 fc16-046 Ratcheting Wrench Set,SAE,12 pt.,8 PC (fc16-
046)
20 0 2 0
20 fc16-029 Encoder Kit AMT103-V (fc16-029) 10 0 2 0
21 fc16-065 Victor 888 (fc16-065) 50 0 4 0

[GreyingJay]

Last season's round 1 of FIRST Choice (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131320) had 1806 teams on the submitted list or ~62% of the team headcount at the time.

Interesting. What do the other 38% do? Just do open ordering after the priority rounds? Are there perhaps teams that don't realize this option is available to them?

[Mark McLeod]

Interesting. What do the other 38% do? Just do open ordering after the priority rounds? Are there perhaps teams that don't realize this option is available to them?
My pure suppositions include:
Some teams haven't actually paid or gotten a PO to FIRST, and aren't eligible yet.
Others don't like to put their own credit card up front and are trying to find a way for the school business dept to pay for shipping instead of the teacher/mentor.
More teams are still organizing or don't really start until Kickoff.
Some Main Contacts just don't know or are extremely busy with pre-holiday class load/running other clubs and meeting other deadlines.
Procrastinators
Even shepherded a couple of rookies through the process last year, neither one ordered on time, even when I offered to pay the shipping.

[MrRoboSteve]

Some mentors were sick during the week leading up to the deadline, and botched it.

[Jon Stratis]

I was at an event on Saturday with a few rookies, we walked them through and made sure they were all set up with a priority list. The big problem for rookies is knowing what to get - if you've never built one of these robots before, don't know what you're getting in the KoP, and don't have any stock yet it's really hard to know what is going to be valuable for you. I know the teams I helped with had no clue what to put on the list.

[Michael Corsetto]

Any stats on what percentage of FIRST Choice Credits go unused each year?

[GeeTwo]

Interesting. What do the other 38% do? Just do open ordering after the priority rounds? Are there perhaps teams that don't realize this option is available to them?

We're much more intentional at pre-season planning this year than we were last year. For 2015, we did not order anything except a second control system until after kickoff. In 2012-2014, due to limited resources we waited until we knew the game before ordering anything above what we already had on hand.

[Aren Siekmeier]

Any stats on what percentage of FIRST Choice Credits go unused each year?

I'm also curious how much stuff doesn't get claimed each year. I suppose it simply gets added to the next year's inventory. Perhaps they give out more FIRST Choice credits than they have stuff, knowing they won't be used?

[Mark McLeod]

I'm also curious how much stuff doesn't get claimed each year.
The answer to part of that is easy:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150914211854/http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/everything

[GreyingJay]

The answer to part of that is easy:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150914211854/http://firstchoicebyandymark.com/everything

Hmmm, a lot of familiar looking items on that list, which implies the answer to Aren's second question.

The big problem for rookies is knowing what to get - if you've never built one of these robots before, don't know what you're getting in the KoP, and don't have any stock yet it's really hard to know what is going to be valuable for you. I know the teams I helped with had no clue what to put on the list.

"Any parts is better than no parts" was kind of our rallying cry here, but we did look carefully at last year's kit of parts to see what we might expect to receive this year, and used our FIRST Choice credits to augment that list.

[PayneTrain]

I hope teams who didn't get a PDP in FIRST Choice did so knowing they would not receive one in the tote this year.

[Sperkowsky]

I hope teams who didn't get a PDP in FIRST Choice did so knowing they would not receive one in the tote this year.
Any team pre 2014 probably understands you don't get the control system in the KOP.

But rookie teams from the 2014 and 2015 may very well not understand.

Our team personally only use fc credits on the PDB. We purchased the VRM, and Robo Rio separately.

One thing I wish they had this year in FC was the new radio. Would have been nice to have a spare without having to spend money on it.

[PayneTrain]

Any team pre 2014 probably understands you don't get the control system in the KOP.


I have been in FRC 8 years and this is the first year we will not have a power distribution board of any kind in the kit since i joined. Unless I dreamed the last few years, I'm pretty sure every team got the Blue NI PDB in the kickoff tote every year until 2015, when we switched to the black CTRE PDP. This year, non rookie teams will not have a new one in their physical kit.

[Chief Hedgehog]

I have been in FRC 8 years and this is the first year we will not have a power distribution board of any kind in the kit since i joined. Unless I dreamed the last few years, I'm pretty sure every team got the Blue NI PDB in the kickoff tote every year until 2015, when we switched to the black CTRE PDP. This year, non rookie teams will not have a new one in their physical kit.

Not really happy about not getting a PDP in the KOP, but I understand. As FRC continues to grow, the KOP will continually get smaller. The growth of FRC teams will put pressure on teams to do 'more with less'. It is a downside of FRC growing so dramatically.

I guess that means teams' marketing/PR squads will become more valuable as they service the team's sponsors.

[GreyingJay]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

[Christopher149]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

With a new PDP and digital sidecar? Cluttering up our space - we should have at least 6 each, with only two each actually on robots.

[Wetzel]

I hope teams who didn't get a PDP in FIRST Choice did so knowing they would not receive one in the tote this year.

I missed that this was happening, but fortunately we got one in FIRST Choice anyways.

[Libby K]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

I know for some of our robots, control systems are still on (and ...well, mostly functional...) we use our 2013 & 2014 robots for demonstrations all the time.

[Jon Stratis]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

Basically, yes. We had a few spares, so we could keep several robots functional at once. We would just move the 4-slot cRio to the new robot every year and make room for a 6-slot if we wanted to keep the robot up and running. It was pretty nice, because you didn't have to mess with too many wires or plugs - disconnect power, Ethernet, the cable to the sidecar, and any breakout boards and your set. Then that stuff plugs into the replacement easily enough without having to worry about screwing up port numbers. It's not that easy with the roborio, though.

[GeeTwo]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

Our air cannon outgrew the 4-breaker maxi block and automotive accessory fuse panel we had been using, so we upgraded it with an old PDP. It has an arduino brain, so we didn't need the RIO or sidecar.

[ahartnet]

What were teams doing with a new PDP every year (but none of the rest)? Move the Rio but leave everything else?

I would suspect it'd go one of a few ways:
1) Keep previous years robots intact for demonstration (or showcase). This is what I hope to do with Pearadox, and will drive me to continue to purchase a new PDP every year that it doesn't come in the kit. It's really neat seeing the progression of some teams for low/middle of the pack end robots to top-tier, or if they're an old team that's been successful for a long time what a top-notch team in 2005 looks like compared to a top-notch team in 2015. It also gives newer students a first-hand, up-close look at past solutions to problems.
2) The old PDPs had a metric screw and I know we occasionally had students try to force a 1/4-20 nut on it (or maybe I have that backwards...I already can't remember) and it could cause the bolts to sheer off. We occasionally need a replacement part.
3) side projects, such as a t-shirt cannon.

[Christopher149]

The stud on the old PD board was metric.

[Mark McLeod]

I'm also curious how much stuff doesn't get claimed each year. I suppose it simply gets added to the next year's inventory. Perhaps they give out more FIRST Choice credits than they have stuff, knowing they won't be used?
Since no one else wants to do the math...

The quantities and credit values represented in round 1 of FIRST Choice

2,038,160 Max round 1 credits (quantity available * credits per item)
3396 = number of teams those credits would be equivalent to (Max round 1 credits / 600 credits per team)
1,896,000 Max team credit (600 credits * 3170 teams)
948,000 credits were in play (50% of teams participated so 1,896,000 * 50% equal to less than half the available items)


So there must be left over items.

[rsisk]

FIRST Choice goodies arrived from Andymark today 12/12! Nice fast shipping from our pals at Andymark!

[Ari423]

FIRST Choice goodies arrived from Andymark today 12/12! Nice fast shipping from our pals at Andymark!

We got ours at 4:00 on Friday, which is really fast delivery! I wasn't expecting them until mid-this week. I hope this trend continues into the build season.

[Jon Stratis]

Ours arrived yesterday. I was rather surprised - I figured with them having to assemble and ship so many orders all at once, it would be another week before it arrived.

[mrnoble]

Well, we missed the deadline on the 6th for priority lists. Not a big deal for us this year, I figured, we will just get in on round two starting on the 11th. I logged in today and found that we have 0 credits listed. Anyone know why this might be, and what could be done about it?

Thanks. I realize this sounds ridiculous, but if possible we'd like to not completely miss out.

EDIT: Never mind, I figured it out.

[Jimmy Nichols]

Well, we missed the deadline on the 6th for priority lists. Not a big deal for us this year, I figured, we will just get in on round two starting on the 11th. I logged in today and found that we have 0 credits listed. Anyone know why this might be, and what could be done about it?

Thanks. I realize this sounds ridiculous, but if possible we'd like to not completely miss out.

I believe there is a requirement that your Registration fee has been paid in order to receive your credits.

[mrnoble]

I believe there is a requirement that your Registration fee has been paid in order to receive your credits.

Yes, we were paid up. The issue was that I read the top of the page wrong; I thought "0 credits" meant that's what we had to spend, not how many were in use in the shopping cart already. My bad.

[Jimmy Nichols]

Yes, we were paid up. The issue was that I read the top of the page wrong; I thought "0 credits" meant that's what we had to spend, not how many were in use in the shopping cart already. My bad.

Great! Good Luck!

[Nemo]

We received our FIRST Choice stuff from AndyMark as well. I already spent the AndyMark PDV, too.

AndyMark is providing well over a million in product to teams in addition to everything else they do. That's pretty huge!