Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Yeah, we're not sure how this happened... It could have been from the heater it was next to, or the stray screw that flew at it while being removed from wood... It deflated kinda quickly after it happened though. So now we're not sure if we want to climb the fence to our school's pool to find the hole, or to try to go shopping... We're waiting for a source of track balls to become available online.

Sad thing is we were just finished with our first prototype lift mechanism.

Anyone else in this predicament?

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

it would seem as though all the "bladder" is, is a Core strength training ball

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

We spent the time after kickoff dropping the thing from about 30 feet outside the Northrop Grumman S cafe.....It's like a rock.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

It seems that numerous teams are in a similar predicament, because I saw another post earlier where 3 teams admitted to popping them while playing with them (because really, who can resist it's so big and blue...)

Solution = Duct tape :p

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

no we didn't break it, it seemed pretty tough, you guys must have really tryed to destroy it


Good Job!:D

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

30 feet? dang, ours didn't go more than like 5

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

there no way to patch it??????

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

they sell these magical thing in hardware stores across amercian, its a called a tire patch.....

i think they should work fine to patch the ball bladder....

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

heh, the walkway is about 20, but we chucked it about 10 feet up from there. By our professional opinions, it's solid.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

good job :D

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

maybe you over-inflated it

i think we over inflated ours because we cant zipper the cover and we have a small hole in our cover all ready.

our bladder is fine though.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ok, turns out it was the heater that the ball was next to for an unknown length of time that did it in. Upon taking the bladder out of the cover, two good sized holes became clear, as well as a decently sized bump. Lots of duct tape is holding the air in, but only for short bursts of time. If left alone, the ball still deflates within 10-15 minutes.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ours broke after it landed on a sharp piece of metal. There's a nice little pinhole in the cover and the bladder...

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

that happened with the tubes to, will they ever give us something in this lifetime we cant destroy without trying or the first day we get it?????

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Perhaps next year we'll play with diamonds. Let's see a team break those on the first day.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

a little exspensive don't you think??? maybe steel balls....

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Trust me, my team could break them. :rolleyes:

On the plus side, we haven't even taken ours out yet really, so it's still intact.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

You sure??? Ours had a pinhole right out of the box ... and popped soon after we filled it :(

I wonder what the ruling on the field will be when (not if) these things pop.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

wow...thats crazy...our team would just throw them at one certain person i wont mention....

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

The only damage we've caused to ours was when the little plastic deflation-prevention thingy vanished inside the shell somewhere. We had a nice panic session trying to find it. It took us about 20 minutes.

Then we drove it around outside on our test bot. Surprisingly we didn't break anything.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

We may not break them, but there will be a "missing game piece" thread.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Maybe you should try e-mailing FIRST about your situation. It may cost more, but they might be able to ship you a new one. No guarantees but its worth a shot.

Hope things work out and you have a good year!

--Mike

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

BALLS OF STEEL!!! :D

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ours came with a small rip in it that didn't puncture all the way through. We covered it with duck tape and it worked properly. Beats asking for another and waiting weeks for it to come.:)

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

for the record even though diamonds are the hardesr thing kno to man they are dy no means the strongest.....as noted in classic diamond cutting known as "cleaving" in which the diamond is cut with a cleaving knife being smacked ito it be the "Cleaver" the one doing the cutting

that said

our ball is still intact.........a few members of our team however are not............:rolleyes:

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

We just managed to fill ours up today, and have already been close to breaking a few team members (sorry!), but our ball is completely intact. In the Kit of Parts list, there are instructions to hot glue shut part of the cloth cover. We checked and the flap indicated was already sewn shut. Anyone else with conflicting directions and game pieces? And about the swiftly deflating ball, apparently, even duct tape has limits. I think my world has just been blown apart... Good luck on finding a replacement!

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

No, the reference in the manual is actually to the zipper itself. The ends of the zipper are not locked together so it is possible that you could remove the zipper-assembly-handle-thingy, which would be very bad...

The CORRECT way to lock the zipper's ends are with little metal clamps that usually come with zippers, if you don't got any of those, just sew the ends together.

Vex Bots pushing trackballs? NO WAY! O.O
 

Today, we were discussing possible strategies to use during the game. We all took a break and everyone was talking. Suddenly, I took out our vex bot (Vex Team 519) and we were pushing around the balls as well as carrying it around on our little vex bot. Surprisingly, our didn't break either and it was amusing to see a little vex bot pushing the massive track ball around a mock version of the field we built. This happened about five minutes after Mr. Lavery mentioned a Chief Delphi thread discussing a super speedy robot that could make 180 laps in 2 minute and commenting on the size of the robot compared to the size of the inflated trackball. Vex parts, however horrible and annoying they may be, are pretty sturdy.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

I'm pretty sure the hot melt is supposed to glue the plastic zipper teeth together under that flap, in order to prevent the zipper pull from coming off the end. It's not intended to do anything to the flap itself.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Yes, ours was like that as well. The zipper ends were already sewn together so there was no need to hot glue it.

Re: Vex Bots pushing trackballs? NO WAY! O.O
 

That can't be physically possible...1.5 laps per second? Please tell me you're joking, or I think we'll have to forfeit >.<.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

i bet someone will:D

does duck tape really work cause it can't keep sealed for ever can it i mean i know duck tape is like the most awsomest thing in the world but still...:confused:

and the whole thing with over inflating it you can find out in the back of the manual in like section 10 or something like that:D

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

There is a patch. Patch it like you would a tube for motor boating. Check Wal-Mart or a outdoors store.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

how did you guys get a red one? we were stuck w/ blue

i don't know about you but i think that some people must have over inflated it.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Well our team probably underinflated the ball (looking at the other pics tells us its really low) but ours is still going strong and its lots of fun to play soccer and dodgeball with...:)

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

i found a 40" ball it isn't blue (well it is like 2/3 blue)

http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Earth-Ba.../dp/B000MOKE6Y


good luck teams

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Hey if you broke your track ball you must be doing something dangerous.I mean really I actually tried to break our team's (for a $50 bet) but it was unbreakable! Seriously be careful there are things more important than building stuff fast, like making it to last (and your lives) so be careful!

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Also if you need to replace it go to Wal Mart or something. Really Wal Mart has everything. It may be bad quality but they'll have it.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Maybe if you didn't inflate it up too much. Our team has underinflated it and it is about the same size and doesn't break.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ain't that called destructive testing? :p

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

:ahh: can I have your trackball lol?!? Ours had a tear in it even before we inflated it =O

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Well we went out to our local Big5 and bought a 75cm workout ball that was rated for 1000 lbs pressure on it, we inflated it about 8 in over the "recommended" maximum and it popped (into 2 pieces...) , so we still don't have any balls for testing :(

Edit (Update): Sigh... so we actually went back to the store and managed to replace the ball, claiming it was "defective", and that it broke when we sat down on it (into 2 pieces?). Surprisingly, this worked and since they were out of stock on the one we bought (on sale for 15$), we got a slightly different one (30$ value), and actually got a dollar back :D . Unfortunately, when we were testing our prototype lift mechanism, our new 75 cm ball hit an edge of the sheet metal we were using, and popped also. Hopefully, the people in the store wont recognize us when we go to return it again tomorrow...

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

You might consider the possibility that this post makes you and your team appear to be dishonest with regard to the purchase of an item from a store that you damaged and then returned stating that it was defective. If your team is responsible for the damage, then it is not the store's responsibility to replace it. If your team is planning on building a reputation within your community, your actions and a statement like 'hopefully the people in the store won't recognize us when we go to return it again tomorrow...' could impact any future partnership prospects in a negative way. I'd think about this very seriously as a team and as an individual.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Where is a Grandmother when you need one?

When a trackball is popped during a match, my guess is that it will not be replaced before the next match. That being the case, seeing a team trying to herd, hurdle or place a deflated trackball on thier overpass should be a real crowd pleaser.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Something I noticed on the FIRST Forums

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

After reading this thread, the team leaders on Team 1816 have decided not to even try and inflate our trackball until we need it; for testing and practice. We also plan on hiding it from the certain kids who broke our ringers last year.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

maybe tetras, it took us a good three weeks of intense physical force until we even got them to crack!

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Either you we're really trying or time has really killed our tetra. It is held together almost entirely buy duct tape and has been this way for years. :rolleyes:

Back on topic: How many times do you think these things can be deflated/re-inflated? Currently ours just sits around the shop, might be nice to deflate it for a bit so that people stop using it as a footrest/chair.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

For anyone who broke their trackball, this may help
or maybe this

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

I understand your concern regarding the game piece and I think it is wise to be careful with it and use it for the purpose it was intended for. Our team inflated ours earlier this week and it loses air. Tomorrow we plan on finding the leak to see how it can be repaired. For that reason, I would suggest you inflate your ball to make certain it holds air. You can develop rules regarding the game piece. Our team always has rules regarding treatment of the field, the game piece, and appropriate behavior in the shop.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Originally Posted by http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=8014
A broken Trackball will be replaced by a new ball and inserted into the field by the field reset personnel at roughly the same location. The debris will not be removed until the next safe opportunity or after the match

My guess was wrong. It really does make more sense to replace it ASAP as you are only given two. I would still like to see us Herd, Hurdle and Place deflated trakballs like the flat tubes we worked with last year.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

no, we didn't. we were playing with it for over half an hour.... and nothing.


i just posted a thread in "chit-chat" with youtube likes to the videos of us playing with our track ball.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

yeah we broke our trackball the other day...

its kind of unfixable and split almost completely in half...

we have to get a new one somehow

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

well, we wanted to cut them at first, but i thought it would be a neat challenge to see who could get them apart without cutting. after three weeks of members trying, we got it to crack(not the intended outcome, but stuff happens!)

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Hi all. Team 39 did repair a 1.25" laceration in our ball with good success. Thought I would share this, cautions first. Try this at your own risk and with an otherwise ruined ball bladder and as a last resort. Although this repair holds pressure well and looks well patched, we have not extensively impact tested it. Do not inflate the bladder out of the canvas sac. Rubber tire repair patches and duct tape did not work for us.

So what we did:
1) One of a million trips to Home Depot to get a can of "Christy's Red Hot Blue Glue", yes that is the real name, located in the plumbing section for PVC pipe.
2) Found a thick skinned 12" "100% PVC" labelled ball in the kid's abandoned toy box as a donor. Try Toys-are-us.
3) Carefully impaled the donor ball and cut a 3" round patch out of it
4) Took the 40" bladder out of the canvas sac.
5) Took a new 120 grit sanding disk stuck on a 2" round can and scuffed up the 40" outer surface of the bladder in a 4" circle around the laceration and the inside of the patch then carefully washed and dried the area with water.
6) Cut out a 5" piece of a sandwich baggie and carefully shoved it through the laceration completely into the ball and flattened it out on the inside of the ball just inside the area of the laceration so the we would not glue one side of the ball to the other.
7) Put the blue PVC glue on the inside of the patch and on the outside of the ball by the laceration and quickly stuck and pressed them together, worked out the air bubbles. Do this in a well ventilated area.
8) Used another sheet of sandwich bag on the outside of the patch so the clamp wouldn't stick.
9) Gently clamped the repair with 2 pounds between a few round flats OVERNIGHT.
10) Unclamped the patch in the am and let it dry a few hours.
11) Put the bladder back in the sac and inflated it over 5 minutes.
12) Now if we could just get it to shoot further. Good Luck.
PS; we used an iron-on patch inside the canvas sac, worked well. Yes we also ordered a new bladder at $20.50.
Jeff, Mentor

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

On team 1646 we broke our ball and ordered the replacement from http://www.sportogo.com. However when we went to inflate it today we found they sent us ball that is too small.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Hi, just an update. After we did the above described repair, we spent several days shooting the ball and it held up great. No air leaks after a few hundred shots. We have the bladder made of the foam material that has an orange peel appearance.


Jeff, Mentor

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

we shot it in the air and it came down on two nails that made me sad...

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Of course we slashed the bladder cover.lol

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

Ours broke, but it also took a lot of abuse from our younger members. As Joey can attest, I was almost glad that it broke. It was SO annoying how they all played with it when they should have been focusing on the task at hand.

Re: Anyone else break their track ball?
 

XD Oh man, ours had a small hole, and it was being re-filled so we could patch it, when it just completly split. Like, nearly in half. *laughs*