To all Newbie Teams... :D
 

:D To all the new Rookie teams for the first time there are some things that the Veteran teams wont tell you. They are to selfish to share this vital information but I will let you in on all the secrets. 1. If there is pneumatics you can lessen the weight of the main Tank by drilling holes in it.
2. You can do the same to the Battery to reduce its 14 Lbs weight.
3. If you use Pneumatic tires you can fill them with helium, this will also help reduce the over all weight.
4. stilts can be used by the human player to make them taller.
5. use of Magnetic aluminium is permited.
There are others but I have to find a cave to hide in untill the hit squads give up. Possibly there are other brave souls out there that are willing to risk passing secret info to you but I have done more than I dare.
I must leave you now as I see a "RED" dot heading my wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy........................ ....................

(Those are all very helpful secrets:D Also u can drill holes in the light caps)


/me runs like chicken back to hiding behind the "veteran team selfish rock"

boy oh boy...
 

Thanks, I needed that. I haven't laughed in a while.

This is probably a stupid question but if you drill holes in the battery and the air tank wont they leak? I asked my faculy sponsors if we could do this and they just looked at me funny and said "Uhh no!" So if you could tell me how exactly this works or even maybe a picture that would be great.

Has anyone got any photos from past years to show this team where to place the holes in the Battery and air tank to make them lighter.
This team "really" needs help....... :D

You forgot a few other ways to save weight on the Electrical/control side of the robot. First of all, control boards are very dense material, just a few holes there takes down a lot of weight. Also, my team has been sending TWO wires to each motor, I think as a fail safe. This year though to reduce weight we're only going to have one wire going to each motor. Makes building much easier too.

~Tom Fairchild~

What a great idea TOM, I never thought of that. The way modern motors are
made today makes the back up Blue wire redundant.
nick237

Battery!!!!!
 

I've got a picture of that battery somewhere.....i'll have to do some looking but i'll find it and post a pic.....


:)

Batteries!!!, you guys had batteries!!! Since Delta Airlines out of Manchester made us leave them in New Hampshire, we just did without them saving an incredible amount of weight. The only problem was, we seemed to have an awfully hard time getting out of the starting box.

By the way, we have a nice photo of a huge stack of batteries sitting on a pallet near the check in line. Just a reminder of that pleasant experience.

Anyone flying out of Manchester will remember that!

Battery.....
 

I found a pic of the battery with holes in it.....for some reason my website is down so i'll upload it to the chief delphi gallery.....


:)

I'll get a link for it once i see it in the gallery

Clark is a nut! Don't listen to him, ever!
 

Clark, what kind of twisted person are you, telling people to drill holes in batteries filled with SULFURIC ACID!!!!!!!???????? You're going to get somebody killed with these 'Secrets' of yours. NOBODY EVER LISTEN TO CLARK!!!

But......
 

But it worked for us......









:) :D

psst...clark...
 

clark, the newbie teams may catch on to your diabolical scheme. It seems that the shadow from the battery is different than the shadow from the robot....quick! correct that and upload the new pic before its too late!

Wow...that battery is pretty impressive there. Now, what size were the holes?? Just for future reference, you know. :p

~Christina

Yeah, that battery idiea is pretty cool. How do you know when to stop drilling so that you dont drill into the part with the acid? Thanks!

ummmm.....
 

Please tell me you're kidding Brian, please...

Please tell me that you're joking......

haha this is really amusing....i hope people arent serious about some of this...

I remember someone posting about this last year. The post is at http://www.chiefdelphi.com/wwwboard-...2001/5588.html.

I wonder if he was serious...

it makes a big difference after you drain the battery and drill many holes. it only weighs about 5 pounds when you're done:D :p

I'm a relatively new member of the forum here, so that was the first time I've seen that board style - wow a lot of changes have been made :) Anyway, how in the world did you remember/find that post?!? I couldn't remember what I did last week if not for my brain (my Palm Pilot).

The brain trust at team #64 (who look like Larry, Curly, and Moe) are toying with making this years robot inflatable to save weight. The idea of drilling holes in the robot may come in handy.

if you go to the main chiefdelphi.com page, there is a 'site-search' box at the top, where you can search the whole site (minus these forums). That will search the past 2 or 3 years of forums.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/cgi/sform.pl

thats a link to the search page.

we have too much time...
 

Well, people like Joe Ross and I used to do this a lot... especially joe... Basically we just remember every thread that happened all these years... and remember some details to help us search for it. Things like date, poster, and some key words definitely help the search. But the truth is that we have a little too much time.

I am suspecting Jay and Clark have too much time too... It's good to know people are picking up our jobs. ;) ;) ;)

I don't know how I remembered that. It's probably because it was such a strange idea.

I just did a search on "battery holes" and it showed up. :D

Safety FIRST
 

You people obviously do not know why the battery has that nice big plastic case on it. The plastic case is to insure that air does not mix with the acid, which would accelerate combustion. NEVER EVER COMPROMISE THE SEAL OF THE BATTERY WILLINGLY!!! I am an automotive technician, and I know my batteries. Don't puncture it! It's sealed for a reason!

but....but.....but.....
 

Doesnt this look like fun?!?!?

:confused: :confused:










Just messin' with ya Dan

:D


(edit: the red X's shouldnt be like that for long)

Re: we have too much time...
 

Now, I have to know...do you guys remember specific dates too (like bdays and anniversaries :p)?? 'Cause if you do, why aren't there more like you?!?!

But, anywho, that whole thing from the old post really makes you wonder why they would drill holes into their battery. I would be afraid to touch my battery with any sharp object!! :)

~Christina

I'm soo happy I'm not a rookie reading this forum because I'd first end up drilling my battery with a drill press and destroy my pnumatics with holes in the wrong spots

how about we get back to helping the rookies
(although i did have quite a few laughs
maybe some one should create a new string to debate the issue of the battery holes);)

In Clarks wonderful picture notice how the guy in the orange shirt was burnt...that was me! it really hurt...clark was far enough away not to get burnt...lets say i took that one for the team..lol

Rookies Should Build Simple
 

My 'I have to actually try to help rookies' thing for today is a suggestion: keep it simple. If you have the time and people to make your robot look really cool, that's great, but that cool looking part probably put you to 131 lb, and you won't know it until weigh-in, and that just gets royally annoying. If you don't have something from Small Parts when you want it, buy the same thing at a regular store and swap it out later; this saves a lot of frustration. Don't know pBasic? Ask around here, chances are if you post on the Tech Help board, a really nice guy named Joe Johnson will help you out. Need an extra joystick or other part? Check out the regional team list at the FIRST site, and eMail a few of them, or even, here's a novel concept, call them up on the phone. All of the teams are filled with really nice people, and somebody will probably give you the part. Chances are that you have engineers. Tell them that they're not just there to make sure their companies' money isn't going to waste. Make them share the knowledge they have, but don't let them build the whole bot. FIRST is all about students building machines and learning from the experience. And, last but far from least, be enthusiastic. You don't want to go to a competition and look bummed out. Keep enjoying yourself, and be a team. That's about all I have to add to this topic. Have fun!

Re: Dan_550's post
 

Well said Dan! I couldn't agree more, but I'd like to elaborate a little on the competition and enthusiam. The first competition I went to (Rutgers) was nothing like I expected. Some of the rookie teams may be fortunate to have seen a video of a competition or in some way heard about one, but you just can't capture the essence of whats going on there in a video. When you first get to a competition early in the morning, you're quickly woken up by pumping music that seems to be completely omnidirectional. Once you get used to that, practices start and you see for the first time what other teams came up with for the challenge. Then the first match - it was amazing to me to actually see that gracious professionalism that FIRST talks about. It just seemed a little hard to believe, but believe me, its there. After the awards ceremony on the ride home, and after retelling stories about the comp, you get to thinking, wow...what an incredible organization this is. All of the different teams there seemed united and were so supportive, its hard to put into words. So, look forward to your first competition rookie teams! I know after that, I couldn't wait for our teams next competition at Drexel. This unique experience from FIRST is not something you will ever forget.

Terrible Day in History
 

I can remember that day as if it were yesterday. I am the one in the red shirt. Unlike what DJ said, clark was the taker of the picture...

It was a cool Feburary night and all things were going well for the TechnoKats. We were doing one of our scheduled test runs when our battery ran dead. Someone brought over a new and improved and not to mention "lighter" battery. Well i guess they didnt know what they were doing. Before we knew it flames had engulfed 1/3 of the test crew. It was terrible, there was screaming and running; flames all over. Thankfully there was a fire extinguisher near by to douse the flames and save the robot, then the crew. Luckly the test crew escaped with only 1st and 2nd degree burns; mostly due to the fact that they were wearing hand-me-down fire retardant suits. It was a terrible day in our history and a great lesson to all FIRST teams. PLEASE DO NOT DRILL HOLES IN YOUR BATTERIES!!!!!

The End


(NOTE: This story is not based on true events or facts.... its just what came out of my bored and imaginative brain.)

Drivers...
 

Speaking about drivers, always make sure that they have plenty of practice. My team was liberal about this last year, and we had nearly no driver practice. We wound up with a driver that neglected to tell us that he was blind, and a robot on fire. Those of you at Drexel might remember when the rug caught on fire on Thursday, along with that wooden bot. That was our driver's fault (not me), and I apologize for any inconvienence.

practice, what practice
 

For some reason we also seem to run short on time for driving practice with the new robot, even though we do practice some with the older 'bots.

my mistake..it was kyle who didnt get burnt...The important thing was that i was burnt..lol

Kind of off topic but...
 

Just had to say that I couldn't agree more :-)

- Katie

last year at nationals there was a rookie team at weigh in that was slightly over weight (the robot). one of the dumber looking members of the team said they should get an old drained battery becuase it would cut down on the weight. i then asked the kid about how much an electron weighs and he gave me a nasty look. be careful what you post some people might take it seriously.

-tyler forbes

Of course, you can always use the ultimate form of weight loss: Hampster Power!

Heh, I just happen to be reading an "article" at the moment about not weight loss, but weight gain. Its a contest that the crazy people at www.thespark.com had. The goal was to get these two people to gain 30lbs and get $3000 to do it in 30 days. I highly reccommend it. Please note, there is some mild cursing and foul language mixed throughout. Also, the "Stinkymeat" experiments under the science section are worth a read...just not while eating.

The Fat Project
and slightly more comical, but more disgusting:
Stinky Meat
When you get some free time check them out - they are pretty long

thats sad to hear...but thats funny

Humans... are... strange...

Ah.. all these stories are like memories from a dream.. If only they actually meant something and had some significance other than just a laugh..

My suggestion for new teams: Ask as much as you want, but please ask around before submitting questions such as "Can we drill holes in the air tank to make it lighter".. Although we do read the updates at meetings as they come out, it really doesn't need to be there.. ::shrug:: I may have sounded crass, but oh well..

btw i take offense at this whole rookie bashing going on :) on this extreme lack of sleep and increased stress due to my first week of college, i'm oh-so gullible... just a suggestion- next time you care to say some things like this, make sure people know you're kidding.
~bobb
Team 804

Uh oh...
 

You mean that the thread about drilling holes in the battery was just a joke? Uh oh.........

*Runnig in background*

"No! Guys, wait! You're not supposed to do tha..."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!



:D ;)

There are those out there who are more gullible than i, and they get full nights of sleep. :oP a little "hehe" type thing at the end of the post would be sufficient for most people is all i suggesting..

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!:D

Oh my that thread was amusing...
BOOOM!!..hehehe...

This is my third year on the first circut and i have to say to rookie teams is that its all fun, u get out there (especialy at nationals at the einstien feild) and see all those people are there cheering and yelling and u get a rush of what might happen and u try to tell urself to make sure u dont screw up and then the buzzer goes off, and u go out there and all goes queite except for the guy next to u and u realize then u made it this far and you proved to urself u can do anything. That is how i think of these compitions. Rookie teams, feel free to ask q?'s cuase that is the best way to learn.

Team 28 -Mission Imposible- Drive system operator

Saving weight on the code
 

I found that you can cut down the weight of your robots code by simply removing all the comments in your program. Find every instance of a line with an apostrophe before it, and delete it. I cut 2 pounds of my robots weight last year by doing this. Also, the drivers dont really need all 4 joysticks -- one joystick and a wire was good enough for us - 3 joysticks weighed alot, but now we have room for more helium baloons. At last count, we weighed in at negative 4 pounds.