Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

we did the exact same thing in the finals matches at SVR. 852 got a ringer stuck on the top of their robot and we had one of our presets at the right the right to grab the tube and lift it off.

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

Not shown in the pictures is the zip tie we placed (at the start of VCU playoffs and during all of Chesapeake) from the bottom of the holder (seen left of the yellow elevator strap) that went down to the 80/20 below it to keep it vertical.

We had a problem of a different kind with our flag. At Chesapeake, our flag was knocked up enough for it to come out of the holder, but fell right back down and got stuck in our elevator system, locking it up and preventing us from scoring for the rest of the match. Temporary solution was to jam an ear plug into the flag holder along with the flag to keep it oriented away from the elevator. Any force big enough to knock the flag off afterwards was also big enough to knock it clear off the robot and fly off, instead of a small one that just plops it straight down.

However, the other problem we had was the actual holder itself coming off, swinging down because of the zip tie, and getting stuck in the elevator (again!). That one cost us our last qualification match, as we were on our way to a win only to not be able to complete the 6th ringer to out weigh the opposing alliance's bonus points.


The flag holder placement was more of an afterthought right at the end of build season, which explains the problem's we've had. Modifications are coming for Atlanta (hopefully :D)

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

They are kinda dangerous. At Boilermaker, I saw one get knocked out of a robot in a manner that it was ejected 10-15 into the crowd where it hit a man in the face. I'd like to see FIRST get stricter on this because many teams have them hidden or placed in a manner that they do not meet the guidelines in the manual.

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

They have been flying off of some robots, maybe they should change them to something closer to a piece of plexi or something that is attached via velcro to the top of the robot, something that is more likely to stay on the robot, even after getting rammed into a few times.

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

A good solution would be to put a rubber stopper in the top of the flag poles.

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

At Davis/Sac. team 100 got a tube on their flag in the quarter finals which kept 1458 and 100 distracted most of the match(we lost that one) and again in the finals where we the tube off a little faster but still took time.

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

I'm pretty sure the only reason why 100, 1148, and 997 lost that match was because two of your bots got knocked over...


Anywho, yeah. FIRST needs to redo their alliance marking system. Colored LED arrays, anybody?

Re: Flags...what will happen with them?
 

it would've been closer without the tube on the flag