2011 Palmetto Reigional *New Location*

[JohnFogarty]

So M'Aiken Magic is ready for another great year of FRC! We've also head rumors that it's now scheduled to be held in North Charleston, A Great Venue! We looking for some great competition hoping to bring our FRC game to the level we are at with FTC ;D. So who else out there is with us.

[Josh Drake]

We are pumped as always. The rumors are correct as several sources have alluded to (March 24-26). We had wanted to start a FTC team, but we are more worried about making it to St. Louis, and having a competitive robot this year. Maybe we can get our finances early enough next year.
Congratulations on your success:D

[ttldomination]

We're pretty pumped for Palmetto, but the new location has made it a tough decision. There are literally 4 regionals within the general, and I believe because of the shift, Palmetto regional now requires the longest transit time...

Well, I guess we'll see when it comes down to it. I hear the location is more peachtree-esque. At least that will make walking/moving around easier

[AlexD744]

If we can raise the money, we are strongly considering the palmetto regional as a second regional this year. :)

[JohnFogarty]

If we can raise the money, we are strongly considering the palmetto regional as a second regional this year. :)

For it being in North Charleston I'd say it's well worth it! :D

[Billfred]

So with second event registration underway, it's looking like a lot of the traveling crowd--particularly Florida and New Jersey--that passed on Palmetto in Clemson are flocking to Charleston. Familiar faces (to an old-timer like me at least) include 11 (2004 and 2006 champion), 95 (2006 finalist), 180 (Palmetto's been too quiet since they last visited in 2006), 900 (bring forth the zebra print!), and 1875 (who last visited Columbia as the Autonomato Autonomatons).

I'm also pumped to see some new-to-Palmetto faces, including 1649 and 1902, and no fewer than four rookies springing up in the Lowcountry.

Combine that with the usual South Carolina suspects--342, 343, 1102, 281, and certainly more to come--and the event is shaping up to have its most depth in years. Bring your A-game...and knowing some of these teams, you ear plugs too!

[Sayrah]

...and knowing some of these teams, you ear plugs too!

Oink Oink....

[Zflash]

BOOM

[hipsterjr]

Finally, now you guys get to come to 342's backyard!:D Of course we had no influence on the change in venue.;)

[JohnFogarty]

We actually decided this year Palmetto will be our only FRC Regional...not saying anything that we focus more on FTC which we don't...much, hopefully bringing on some new ideas from our FTC teams. Were gonna still go all out, even though we won't have a extra regional to fix things like we did with Florida last year....(shudders). Though I'm thouroughly excited about it being located in Charleston this year:)

[Zflash]

Finally, now you guys get to come to 342's backyard!:D Of course we had no influence on the change in venue.;)

1319 will be at Palmetto. We are interested to see how the new venue will work out. It was awesome in Columbia and great in Clemson so North Charleston has their work cut out for them, it has been interesting to watch the Palmetto regional grow over the years and this may be the biggest one yet.

And CJ I am sure that a team such as 342 would not have the pull to change the venue to their backyard. ;)

[Cooley744]

I know 744 is excited for the Palmetto Regional, but I will note that our decision in attending is not based on the switch from Clemson area to North Charleston. For our team specifically, it is the first time we have been able to seriously consider a 2nd regional. In fact, if I had it my way, it would be back at Clemson because now that I'm a college student at Furman University... Clemson is a shorter drive! haha. Even so, I'm glad my FL team can be coming to South Carolina, my new home state! :)

[JohnFogarty]

Furman:D haha cool place, I hoping for Palmetto to be one of the "BEST" regionals this year. One thing I wondered about is why they don't even recognize anything about South Carolina's FTC program at all.... I mean...oh well I understand alot of people consider FRC better...and I'm beggining to lean in that direction myself. But life moves on...and I just think everyone should come and look at the glory of the FTC winning Alliance Trophy from world...because it's just great and the only winning finals trophy SC has won yet. Which we should all intend to change. XD

Another thing...Kickoff is at the Citadel??? XD hahaa that intrests me. Do they have a engineering program there?

[dmellich]

Another thing...Kickoff is at the Citadel??? XD hahaa that intrests me. Do they have a engineering program there?

Civil and Electrical.

[techtiger1]

What happened??? Billfred and the Palmetto state not missing 1251 yet, even after we have been gone for 2 yrs? :).

So with second event registration underway, it's looking like a lot of the traveling crowd--particularly Florida and New Jersey--that passed on Palmetto in Clemson are flocking to Charleston. Familiar faces (to an old-timer like me at least) include 11 (2004 and 2006 champion), 95 (2006 finalist), 180 (Palmetto's been too quiet since they last visited in 2006), 900 (bring forth the zebra print!), and 1875 (who last visited Columbia as the Autonomato Autonomatons).

I'm also pumped to see some new-to-Palmetto faces, including 1649 and 1902, and no fewer than four rookies springing up in the Lowcountry.

Combine that with the usual South Carolina suspects--342, 343, 1102, 281, and certainly more to come--and the event is shaping up to have its most depth in years. Bring your A-game...and knowing some of these teams, you ear plugs too!

[Zflash]

What happened??? Billfred and the Palmetto state not missing 1251 yet, even after we have been gone for 2 yrs? :).

You are not the only great team that he left out of his commentating. :rolleyes:
I am sure it was just an oversight we had a great time playing against you guys in 2007 your tube hanging arm was a beast.

[Billfred]

What happened??? Billfred and the Palmetto state not missing 1251 yet, even after we have been gone for 2 yrs? :).

Nah, just still bitter over the quarterfinals (http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/match/2007sc_qf1m1) in 2007. ;) (I don't know how I missed 1251 on the list, I really don't!)

You are not the only great team that he left out of his commentating. :rolleyes:
I am sure it was just an oversight we had a great time playing against you guys in 2007 your tube hanging arm was a beast.

And at the time I posted that, Flash hadn't registered for Palmetto. (I remember this because I explicitly hunted down 1319 on the list when I was making my hype post and ruled it Officially Strange that y'all weren't on it. I think it was right after second registration opened, though--but I'm definitely looking forward to competing with Flash again!)

And if I missed any other teams, I apologize. Eight seasons of this and my mind sometimes slips. :)

I notice a few more fresh and returning faces on the list now:

-At long last, Palmetto can say that Kilroy is here! 339 has registered for their first trip to our fair state.
-The 2009 Palmetto champions 21 have registered. (Cue further grumbling (http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/match/2009sc_f1m2) on my part. ;))

I can also (very unfortunately) announce that 1398 is taking the year off from FRC. The fine folks of the Keenan Robo-Raiders are participating in the InventTEAM program this year (check their project page here (http://keenan.richlandone.org/www/rcsd1_keenan/site/hosting/webpages/Inventeam/index.htm)) and decided that adding FRC to the mix is putting too much on their plates. I hope to see 'em back for 2012.

On the midlands watch, I also note that 1959 has registered for their sixth season. 1293 has yet to register, but I can confirm from their website that they are holding meetings this fall. Hope to see them on the roster soon as well.

[Zflash]

Billfred,

I know the timing of the posts and was just giving you a hard time. Appreciate the update on the other SC teams 1398 is great group of people and always seem to work hard to do their best at competitions and have been successful in many ways. It is also great to hear that 1293 is likely to be back as we always seem to be next to them in the pits at the Palmetto regional and they too are a great group of folks and pit neighbors.

[Josh Drake]

Appreciate the update on the other SC teams 1398 is great group of people and always seem to work hard to do their best at competitions and have been successful in many ways.

We were crushed when we heard Keenan was taking the year off. They were definately a solid partner last year. Wayne is going to Clemson, so we still get to make him cookies.:)

[JohnFogarty]

Only a few weeks till KICKOFF at the CITADEL!

[juliusjackson]

team 527 is, as of now, coming from Long Island NY

[Josh Drake]

Only a few weeks till KICKOFF at the CITADEL!

I wish we could go. We're going to pick up the KOP in Atlanta.
Looks like 1398 is signed up for Palmetto:D
I know it's early, but hopefully 281 will still host the scrimmage.
23 days!

[ttldomination]

I wish we could go. We're going to pick up the KOP in Atlanta.

Uh...why? Just feel like trip down to the ATL?

[Josh Drake]

Uh...why? Just feel like trip down to the ATL?

2 hours away vs. 4

[ttldomination]

2 hours away vs. 4

Oh, I thought yall were closer to them..nvm...

[Zflash]

We too our crossing the border to pick up our KOP. It should be fun to see all of our Georgia friends at kickoff as we will not be attending the Peachtree regional this year.

[Akash Rastogi]

Team 11 will be back at the Palmetto regional after 5 years.

Lots of strong teams at this regional once again:

11 (2 time Palmetto champs)
95
342
343
744
1102
1251
1319
1902
2614
2815

Of course, I will be cheering for two teams to get back together at this regional. 11+1251 :D

[JohnFogarty]

Team 11 will be back at the Palmetto regional after 5 years.

Lots of strong teams at this regional once again:

11 (2 time Palmetto champs)
95
342
343
744
1102
1251
1319
1902
2614
2815

Of course, I will be cheering for two teams to get back together at this regional. 11+1251 :D
It ought to be some good competition. No more GIANT tank treads like last year. I know for sure the best thing going for us is the minibot having 3 FTC teams and one of them being world champions it kindof helps. But yeah We have some things were modifying to bring to switch out on the robot itself using a PID system on our arm makes it a little slow but it gets the job done were working on a really quick floor pickup system right now that if it works we should be in buisness somewhat.

[JohnFogarty]

1 MORE WEEK. I can hear the cry of 1902 in my ears from Florida last year already.... :D

[EricS-Team180]

...and to round out your breakfast meat ensemble, S.P.A.M will returning to Palmetto for the first time 4 years. It looks like a great bunch of teams to mix it up with!

[Akash Rastogi]

...and to round out your breakfast meat ensemble, S.P.A.M will returning to Palmetto for the first time 4 years. It looks like a great bunch of teams to mix it up with!

SPAM picked a perfect year for Palmetto, you guys were great at Florida!

[wendymom]

Exploding Bacon will be bringing their piggy banks to collect for the Red Cross for earthquake/tsunami relief. We raised over 325.00 at the Florida Regional, but that was only one day. I bet the teams at the Palmetto Regional can help us break that number!!!

[Marissa94]

1 MORE WEEK. I can hear the cry of 1902 in my ears from Florida last year already.... :D

Oink, Oink! :D

[BACONDUDE1902]

BOOM!!!!!

[JohnFogarty]

BOOM!!!!!

I haven't decided yet since i'm the main driver whether or not i'm bringing back the WIZZERZ Attire. XD Cape and wizard hats. Hmmm....

[Kevin Thorp]

We posted handy links to the Palmetto Regional here: http://www.team3489.org/palmetto-regional.php

[JohnFogarty]

http://www.team3489.org/palmetto-regional.php there was an error in your hyperlink.

[Kevin Thorp]

oops. Thanks john. I fixed my post.

[Akash Rastogi]

Is someone providing a webcast for Palmetto? If not I'll be pretty sad :(

[cziggy343]

Hey guys,

When I came down to Charleston earlier in the week, they were doing construction on I-26 between exits 209-213 (The exit for the coliseum is 212-A). It did not seem to mess with the flow of traffic that much, but it did just a little. So, if you are doing time pertinent activities in this area, be sure to give yourself just a little extra time :)

[team1102a]

The webcast may be accessed at
http://robotics.nasa.gov/events/2011_frcwebcasts.php

[team1102a]

The volunteer staff and chairs are pleased to announce that the majority of the Palmetto staff for the past 4 or 5 years will be in North Charleston to provide you a great Palmetto Regional this weekend. Ted Creech is returning as MC and I am honored to be the game announcer for my 7th straight year. Terrell Burch is returning as Head Ref.

We have 43 teams from 8 states, including all 25 SC teams. These teams include many finalists and one winner from the 2011 season.

I have not been to the venue but I have heard there is more pit area and the arena is in a great viewing location.

I am anxious to meet all the teams and see if we can achieve these items for the Palmetto Regional

A six-ubertube autonomous
Beating the top score of 135
Coopertition mini-bot scoring
18 tubes on a rack

Regards
Barry Hudson

[JohnFogarty]

Nice goals! Haha we will have another duplicate of our minibot for sharing purposes.

Oh and Barry. We have a wig for you:D since you get to stay with the team at some point. We thought we'd give you a little team spirit gift. XD

[techtiger1]

TechTigers rolled into Charleston about 3:45pm this afternoon can not wait to see the inside of the new venue. Beautiful day out in sunny South Carolina. Can't wait till the action starts tomorrow.

[JohnFogarty]

Were packed up and heading down tommorow morning at 4am. Stop by our pit and say hello. We will have our mobile machine shop open for use. With Chop Saw, Ban Saw, Drill Press and 2 way commercial sander. If you are interested in trying to use our second minibot let one of us know.

You'll know when we get there. The wizzarz are back in town.

[Billfred]

2815's been working all three nights to improve our claw and get our minibot launcher (and new minibot) assembled. We're not quite there on the latter, but confident we can make it happen tomorrow to keep our post-Peachtree momentum.

That meeting wrapped at 10:00. Our bus loads up at 5:30. If I'm drowsy tomorrow, you'll have to forgive me. :)

[Akash Rastogi]

I got word that MORT members started arriving sometime around 7pm and most will get there by 3 or 4am!:eek:

Can anyone confirm that the NASA site will have the webcast up?

[Akash Rastogi]

No link on the NASA page right now. Will there be one tomorrow?

[Adam Richards]

No link on the NASA page right now. Will there be one tomorrow?

There is one up now, but the sound only has the game sounds playing.

[hipsterjr]

I just tried the link on the nasa site and got nothing.

[Akash Rastogi]

Best of luck Team 11! :)

[JLenhart]

I really look forward to see everyone's machine. Things seem to be working well for us so far. We are really crossing our fingers that it continues.

Purple Haze and Exploding Bacon going back and forth with their cheers was hilarious on the first day. I hope to see more.

We look forward to seeing everyone's machine in competition. Hope things are working properly.

[hipsterjr]

I must say, after walking the pits today, this year has to have some of the steepest competition I think I have seen at Palmetto in a long time. Too many top notch teams for me to fairly mention. Friday should be fun.

*side note* I had fun today (with the help of Billfred) teaching the freshmen on 1319 and 342 what happens when you say "oink oink" to a 1902 member:p .

[Akash Rastogi]

I'm surprised nobody made note of this yet hanging in the arena. :)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/197090_645982763516_31504683_35667882_3076261_n.jp g

[Brandon Holley]

I'm surprised nobody made note of this yet hanging in the arena. :)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/197090_645982763516_31504683_35667882_3076261_n.jp g

Or the inflatable version thats floating around the arena...

GO MORT

-Brando

[Sayrah]

*side note* I had fun today (with the help of Billfred) teaching the freshmen on 1319 and 342 what happens when you say "oink oink" to a 1309 member:p .

Did you mean to a 1902 member??

Oink Oink...

[DonRotolo]

Did you mean to a 1902 member??

Oink Oink...
BOOM!

:D

Go MORT!

[PayneTrain]

Between exploding pork and dinosaurs on rocketships, the Palmetto Regional sounds like a real party regional.

[goldenglove002]

Having fun so far! After replacing every single electrical control component (literally everything) we finally solved the mystery behind the left side of our drive not working and are ready to go for the morning.

Anyone have scouting data they would be willing to share? We are placed a lot higher than we were expecting with the drive train issues and had not spent much time scouting. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[hipsterjr]

Did you mean to a 1902 member??

Oink Oink...

Wow I am embaressed. Please forgive me, I wrote that at 1am after a 12hr shift.:o

[techtiger1]

@1311 goldenglove002 check with team 180 SPAM, I'm sure they'd be happy to help.

[speedbuggy76]

Can someone tell me which team has the robot that throws tubes to their partners? I know it's one of 1875, 3490, or 1902, but my stream froze and I couldn't determine which one. Very cool idea, I hope to see it paired up with a scorer in the playoffs.

[Vikesrock]

Can someone tell me which team has the robot that throws tubes to their partners? I know it's one of 1875, 3490, or 1902, but my stream froze and I couldn't determine which one. Very cool idea, I hope to see it paired up with a scorer in the playoffs.

That's 1875. There is a thread and video around here somewhere.

[DonRotolo]

Having fun so far! After replacing every single electrical control component (literally everything) we finally solved the mystery behind the left side of our drive not working and are ready to go for the morning.
Can you tell us about the problem you were seeing and what the cause was?

[Akash Rastogi]

Never been more sad about a red card in my life :( I still love Team 11

[Brandon Holley]

Never been more sad about a red card in my life :( I still love Team 11

Ughh.

[martin417]

Wow, that was an exciting set of finals matches. Congrats 180, 2363, and 2815. Billfred and his team get two in a row!

The Billfred effect!

[davidalln]

The Billfred effect!

How often does a bot go second pick twice in one year and win both times? Says a lot about their abilities. Congrats 2815, along with 180 and 2363!

[alubin237]

Congratulations to Teams 180, 2363, and 2815 for the regional win, Team 2614 on Engineering Inspiration along with all teams that competed this weekend. Also, congrats to Team 11 on winning the Entrepreneurship, Website, Animation, and Chairman's Awards this weekend!

[Akash Rastogi]

Congrats to Team 11 on winning the Entrepreneurship, Website, Animation, and Chairman's Awards this weekend!

Proud to be MORT alum :) Clearly, all clouds have their silver linings.

Congratulations to 2614 on Engineering Inspiration, 343's alliance for being Finalists, and Billfred's alliance for another Regional Championship!

[DonRotolo]

The Billfred effect!
Congratulations Los Pollos Locos on their second Win. I expect to see both Billfreds in St Louis, one for each win.

Also congratulations to MORT Team 11 on Regional Chairman's Award. After the red card :ahh: I thought that Virginia would be your only shot at St Louis. Glad to be wrong!

[Steven Donow]

Congrats to 180, 2363, and 2815, and big congrats go to friends, MORT, awesome job with the Chairman's and 3 other awards!

[Brandon Holley]

Super proud of MORT on their Chairmans! lookout Virginia, MORTs coming...

Go MORT!

-Brando

[Billfred]

Congratulations Los Pollos Locos on their second Win. I expect to see both Billfreds in St Louis, one for each win.Don, there's only one of me. (I don't know if there's anyone on 2815 that thinks that's a bad thing...)

How often does a bot go second pick twice in one year and win both times? Says a lot about their abilities. Congrats 2815, along with 180 and 2363!
I'll do you one better: How often does a team go to the last pick of the draft twice in two weeks and win both times? It's crazy.

Congratulations to...Billfred's alliance for another Regional Championship!

Wow, that was an exciting set of finals matches. Congrats 180, 2363, and 2815. Billfred and his team get two in a row!

The Billfred effect!
I can't take much of the credit on this one. After the first two qualifying rounds, I passed the coach badge to our lead college student, Amadeo Bellotti. For a college student that joined the team mid-build last year and nearly had the teachers wanting to feed him to the alligators at Bayou last year, Amadeo has matured greatly to lead the Gamecock FIRSTers organization and 2815. While I still fault him for breaking the field the first match he went out (and then losing that match), as well as making a six-year-old cry during eliminations*, he's definitely getting on the right track.

A few other folks I feel a need to recognize:

180 is the team that got me hooked on this competition eight long years ago in the Colonial Center. When S.A.M.**'s stupid-fast hanging setup propelled them up in the time it took me to glance down, it became the first time a robot completely blew me away. Throw in that unyielding army of SPAMmers in the stands, and it's been all downhill from there. Being able to work with SPAM has been one of those things I've always wanted to do, and I'm thrilled that we had the opportunity to do it here. It was great seeing Eric, Warren, and George at the top of their respective games and to end that far-too-long banner drought.

2363, thanks for coming down and putting on a heck of a show. It was nuts watching you guys duke it out with SPAM for the top spot, and seeing you two pair up from the stats was a no-brainer. I hope you guys make it back down next year.

343, you guys (along with 2751 and 1287) gave us the fight of our lives in the finals. I kept seeing you guys get better and better with each run on the field, and who knows what would've happened if finals went four matches as they did in 2008. If we go on to have even half of the success 343's had both on the field and off over the years, I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it. (On a related note, congratulations to Gene Falendysz on a much-deserved Woodie Flowers Award win.)

11, thank you for getting that semifinals red card. Your alliance was superb, on track for a third triple-digit score where our alliance had only put up one at that point. Hopefully, the website, Autodesk Excellence in Design, KPC&B Entrepreneurship, and Regional Chairman's Awards will act as an acceptable consolation. (I think that might be a record for a team at this event.)

1293, I was not looking forward to having to counteract that hard defensive play you guys were dishing out. Stephen Colbert references not withstanding, teams playing against y'all were definitely On Notice. I know it'll be even better at SCRIW.

To the non-SPAM members of what I will affectionately refer to as Team Florida, I'm very glad to have y'all back up here. From 1902's, er, warm welcome at the driver's meeting, to Exploding Bacon and SPAM trading cheers (even in the semis while duking it out against each other), to catching back up with 1251, to Purple Haze's crazy tube-chucking machine, Florida teams have always added a lot to the experience at Palmetto and I'm thrilled see you guys making the trip again.

To this year's volunteer crew, great job. It's never easy to transplant an event, but this year's regional was exceptionally smooth. In addition, the North Charleston Coliseum feels like a great venue for this event. A little more width in the pit aisles, and I think it'll be dynamite!

So many great South Carolina teams this year makes me excited for the prospect of SCRIW this fall alongside 1293. I might be awake by then after passing out to recover from the past two weeks.

*Okay, the six-year-old was really tearing up because 1902 lost its first semifinal match...but I'm okay blaming that on Amadeo. ;)

**Surface-to-Air Meat, for you youngin's.

[Thermal]

I'd like to thank MORT and MARS for the great alliance. It was a lot of fun playing with you guys and we hope we get the chance to be apart of the same alliance again in the future. Amazing offensive performances from you guys, it was truly a great alliance.

Shout outs to...

1902 for being awesome and stopping by our pits to help out on occasion (and congratulating us on playing some lights out defense against them in a qualifier). Also for giving us a flying pig to put on our OI :D

2815 for the programming help on our code deployment issues

11 and 2614 for the great alliance and having spiffy team shirts/outfits

Billfred and 2815 for winning two regionals this year. Congratulations man it's about time

2815, 180, 2363 for playing a great few matches and winning the Regional.

And many others that helped us this year that I just can't recall. Palmetto was a lot of fun, and next year maybe we'll break out of Semi's.

2004-2008 (No Elims)
2009 Quarters
2010 Semis
2011 Semis

-Ryan Brown. 1293 2nd year Mentor, 5th year in FIRST

[goldenglove002]

Can you tell us about the problem you were seeing and what the cause was?

It's an issue we'd been having since about halfway through the Peachtree regional where the left side of our drive train would go out abruptly on the field. Every time we brought it back into the pits and onto the practice field to test it we would have no problems.

We started with the Power Distribution board and found that some FOD had found it's way inside of it. Replaced it. 2nd board wouldn't supply power to the CRio. Replaced it again. We also suspected damage to the digital sidecar and replaced that. With the robot stripped down to nothing but the drive and control system we were able to get it working before packing it into the crate for Palmetto.

After re-assembling the robot and getting out to practice on Thursday, we realized the same problem was occurring. Suspected a bad jaguar but every test we did in the pit showed no issues with any of them. Decided to start overhauling the wiring of the PWM's and power to the CIM's. Still nothing. Re-wrote code. Nothing. Swapped CIM motors. Started getting desperate. Swapped CRios. Nothing. Just completely baffled.

After some more testing in the pit we finally noticed the signal light wasn't changing on one of the jaguars. Changed it. Figured that the jaguar had been going bad all along and was just evading telling us at all the wrong times. Changed it, figured we had just had some really bad luck. When I made that post on Friday it looked like everything was working.

Nope. At this point we really have no clue what the issue is, but the season is done. We'll (hopefully) figure it out once the crate gets back to our shop.

Congratulations to all of the winners at Palmetto!

[ebarker]

It was the most frustrating technical issue we probably have ever faced, this losing full control of the left side drive train. We tried it with DS version 1.05.11.00 and 02.27.11.00, cRio image V28, with no success.

We went through 2 cRios's, Nada, 3 PD boards, 2 sidecars, and all new PWM cables. We never did change out the DB37 pin cable. Always seemed to work tethered in the test field, but not in competition.

Sometimes it would run a while, then give trouble, then recover, almost like a breaker was cycling. So we changed all the breakers.

The only thing we didn't change was the driver.........hmmmmmm..

Congrats to the winners at the Palmetto ..... and the folks that didn't get a formal award too, you are all winners in my book !!

[Warren Boudreau]

It has been too long since SPAM was able to come up and visit with our South Carolina friends.

Bilfred, thanks for helping us out. The data said that y'all were the best choice and we were ecstatic when you were still available for our second pick.

Triple Helix, you guys are great. The qualifying match was fun, but not nearly as much fun as the elimination rounds.

Congratulations to Gene from 343 for his Woody Flowers recognition.

MORT, it was rough seeing your alliance get that red card. I hope the Chairman's Award soothes the pain a bit. Congratulations, you are a great group of people.

And I have to give thanks to the folks from Purple Haze and Exploding Bacon for helping out with our scouting effort. The data came out right on target.

And finally, I want to congratulate the Palmetto Regional Planning committee and all of the volunteers for pulling off a great regional event.

[mwilbur]

Team 2363, Triple Helix, has so many teams and people to thank for our Palmetto Regional experience that I don't know where to begin.

For starters, let me thank the many volunteers and organizers that made the event so pleasant for us. Everyone that I spoke with had a smile on their face and was most helpful even if they didn't immediately know the answers to my questions. We definitely recognize that there would be no events like these without your efforts, and for that we thank you very sincerely.

As for team 180, SPAM, and team 2815, Los Pollos Locos, thanks so much for partnering with us in the elimination matches. Things didn't get off to as great a start as we had all expected, but we got steadily better as an alliance as time wore on. For us it was something truly magical, and we are truly thankful for our first FRC win. You will be honorary Triple Helix members for the rest of your lives!

To team 1902, Exploding Bacon, we are truly humbled to have received your Most Valuable Pig award! We had seen you for years on the streaming video, but to have experienced your team in person was truly special. Thanks for the nod of confidence with the MVP award!

To team 1319, Flash, many thanks also for the Flash-E Chassis Robot Design Award. The awards from our peers are in many ways more special than the Excellence in Engineering design award that we received on Friday evening.

To the many teams that came around to study our robot, Genome Gamma, from every angle and asked how you could build a minibot deployment mechanism as consistent as ours, thanks for the vote of confidence! I don't know that we did an adequate job of answering all of your questions, so feel free to ask some more if you didn't receive the help that you were looking for. We will freely admit that we never expected to play 16 matches and have 16 successful minibot delpoyments -- most for 30 points -- so we were as caught off guard as any of you.

To teams 343, 1287, and 2751, thanks for putting the pressure on in the finals. Our team philosophy is that you have to beat the best in order to be the best, and your performance kept us performing at our best to the very end.

Finally, to team 11, MORT, thanks so much for showing us what a great team can do. To have won four awards, one of them being the Chairman's Award, is truly an outstanding accomplishment. Your alliance in the elimination matches was amazing, and everybody on Triple Helix knew that we were going to be in a dogfight if your alliance made it through to the finals. To be honest, we didn't know whether to feel bad or be relieved about your alliance's red card in the semis. In any case, how fitting it is that you qualified for the Championship with your Chairman's win. You are truly a team with great class, and Triple Helix aspires to be just like you. Thanks for setting such a shining example!!

On a side note, for those who are interested, Triple Helix has devloped and now tested an Android tablet scouting software package. It seemed to work well for us at Palmetto, and our scouting results matched up well with those of team 180's when we were discussing alliance partner selections. We plan to release the software to the FIRST community soon. It will run on virtually any Andrioid device and includes a Java program to sort the results. We will announce the release of the software on Chief Delphi.

For now, we are looking forward to the Virginia Regional and our first trip to the Championship. What a rush! I can still hear the strains of "We are the Champions" running through my head!! It's time for somebody somewhere to pinch me so that I can know whether this is real or not...

[JLenhart]

FIRST team 2614 had a blast at the Palmetto regional.

We really appreciate the Engineering Inspiration award. We work so hard to spread the FIRST spirit all through our state. Whether it be walking dogs, giving presentations, open houses, to drawing coloring books.

Thank you to. . .

11: You guys had an amazing machine. It was great to work with you guys. Your team is fantastic and it was great sitting up there with you. We really shined in that last match. We were able to show what we could throw.

The red card was a bummer but that kind of thing happens. Considering the field could barely be seen from all of the tubes on our alliance wall. Shake it off. You guys should be proud. Congratulations on the Chairmens award. I will be sure to say hi to you guys there!

1293: You had an amazing robot for defense. We are very glad we managed to get you into our alliance. It would have been terrible to have to compete against that amazing defensive machine.

I hope to see you all very, very soon.
Thanks again,
Jake



"We came to be inspired. We stayed because we were. We will become the inspiration."
2. 6. 1. 4. WE ARE. . . HARD CORE.

[Josh Drake]

I guess I'm from the bad guy alliance, that got our way into the finals on a technicality. We were getting our back sides kicked hard, and standing on the side lines, I knew we were done. To add insult to injury, we had lost comms. and 343 tried to deploy their minibot, and missed the pole. That's when 11 had gotten the 30 point minibot and drove into 343.

I don't know what to say except that we knew it was an uphill battle the whole way. We got into the semi-finals, and I looked at the match-up between us and the #2 seed, and knew we would have bring our A game to have a chance. When we won the first match because of the 50 points in minibots, I had a good feeling, but told the drive team that the #2 seed would change their strategy. We were truly beat the next two matches.

In the finals there was another incident with a robot hitting another robot while trying to deploy. We won on another technicality, but felt good that the raw score was still good enough to beat that great #1 alliance. But in the end the better alliance prevailed, and a big congratulations to 180, 2363, and 2815.

We now look back at what could have been and look forward to North Carolina. We will try to make improvements (if that Banebot stuff will ever get here). We were very pleased with the outcome, because we are a third year team, and last year's robot was a B.L.T. (brave little toaster).

See you in 10 days!

[Thermal]

I guess I'm from the bad guy alliance, that got our way into the finals on a technicality. We were getting our back sides kicked hard, and standing on the side lines, I knew we were done. To add insult to injury, we had lost comms. and 343 tried to deploy their minibot, and missed the pole. That's when 11 had gotten the 30 point minibot and drove into 343.

I don't know what to say except that we knew it was an uphill battle the whole way. We got into the semi-finals, and I looked at the match-up between us and the #2 seed, and knew we would have bring our A game to have a chance. When we won the first match because of the 50 points in minibots, I had a good feeling, but told the drive team that the #2 seed would change their strategy. We were truly beat the next two matches.

In the finals there was another incident with a robot hitting another robot while trying to deploy. We won on another technicality, but felt good that the raw score was still good enough to beat that great #1 alliance. But in the end the better alliance prevailed, and a big congratulations to 180, 2363, and 2815.

We now look back at what could have been and look forward to North Carolina. We will try to make improvements (if that Banebot stuff will ever get here). We were very pleased with the outcome, because we are a third year team, and last year's robot was a B.L.T. (brave little toaster).

See you in 10 days!

I don't think anyone considers your alliance to be the "bad guys" or downplay your alliances achievements in any way for making the finals due to a red card. I know I certainly hold no ill feelings towards 343, 2751, 1287, or even team 11 for how SF Match 3 went. Rules in FIRST exist for a reason and they cannot be ignored just because the score is an unreachable gap. I was wholly bummed seeing your robot go without comms in that final match then pushed out of the way by 343 to try and clear the way for more scoring. It's a circumstance that seems to happen much too often in the elim matches. I remember in 2009 when our alliance in each QF match had a robot dead in the water to start the match (Horsepower FRC801, then the Minotaurs FRC1369). In 2010 the roles were flipped in the semifinals and it was us who was floundering on the field with comms issues and the CRIO resetting, costing our alliance a possible finals trip. It's a real unfortunate way to end a series but it happens and it cannot be faulted.

I can't lie about not being disappointed in being unable to hang our teams first finalists/champions banner in our warehouse, but theres always next year and many more after that. I am thankful for being given the opportunity to compete in the elimination rounds because of MORT and MARS, and I cannot ask for any more than that.

[Josh Drake]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. 343 hit us to try to get us going again, but it didn't work.:(

All in all definately a fun time in N. Charleston.:D

[thedries]

I would just like to thank everyone that participated in last weekend's regional; from the teams, the mentors, the volunteers, the judges and the referees. It has been quite a while since our last visit to Palmetto (2006), but I don't know why didn't return sooner, everyone was a nice as could be and it was great to just be a part of the fun. Plus the weather was amazing! It was a nice reprieve from the snow & hail in NJ.

It was a roller-coaster of highs and lows for us, this regional was truly a unique experience. We are humbled by the reception we received, and I am so amazed and proud of our students, who put in countless hours since last season restructuring and streamlining all the processes behind the scenes. We are excited to compete at St. Louis for the Chairman's Award and are relieved that the pressure is off for Virginia so we can just go and have fun.

180, 2363 & 2815: You guys were are a great alliance and worked really well together. You all showed us the importance of reliability and consistency in your performances over the weekend; you guys deserved to win. We were looking forward to competing against you, but alas, it was not in the cards. Hopefully we will see you again in St. Louis, and we look forward to seeing 2363 also in Richmond.

343, 1287, 2751: We certainly don't consider you guys the "bad guys" at all, the rules are there for a reason, and we are glad that everything went by the book. It's a shame you were having so many problems with communications, after the first match against us you really showed us what a team that worked together could do. We bear you no ill-will for continuing on to the finals and wish you the best of luck in the future.

2614: Thanks for picking us! You guys are an amazing team and we are so glad to have worked with you and 1293. We knew this was your last regional this year, and were devastated when we couldn't help you get to St. Louis, but we were overjoyed to find out that you didn't need our help at all! Congrats on EI, it couldn't have been given to a better group of people! We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!

1293: You guys were a tough bot that complimented us and MARS very well, thank you for joining us in the eliminations. We hope to work with you guys again soon!

We are also incredibly excited about all the friends we made down in Charleston, 2614, 1293, 180, 2363, 1902, 1319 and I know I'm forgetting so many more. Thanks again to everyone for a great weekend and we wish you all the best.

[team1102a]

I’ve have announced the Palmetto for 7 years, and I have to say, this was the best one yet. We have moved the Palmetto from Columbia (with the steep steps and cramped pits), to Clemson (with the smaller arena and outdoor practice field), to North Charleston. This venue was perfect for the game (though a little small for the pits), but the viewing angles were perfect. Everyone felt like they were close to the field. The energy was contagious.

The 43 Teams from 7 states brought friendship and professionalism like I have never seen. Ted Creech, the MC, and I could not believe how much fun everyone was having.

Every team had some success to take home and be proud of. I saw broken robots return to life in later matches, and some incredible strategies play out for the most exciting matches I can ever remember.

It started with the girl’s chorus wearing SPORK’s red blinking LED safety glasses while on the field singing the National Anthem (did anyone get a photo or movie of them?), and ending 31 hours later with 3-match Semi and Finals rounds with numerous scores over 100 points. We had it all: a match with 4 scoring mini-bots, 4 sets of logos on one end of the field, 4-tube autonomous scoring, and even a Coopertition minibot score during the elimination rounds. By my accounting, the alliance high score was 102 in Quals and 122 in QF3. And a high combined score of 176 in Finals3. Terrel and the refs made the right calls and there seemed to be little if any scoring or penalty controversy.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to this event. You cannot believe the number of unpaid volunteers (including Ted and me) who told me they would come back anytime to help at Palmetto Regional. I’ll be back!.

[Emiller8]

I would just like to thank everyone that has congratulated us. Everyone on MORT was just feeling lucky to get to the regional after a 14 hour bus ride and getting in at 2:30 am on Thursday. Then for us to continue on and win four awards, one being Chairmans, was awesome. I want to thank all the teams, judges, and volunteers for your help. Thanks to teams 180, 1676, 341, 2614, 1293, 1319, 75, 223, 2363, 2815, 281, and any one else I may have missed for your words of congratulations. Everyone on MORT has been working really hard to ramp up our team, and it is so nice to know that it has all payed off. So thank you so much.

[Alex2614]

2614: Thanks for picking us! You guys are an amazing team and we are so glad to have worked with you and 1293. We knew this was your last regional this year, and were devastated when we couldn't help you get to St. Louis, but we were overjoyed to find out that you didn't need our help at all! Congrats on EI, it couldn't have been given to a better group of people! We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!

11 - I can't wait to see you guys in St. Louis! You are a fantastic group of kids and mentors, and the Chairmans Award belonged to you from the start.

1293 - You guys had a fantastic robot, and were a perfect match for us and 11. I couldn't have asked for better results. I'm sorry we couldn't help you earn a spot at the championships this year :( We really wanted you to get to go. But, don't be discouraged. There's always next year :) We will definitely see you again!

2363 - While we didn't really have as much of a chance to interact as much in the arena as we would have liked, we were glad and honored to share hotel space with you all. You were overly gracious and courteous, giving us space during our team meetings, and just being polite at breakfasts. I can only hope that we returned the favor :)

All of the volunteers, refs, judges, etc. - Thank you for throwing such a great party...er, I mean... regional ;) Of all the regionals we have been to, our students had the most fun at Palmetto 2011, so we owe a special thanks for putting on such a great event, being fair and unbiased, and just having a good time overall!
We couldn't thank you more for the Engineering Inspiration Award. It means more than anyone could ever know to the MARS team 2614. We had tears of joy on our faces the entire time after the ceremony.

Thanks to all the other teams for being so gracious and accepting and fun! We had a blast working and playing with everybody, and we hope to see you in the future!

[JohnFogarty]

WEllP we had fun. learned a few things, thanks to team SPORK for picking us we had a tough time going up against the number 1 alliance. We had the minibot that liked to win. but that's about it. WEll come see Atomix our FTC team in St. Louis. As of yet I won't be attending because unlike in FRC where if you're in the winning Alliance you go to championship in FTC you get put into the "lottery" if you aren't the captain. So GForce won but didn't get captain so we didn't get a spot we were told. Soooo oh well. Probably see you all next year.

[Alex2614]

Does anybody know where I can find a video of Saturday's award ceremony?

[cziggy343]

Well, I know that it was a heck of a weekend for 343. We got saved by our solid minibot during the qualifications, but struggled to score on the tubes. We had a totally rookie drive team coming in, and I was their drive coach for this event. Despite the struggles early, I was proud of our guy's performance in the end. They steadily improved all weekend, and did their best work in the eliminations when it counts the most. All in all, very proud of the finalist appearance.

but some other notes:

2751: I know personally I was thrilled with the chance to play with you guys. You guys have gotten better and better, and I was so proud of your performance this weekend. It was awesome to see that you were truly one of the best teams there. You could score on the tubes with anybody, and that was really great to see. After seeing you guys during the build season, I was happy to see the hard work come to fruition. You guys will do great in North Carolina

1287: Ya'll were the perfect third pick for us. Our goal was to get a defensive robot with a good drivetrain and could put up an ubertube. We were thrilled that you were still there for us at the third alliance. You guys did everything we asked, and did and excellent job doing it. Thank you for being just what we needed to compete and keep up with everyone else.

180, 2363, 2815 That was an amazing set of finals. Period. I was elated to see that we could even begin to keep up with two really great teams. You guys were the best and deserved to win, we were just lucky to be close ;) The last match was a game of inches. 66-60 going into the minibot race. Unfortunately, a chain came off the sprocket on one side of our drivetrain and so we couldn't line up, and I believe 2751 lost comms just before deployment. But, you guys were steady, consistent, and played with excellence and 100% deserved the win.

[Boydean]

Does anybody know where I can find a video of Saturday's award ceremony?

Bump.

[mwilbur]

Does anybody know where I can find a video of Saturday's award ceremony?

Alex,

We have a video of the awards ceremony that we took from the upper seats in the arena. It is not the FIRST video feed because they wouldn't let us hook into their system as we requested. Let me know if you'd like a copy of it and we'll find a way to transfer it to you. Contact me directly at matt.wilbur@menchvillerobotics.org.

[JohnFogarty]

Here's an exciting tidbit. We bought some Mecanum wheels to play with two days ago:) were looking to have some bases built to be prepared for next year. Do you guys know of your own teams pre-building bases? And another thing I found last night were 4, 2 speed CIM transmissions know if these are pretty useful? I seem to remember 343 having 2 speed transmissions on their tanktreads during breakaway.

[Josh Drake]

Here's an exciting tidbit. We bought some Mecanum wheels to play with two days ago:) were looking to have some bases built to be prepared for next year. Do you guys know of your own teams pre-building bases? And another thing I found last night were 4, 2 speed CIM transmissions know if these are pretty useful? I seem to remember 343 having 2 speed transmissions on their tanktreads during breakaway.

I guess a lot of teams do the pre season build. I was part of 343 for the past 4 years, and the only time I think they prepared for that was for Rack & Roll back in 2007. The base was drawn up, and after the kick-off they put it together pretty quickly. This past summer I (part of 343) was prototyping a swerve module, but after I left, I guess they went a different route for this year.
The 2 speed transmissions are definately worth keeping. They cost too much to get rid of. We had them last year and they were good for pushing if needed. The key is getting the drivers time to feel good about using them, otherwise it's wasted weight.

[Billfred]

Here's an exciting tidbit. We bought some Mecanum wheels to play with two days ago:) were looking to have some bases built to be prepared for next year. Do you guys know of your own teams pre-building bases? And another thing I found last night were 4, 2 speed CIM transmissions know if these are pretty useful? I seem to remember 343 having 2 speed transmissions on their tanktreads during breakaway.

Many teams do some pre-season prototyping--just be mindful of next season's rules when going back to what you've already built either for design or for grabbing parts. Testing a mecanum drive before using it in competition will be especially helpful, either for driving practice or for realizing it's absolutely not for you! (It does take a certain style of driving--1293 used mecanums in 2008 and swore them off almost immediately.) The two-speeds (AndyMark shifters, I assume) are quite valuable (about $330 a pop); if you don't use them yourself, you can probably trade with another team for something of pretty good value.

If you feel like putting them to the test, throw some bumpers on 'em and bring it to SCRIW (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1032824) this fall. Nothing like the heat of competition to see where something works....and while we're looking to give it that big-time feel, I know the stakes are much lower at SCRIW compared to Palmetto :)

[DonRotolo]

What Billfred said (about prototypes used in season).

We build a drivetrain every year for practice (in building drivetrains that is). Sometimes it's helpful during build, sometimes not. I'd like to build some coaxial swerve modules and figure out the programming some day - obviously a team would have to figure this out well before build season, unless they are masochists.