Chief Delphi - Where to buy Balls?

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Chief Delphi (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/index.php)

- Kit & Additional Hardware (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=55)

- - Where to buy Balls? (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23540)

team222badbrad

21-01-2004 16:02

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Andy,

We ordered ball #2...
http://www.palossports.com/store/pro...D/184/file.htm

We just got them today and they are much different than the balls we got in the kit. They are much more sticky than the ones FIRST provided. I also think they have more of a wall thickness. They also have a different texture. Ball #1 is probably the right one. I guess we will just have to deal with the 15 balls we got... :ahh:
(Good thing I am not human player...)

Good Hunting
Bad Brad

Gabriel

21-01-2004 16:21

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Thanks for posting this. We were just about to order 20 of those balls from Palos. Did you also order the 34" ball from them? If so, is that the correct ball?

Thanks,
~Gabriel

Gabriel

21-01-2004 16:42

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Wait a second...

Ball #1 from Palos is a Tachikara ball and FIRST says explicitly in the Q&A's that the balls in Manchester were NOT Tachikara balls.

In Team Update #2 (Page 3) FIRST says that the correct model number for the ball is 10089 from Palos Sports and they add that we should not be thrown off by the color, since they are not available to us in purple and yellow as shown in Manchester. This seems to imply that 10089 will be used in competition.

BUT Brad just said that they received 10089 and that it is quite different from the ball in the kit. Does that mean that FIRST shipped us a different ball in the kit or that they will be using a different ball in the competition than the one they want us to buy?

How much does the difference between the balls matter? Surely a basketball player has to deal with balls that have slightly different textures, and weigh slightly differently? We're a rookie team so we don't really know.

Thanks,
~Gabriel

team222badbrad

21-01-2004 16:52

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Gabriel,

I dont know whats up with the ball number that FIRST provided but the are different!

The balls we got seem to bounce the same. But the reason I don't like the difference in the stickiness is because we want to see how the balls move on the floor when pushed by the robot. In 2000 many teams rode up on the balls and we wanted to test different wing designs :)

(the balls bind when being pushed...)

I will try to post a picture tonight on the difference of balls

Bad Brad

team222badbrad

21-01-2004 18:12

Re: Where to buy Balls?

3 Attachment(s)

The balls we got are from:
http://www.palossports.com/store/pro...D/184/file.htm

Here is the difference:

Vince

21-01-2004 19:38

Re: Where to buy Balls?

It does look like PalosSports is shipping different balls under the same part number, as the identical Ball to Brad's arrived in CT as well. Besides the pattern, there are other differences.

The balls in the kit weigh around 1.5-1.7 pounds, are marked inflate to 2 lb, and are made in China. Some teams that ordered the 10089 balls early received these balls from PalosSports.

The balls Brad (& others) weigh 2 lb, are marked to inflate to 0.5 lb, and are made in Indonesia. Some teams that ordered the 10089 balls later in the first week received these balls from PalosSports.

To most of the world that buys them, these balls are "the same" - to those of us trying to design a robot to manipulate them and have a human train to shoot them, they are two very different balls.

I suspect FIRST will sort this out with PalosSports in the near future.

Jay H 237

21-01-2004 21:43

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sachiel7

Ok, I have a bit of a different question related to the balls here, now that it's been established where they can be bought.
Where can you get Plugs? Our 34" ball did not come with any type of plug in or around the ball to plug the air inlet. Did teams get a plug in their ball? Does anyone sell generic spare plugs?
Also, just curious how teams are inflating their balls. Our compressor doesnt have quite the right needle head (we need a plastic mini-funnel like one) and I was only able to get it to 26" by inflating it myself (using my lungs).
Any suggestions?

I was at our local K-Mart yesterday and I saw the exact white plastic plugs in the sporting goods section that came with our ball in the KOP this year. I happened to be looking for something else when I stumbled upon them, and they were available separately (with out buying a ball) as replacements. I just wanted to post this since you and countless others seem to be missing the plugs from the KOP. If you don't have a K-Mart locally you could also try Sports Authority, Walmart, Target, ect. These stores would also carry needle and funnel point adapters for inflating balls.

NRosenberg

22-01-2004 04:17

Re: Where to buy Balls?

We've already busted two balls by just tossing them into our mobile goal (from a distance). We even rounded off all of the sharp edges on the ends of the pipes, and still they break. We are searching for the "right" ball, but I fear that any of them will be unable to take the abuse.

Remember last year with all the broken bins? Well looks like this year's "achilles heel" is the balls.

Neil, Team 1073

Petey

22-01-2004 21:39

Re: Where to buy Balls?

As the much maligned "ball breaker" of Team 1073--I'm so hiring Johnny Cochran--I agree with Neil.

So, the ball that our team got the kit of parts is the one that was made in China, says CHAMPRO across the front, and is noticeably lighter than the other kind that was described in the post with the pictures a few posts previous to this one (we bought some of those PG13 balls too).

Did anyone else receive the "other" type of ball in their KOP?

Looks like FIRST has gone the low-budget route. For those who don't check the Q&A system often--I wish I didn't have to, given how abysmally awful it is, but that is one of my jobs--this was the latest that FIRST had to say on the subject o' the balls.

Quote:

Section:
3.2
Status:
Answered
Date Answered:
1/20/2004

Q:
Please tell us which type of small ball will be used. The red balls from Palos Sport are quite different from the yellow Tachikara balls. They are the same size but the Tachikara are noticeably stiffer and heavier than the red ones.

A:
See Team Update #02, page 3. The yellow balls that we displayed at our Manchester Kickoff were NOT Tachikara balls, they were the red ball in yellow.

Other posts on the subject include

Quote:

Section:
4.3
Status:
Answered
Date Answered:
1/21/2004

Q:
We recieved the Champro PG13 (small red) ball and, when full inflated, it is 15 in. But the manual says to inflated it to 13, which leaves it very floppy. Are we working with a 13 or 15 in. ball?

A:
13" ball. Inflate to size.

Quote:

Q:
We need to purchase balls. Is there a vendor for the balls?

A:
They are listed in the Kit of Parts in the manual. Palos Sports for a 13" red playground ball (part #10089); call Jessica at 800-233-5484. SportFun for a yellow 34" (inflate to 30") ball; call SportFun at 888-386-8998, Marcy at x116 or e-mail Marcy at mwatters@sportfun.com.

However, it seems that part #10089 is not the required part...at least judging from pictures posted above...

I was thinking about posting on the FIRST Q&A system about this. I will be limited by the question space, but at least I can direct them to this thread. Is anybody else in the process of doing so? Even if FIRST screwed up--as it seems they have done--I don't want to unintentionally inundate them.

--Petey

Petey

22-01-2004 22:01

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Ok, I posted a question to FIRST under section 3.2:

Quote:

Hi FIRST. Did you know that Palos Sport is shipping different balls than those from the KOP under the #10089 part number? Check it out: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...0&page=3&pp=15.

Will let you know ASAP when FIRST replies. Of course, they won't email it to me, because even though they make you enter in your email address for that purpose, I've never been notified when a question of mine was answered.

*sigh*

--Petey

Denman

23-01-2004 06:26

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petey

Quote:

Hi FIRST. Did you know that Palos Sport is shipping different balls than those from the KOP under the #10089 part number? Check it out: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/s...40&page=3&pp=15.

--Petey

They aren't even shipping htem to anywhere outside the USA :( :mad:

Petey

23-01-2004 06:41

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denman

They aren't even shipping htem to anywhere outside the USA :( :mad:

You may want to post in the Q&A thing and let FIRST know.

--Petey

Denman

23-01-2004 08:11

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petey

You may want to post in the Q&A thing and let FIRST know.

--Petey

we have talked to them on the phone. We are kind of going to have to ask favours... i think

Petey

23-01-2004 16:50

Re: Where to buy Balls?

I assume this was received by everyone in the latest email blast, but if not, here it is.

Quote:

Attention teams:

FIRST has discovered an issue with the 13" balls that all teams need to know about.

The 13" ball that you received in your kit of parts has the same specifications as the 13" balls you will encounter in the regional competitions. Some of the balls that you may have purchased through Palos Sports may be slightly different.

This was caused by the fact that the demand for 13" balls wiped out the supply of the exact ball and the only alternative was to switch to a ball that was very close. Palos Sports has been informing teams that ordered balls in the last couple of days but teams that ordered last week may not know this. Because these balls are produced in China and other distant lands, replenishment in a timely manner is difficult to impossible.

The "new" ball is slightly heavier and a bit firmer. These differences can potentially affect a team in some of the following ways (this is not meant to be all of the potential effects):
Shooting by the human player - the ball is heavier and firmer;
Robots pushing balls - robots may ride up on the softer competition ball and not on the firmer ball;
Robot mechanisms that pick up balls - the difference in firmness could affect these mechanisms.
We will review this issue in the Team Update scheduled for Tuesday, 1/27/2004 but we felt it was critical to contact all teams as soon as possible with this information.

Thank you.

So we still don't know what ball to order...

--Petey

team222badbrad

23-01-2004 18:57

Re: Where to buy Balls?

Petey,

Order the balls from the link posted below! The vendor that sells the balls ran out of stock of the FIRST type balls. Therefore everyone will be getting different balls similar to the FIRST type...

(whether you like it or not I guess!) :ahh:

This is the right ball
http://www.palossports.com/store/pro...D/184/file.htm

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