Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

I gotta tell you, if a mistake in the drawings of the IR Beacon and tether cables being only female to female are the biggest problems you run into over the next five weeks I envy you. Either figure out how to fix the problem or move on, their are MUCH bigger things to worry about.

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

I agree with Ken...

I'm still attempting to figure out how FIRST does all they do for us with only a $5k registration fee per team...

think about the components you get, the motors, the pneumatic components, the controller.... think about how much these would cost if you purchased them all separately, i'd say we're getting a deal...

FIRST isn't making money... I'd rather see FIRST keep with the components they have, and not raise any of their registration fees... i'm happy with the components... who cares if oyu have to assemble your own IR beacon, bite the bullet and do it.

Good Luck

Tom Schindler

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

Same here (Agreeing with Ken) If you had all the parts given to you put together then it wouldn't be as much work/fun as it is now.
Michael Calkins
Team 1188
Network/Systems Administrator

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

This is the one thing that I have not seen addressed by anyone else yet, so I thought I would answer it. At the Team Forums over last spring, one of the issues that came up was how inconsistent the rules had been over the previous two years. Issues such as what constituted a valid extender were hot on the list. One person at FIRST would answer a question one way, and another person would contradict that answer in their response to a similar question.

My understanding (albeit a vague one based on a very small amount of information) is that FIRST heard us loud and clear. To attempt to alleviate the inconsistencies in the rules, they created the Q&A page that only a few people would actually respond to. By limiting the number of people that would respond, it is reasonable to think that communication of how a rule was interpreted would remain fairly consistent, both internally at FIRST and among the Q&A page.

While the current Q&A page has its faults, such as not being listed in the order asked, it is a far better solution than the forums, imo. I personally like that I can now quickly reference what section the rule is referring to. I also like that everyone can quickly see what other questions have been asked that are related to the section. It has *severely* limited the number of questions that are asked repeatedly.

Finally, please remember that since this is the first year of the Q&A, there will be kinks to work out of the system, just as there are in any software system. If you have specific issues with how the Q&A is run and can offer FIRST constructive criticism about it, then I suggest that you write them down so you can either 1) inform FIRST at the Team Forums in late spring or 2) have your coach inform FIRST at the Team Forums.

indieFan

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

Well, here's my two cents.

How can you call an organization that is in existence for the sole purpose of your assistence, cheap? They have no requirement to do this, they are not being forced into it. These are good people, trying to help out some kids who these people think have a chance to help human kind, even if it's past when these people will even benefit from it.

This is solely my opinion, and not representative of my team, but I feel that anyone insulting what FIRST is doing for us needs a serious reality check. To me, this sounds like a spoiled child whining because they got the incredible present instead of the spectacular one.

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

It has been said before, but given the initiation of this thread it is worth repeating:

Each of us has a finite amount of available energy. It is up to us to decide how it will be expended. You can expend significant energy whining and complaining about what is wrong with FIRST, life, the universe, and everything. Or you can re-direct that energy into finding a way to improve the situation and making something positive out of the whole experience. So, where do you want to direct your energy?

FIRST is not perfect. It is put together by a staff of human beings, who are just as under-staffed, over-stressed, under-paid, over-worked, under-appreciated, and over-committed as any robot-building team (any probably more than many). Things slip through the cracks. New technologies are in the kit of parts that are outside their areas of expertise. Demands for team support are overwhelming. Stuff is not going to happen perfectly.

Our job is to understand that, and deal with it. Don't like how the cables are set up? You can either whine about it, or you can come up with an alternative method that can be done for the same (or less) expense, test it to validate that it will work for 1000+ teams, document the full process, send it to FIRST, and then volunteer to help pack the kits next year while you oversee the implementation of the solution.

Don't like the idea of building the IR circuits yourself? You can either whine about it, or organize your entire team into an IR-circuit-assembly-line and volunteer to construct the circuit for any team that sends you the parts. You provide a service to any teams that feel overwhelmed by the task, and you can get great brownie points for service to the FIRST community!

Don't like that the RC inputs are all PWM style? You can either whine about it, or spend some time designing alternate cabling methods, document it, and publish it to all the teams as an alternative. Provide an additional service to the community of FIRST teams and locate and identify all the available cable sources across the country that can supply materials (or even finished products) for your solution, and tell all the other teams about them.

You can either suck up a lot of oxygen, or you can contribute to our communal knowledge. The choice is yours.

-dave

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

To Whom It May Concern:

I believe the phrase is:
"Step up, or SHUT UP!"

:)

John

Re: Is FIRST being cheap!?
 

Just happened to be reading this thread and thinking" more people should read these post", considering many who are complaining about various aspects ie. the IR board etc..