WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE?

[Eagleeyedan]

In the manual it says that the withholding allowance specifications are in the administrative manual section 5 but I can't find them! Where are they?

[Vikesrock]

In the manual it says that the withholding allowince specifications are in the administrative manual section 5 but I can't find them! Where are they?

What it says is in Section 5 is the Shipment Deadline. The phrase "Withholding Allowance" is in bold so it is defined in Section 1 of the Administrative Manual. The Withholding Allowance is also covered in rule <R33>.

[EricH]

Check <R33>.

[ATannahill]

This is what you are referencing

WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE – a limited amount of FABRICATED ITEMS that are withheld from the shipping requirements (specified in the 2011 FRC Administrative Manual, Section 5) and retained by the team following the shipping deadlines. These items are then hand-carried to a competition event by the team. The OPERATOR CONSOLE is automatically included in the WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE. Beyond that, the incoming material maximums specified in Rule <R33> limits the amount of FABRICATED ITEMS included in the WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE.

Emphasis mine. The specs you want for the withholding allowance are in section 4: The Robot.

[Eagleeyedan]

So it's 30 lbs?

[Vikesrock]

So it's 30 lbs?

Yes, 30lbs + Minibot + Operator Console + Batteries, wire and Anderson connector

[Eagleeyedan]

Yes, 30lbs + Minibot + Operator Console + Batteries, wire and Anderson connector

Thanks. That helped. I've been searching the manual for 10 minutes trying to find it. I guess I wasn't looking in the right place :rolleyes:

[martin417]

So it's 30 lbs?

For now. In the past when bad weather has affected many teams in an adverse manner, they have increased it to 50 LBs. Don't assume that will happen this year, but you never can tell.

[Eagleeyedan]

For now. In the past when bad weather has affected many teams in an adverse manner, they have increased it to 50 LBs. Don't assume that will happen this year, but you never can tell.

I noticed in an older version it said 45 lbs.

[pfreivald]

Our entire HOSTBOT comes in at less than 100lbs (without thus-mandatory IMPROVEMENTS), so I'm thinking that an increase in WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE will result in a massive decrease in VACATION TIME for this mentor...

*sigh*. I did sign up for this, after all... And I do love it so!

[Alex Cormier]

Our entire HOSTBOT comes in at less than 100lbs (without thus-mandatory IMPROVEMENTS), so I'm thinking that an increase in WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE will result in a massive decrease in VACATION TIME for this mentor...

*sigh*. I did sign up for this, after all... And I do love it so!

Well... when you get your banebots order, that should go up a bit. :p

[pfreivald]

Well... when you get your banebots order, that should go up a bit. :p

I feel ya... But fortunately, we did get it on Friday!

[Eagleeyedan]

Our entire HOSTBOT comes in at less than 100lbs (without thus-mandatory IMPROVEMENTS), so I'm thinking that an increase in WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE will result in a massive decrease in VACATION TIME for this mentor...

*sigh*. I did sign up for this, after all... And I do love it so!

Well, the students on our team really appriciate all the work our mentors do for us. Here's a big thanks to all mentors who give up their time to build our futures! THANKS!!!

[EricH]

I noticed in an older version it said 45 lbs.
Actually, last year, it started at 40, and was increased to 65.

This year, it started at 30. No increase is foreseen.

[spacepenguine]

How does the withholding allowance work between competitions? I couldn't find any mention of it in the rules. Like, if you brought 30lbs of manufactured parts in to your first competition which you then bag with your robot at the conclusion of the competition, can you then bring in 30 new lbs of parts for the next competition (limited, of course, by the 120lb hostbot limit)?

[PAR_WIG1350]

Well, the students on our team really appriciate all the work our mentors do for us. Here's a big thanks to all mentors who give up their time to build our futures! THANKS!!!

:eek: IT'S NOT BIG ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU!!!

[PAR_WIG1350]

How does the withholding allowance work between competitions? I couldn't find any mention of it in the rules. Like, if you brought 30lbs of manufactured parts in to your first competition which you then bag with your robot at the conclusion of the competition, can you then bring in 30 new lbs of parts for the next competition (limited, of course, by the 120lb hostbot limit)?

I believe it is 30 lbs per event, but I'm not 100% sure.

[zbanks]

Yes, 30lbs + Minibot + Operator Console + Batteries, wire and Anderson connector

Where does it say that the Minibot is automatically included in the withholding allowance?

I remember looking through the rules to determine if it was or not, but based on what I found, the MINIBOT is part of the ROBOT and is thus included in the 30lbs.

Either way, it'd make sense to withhold the minibot.

[Vikesrock]

Where does it say that the Minibot is automatically included in the withholding allowance?


<R33-b>

[GaryVoshol]

Where does it say that the Minibot is automatically included in the withholding allowance?The rules (Intro, 1.6, Definitions) do not specifically say the MINIBOT is in the WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE; it is stated that the OPERATING CONSOLE is automatically in the ALLOWANCE. <R33> confirms that the MINIBOT weight is not counted against the 30 pounds. However there was a Q&A that confirmed the MINIBOT is in the ALLOWANCE.

[Jibsy]

What is included with the operator console? Is that just the computer/joysticks (or whatever the team decides to use)? I'm assuming this doesn't include the crio? There was an email that we received as a rookie team letting us know about withholding, it said that the robot control system was included in this. We are *hoping* we will be able to continue working on our autonomous programming, but didn't want to make a rookie mistake and keep the crio and cause bigger problems :yikes:

[Alan Anderson]

What is included with the operator console?

The Operator Console is basically everything physically connected to what you'll be carrying to the alliance station and placing on the shelf there. It doesn't include anything on the robot.

[Danny Diaz]

The Operator Console is basically everything physically connected to what you'll be carrying to the alliance station and placing on the shelf there. It doesn't include anything on the robot.
While this is true, I highly recommend holding on to the cRIO as well. It is worth its weight in Krispy Kreme donuts to the programming team when it works out of the box on competition day.

-Danny

[Alan Anderson]

Keep in mind that the cRIO as supplied is a COTS (Commercial, Off The Shelf) component. As long as you haven't modified it -- and you most definitely should not have modified it -- its weight doesn't count against your withholding allowance of FABRICATED stuff anyway.

[ZipTie3182]

Keep in mind that the cRIO as supplied is a COTS (Commercial, Off The Shelf) component. As long as you haven't modified it -- and you most definitely should not have modified it -- its weight doesn't count against your withholding allowance of FABRICATED stuff anyway.

This is what I was actually wondering. Are we sure on this? I mean, it makes sense since the rule says:

Teams may bring a maximum of 30 pounds of custom FABRICATED ITEMS (SPARE
PARTS, REPLACEMENT PARTS, and UPGRADE PARTS, plus all WITHHOLDING
ALLOWANCE items) to each competition event to be used to repair and/or upgrade their
ROBOT at the competition site.

but I just want to clarify on this, are we sure that you can bring your cRIO in say a separate box and they won't stop you for it? How exactly would you bring it in along with other COTS items such as maybe the radio, and some spare parts like gearboxes and motors?

-Anna