Re: Inspector Hats
 

They're not the same shirt - just the same color pattern. Head Ref Carol always makes a note of it at Mt. Olive... "No, I'm not from 11, they just liked my outfit so much they copied it", etc...

I think wearing the same colors in the same locations as a volunteer isn't the biggest deal in the world - are we really going to ban yellow/orange hats, white t-shirts with color prints, and blue polos? It's not realistic to rule over the entire garment/color combo.

If you're wearing blue polos with the FIRST logo embroidered on the left pocket instead of your team's logo, then yes, you probably need to be asked to change your team's look.

As Sean said, it's a common-sense thing.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

I agree there is confusion, from now on robot inspectors shall were a baguette.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

FYI, MORT is pretty easy to distinguish from the head referees. I never even made that connection until this thread. The MORT logo on the front breast and giant text on the back of MORT's shirts make them pretty obviously not refs.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

RI's and CSA's are different from other volunteers. Teams look for them when they are in need.

Who is going to look for a Head Ref? If you want him/her, then you stand the the ? Box. If you are the FTA/Ref/Score Keeper/etc. looking for the HR, then you kind of know where to look, and a bunch of Mort people won't confuse you that much.

Judges ... Why should having a Judge around affect how a team acts? I can see if you are impersonating one for nefarious purposes. But, if you happen to look like one, and don't take advantage of it ...

Re: Inspector Hats
 

Update: The team in question had the hats donated by a sponsor. The sponsor was obviously not aware of the conflict. We've been working around the confusion and people are pretty much used to it. It is still annoying, but there are plenty of things that are more annoying at an FRC Regional.

I'm glad nobody rushed to condem without having the full story, good job Chief Delphi!

Re: Inspector Hats
 

Aw come on! I already have enough issues with people thinking I'm a student already!

Re: Inspector Hats
 

I agree with this, but only if I can eat it at the end of competition.
More annoying than my can of black spray paint, specifically for just such a situation? :p

Re: Inspector Hats
 

When I was a student on Team 1305, Ice Cubed, the team decided they wanted to switch from navy blue polos to royal blue polos. The order was sent to the local shirt company, and we were happy with what they gave us. It was only when we were at our first regional that we encountered the issue - these new shirts are identical to the judges shirts. Not just a similar colour, but the exact same shirt. We have our logo on the left pocket (visible in my profile picture) and the FIRST logo on the arm, but scouts tended to cover the logo with a clipboard and wonder why team members were tripping over themselves to come and answer robot questions.

The team continues to use these shirts to this day. It's less of an issue in the pits because of the large number printed on the back, but the team members are aware of the issue and certainly don't try to impersonate judges. Inevitably though, once a year there is a mentor who has a story about walking up to a team while carrying something and being mistaken for a judge, especially at championships. It's generally not an issue once the teams in the nearby pits realize what's up.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

Starts making an animated LED sign for the top of my CSA hat.
Adds voice box with trigger that plays on a loud speaker:
"CSA! Does anyone need the CSA!"

Shall I make a wheel chair to rest my feet that has oddly shortened body panels that look like the: 'Munsters' coach?

Will you be able to see my 6'3" bald frame then?

(Not that anyone should think I haven't thought about this before :))

Hmm sounds like a pit strategy.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

We have a kid that would gladly help you with that. They worked on "weasel parking" sign so we dont forget where to put our robot the Electric Weasel. http://imgur.com/IrJfSnh
You buy the neopixels and we will lasercut something and solder up the LEDs

Re: Inspector Hats
 

With these goggles and some LEDs on top of a CSA hat you might look like Gadget from Rescue Rangers.

I might take you up on that ;).

Re: Inspector Hats
 

Ok, here's a little history.
The yellow hats were given to inspectors so that event people could find them. We are almost always working on someone's robot if we are not at the table. It migrated into having teams identify us by our hats. Added to that is the black vest for the LRI. At Champs you will see a lot of black vests to indicate each person is an LRI at events during the season. This helps our inspectors to get answers quickly when the eight division LRIs may be busy with division issues. The CSAs picked up on our identification and adopted the orange hat.

Re: Inspector Hats
 

Bulk up, man! Start eating some fatty foods!