Trouble passing under the low bar
 

Alright, so when testing our drive train, we had a few issues with passing underneath the low bar, mainly the fact that we constructed our low bar had fabric weighted down with a pipe, we got caught on the heavy pipe and were stuck.
I'm wondering, because I did not and cannot find the official drawings for it, is that how it's constructed? Because this could very well be an issue that should be taken into consideration if a team's bumpers are not made out of an extremely slick material.

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

Yes, heavy cloth with an ~1" aluminum pipe sewn into the bottom.
Here's a picture from the Manchester Kickoff field.

And a video of the cloth dropping (no one had a robot handy to shove through): https://youtu.be/2_QZZCGND54

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

I was able to easily find the official drawings on the FIRST site:

1. Go to the FIRST STRONGHOLD Game & Season Materials page (same place you download the Game Manual from)

2. Download the 2016 Team Versions document

3. Search for "Low Bar" (*Note - remember that this has to go on top of a Defense Platform) (It's on page 27)

OR, for the official version:

2. Download the 2016 Field Components document

3. Search for "Low Bar Assembly" (It's on page 56)

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

I have a bookmark for the Resource Library page, which has a link to the Field Drawings. But when I try to find it again, there is no obvious link to it in the drop down menus.

Using Search, I can find my way there, but it's not straightforward.

So, I'll cut folks some slack for not being able to find the drawings. Although, if you can find the Game Manual, you should be able to find the Field Drawings also, since they both appear on the same page (the FRC Resource Library, I think it's called)

It's going to be fun watching all us teams adjusting to how the field "really is", compared to how we think it is going to be!

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

I was finally able to find my way to this page here. Looks like most of the stuff can be found this way. That resource library is the worst piece of crap ever.

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

I did send a message to FIRST about the web page, maybe if enough folks suggest that they put a Game Manual link in every FRC drop down menu, we will be able to all find the rule book!

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

I've found that just googling what you need on the new website gets you there in fewer clicks than navigating it.

Yesterday I googled "us first manual" (successfully)... Whoops!

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

That shows that the site layout is pretty poor. I have had many other mentors ask me how to get to certain things on that site.

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

What is everyone using for the flap weight on their low bar practice defense?

Are you using the 1" Iron pipe in the Team drawigs or are you actually using the spec'd 1" SCH 40 ALUMINUM pipe called out in the field drawings?

If so, where are you getting it?

If not, what are you using? Looks like 4' of sch 40 Aluminum pipe is 2.62 lbs.

The iron pipe is more than DOUBLE the weight of the AL pipe at 6.82 lbs ...

I'm thinking sch 80 pvc filled with sand might be a better approximation ..

Any thoughts?

Re: Trouble passing under the low bar
 

how about electrical conduit