Urgent: TEAM LED

[Robo-Chaos]

Hello, I'm from team 1135 (Whitney High School) and have a troubling question. Does anybody know what this year's LCD light look like?

The team light which are going to be handed to us at the competition... They probably have some measurements somewhere, but I haven't found them. If someone could quickly tell me, that'd be great. I voluntered to make the signs, and was going to mount the LCDs on the signs, but couldn't figure out how big the LCDs were.

Also, does the LCD have holes for screws? And, does anybody know if the school and sponser names need to be on all FOUR sides?

Thanks!

[kevin.li.rit]

Team LED's You mean? There are places where you can put screws, the cover pops off and you can put screws through the back piece. You could cable tie them too your bot, they are extremely easy to mount. If I recall they're about 30ishmm X 30ishmm(Square).

[KTorak]

They are about 1.5 in X 1.5 in I think. You can mount them with anything...velcro works well in any flat surface.

And no, Sponsors can be anywhere you want on the robot.

[Robo-Chaos]

THANK YOU!

LED? I feel like such a fool...

[Steve W]

They are exactly the same as last year but you only have 2 instead of 4.

[Kevin Sevcik]

FYI, you school name MUST be on your robot somewhere to pass inspection. We overlooked ours and had to sharpie it on. Heh.

[Elgin Clock]

FYI, you school name MUST be on your robot somewhere to pass inspection. We overlooked ours and had to sharpie it on. Heh.
Wow.. what?? That's new.. The only requirement I thought HAD to be on your bot as far as identification was a team number in 4 places 90 degrees apart.
And of course for this year 2 LED's.

School Name? Is that new?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

The are the rules of interest...

5.3.2.3 Robot Visibility
<R09> Robots must display their team number, sponsor and school names, and/or logos whenever the robot is on the field (including practice sessions). The judges, referees, and announcers must be able to easily identify robots by Team Number. Teams must display their Team Number in four locations at approximately 90-degree intervals around the side of the robot. The numerals must be at least 4 inches high, at least in 3/4 inch stroke width and in a contrasting color from its background. Team Numbers must be clearly visible from a distance of not less than 100 feet.
<R10> Robots must use the two Team Color LEDs provided at event registration to display their alliance color (red or blue). One Color LED must be mounted on each side of the robot such that their displayed color is visible from a distance of at least 100 feet. Instructions for connecting the Color LEDs are provided in the Innovation First Controller manual. The Robot Controller directly powers and controls the Team Color LEDs. The user has no control over the Team Color LEDs and no program ing is required.

As I told teams, if your name isn't on the robot, the announcer only has team number to go by. People in the stands doing strategy remember team names but not always team numbers. When it comes to alliance picks and hearing about your robot on the field wouldn't you rather have your team name, sponsor, school visible for the announcers?

[Robo-Chaos]

True, true... about the alliance-picking thing. Wow, do you guys have nothing better to do except reply here? Come to think of it... neither do I.

I really appreciate the help! By the way, what do you guys cut your plexiglass with?

[KTorak]

True, true... about the alliance-picking thing. Wow, do you guys have nothing better to do except reply here? Come to think of it... neither do I.

I really appreciate the help! By the way, what do you guys cut your plexiglass with?

We use Lexan, same concept more or less..but we use a table saw in our wood shop.
WARNING: WEAR SOMETHING COVERING YOUR HAND/ARM...LEXAN SHARDS WILL HURT WHEN THEY MAKE CONTACT WITH YOUR ARM. AND ALWAYS WEAR SAFTEY GLASSES.

[kevin.li.rit]

True, true... about the alliance-picking thing. Wow, do you guys have nothing better to do except reply here? Come to think of it... neither do I.

I really appreciate the help! By the way, what do you guys cut your plexiglass with?

We use a table saw or jigsaw or rotozip. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are not allowed to use plexiglass since it shatters.

[Robo-Chaos]

WHAT?!

Well... my team gave me it, and it's my first year... so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do something so dumb... would they?

[dlavery]

Hello, I'm from team 1135 (Whitney High School) and have a troubling question. Does anybody know what this year's LCD light look like?

The team light which are going to be handed to us at the competition... They probably have some measurements somewhere, but I haven't found them. If someone could quickly tell me, that'd be great. I voluntered to make the signs, and was going to mount the LCDs on the signs, but couldn't figure out how big the LCDs were.

Also, does the LCD have holes for screws? And, does anybody know if the school and sponser names need to be on all FOUR sides?

Thanks!

See page 3 of Update #13 (to be found in the updates section (http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2005/tmup.htm) of the FIRST web site).

-dave

[kevin.li.rit]

WHAT?!

Well... my team gave me it, and it's my first year... so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do something so dumb... would they?

Well plexiglass likes to shatter if you don't drill and cut it right. So you might find out soon enough if it's lexan or plexiglass.

[ConKbot of Doom]

Easy way to find out. Take a small strip. Start bending. Lexan will crease, plexi will shatter. You can make the lexan break, but you have to bend it back and forward and it isn't violent when it happens.

[Tom Bishop]

Use Lexan, not Plexiglass. It's much tougher and tends to bend not break. You can cut it with a saw but my favorite way to cut it is to score it (cut with an xacto knife using a straight-edge about 10 times in the same place) and then bend the piece back with the scored side down. You'll have to put a lot of pressure on it. It will break with a loud noise (warn people!!!) and you will have a perfect edge. Works every time.