Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I offered, just too late in connecting up for the webcast this year. I did the GSR webcast and learned a lot. I need to justify the cost of the equipment by doing more events though ;) . So... next year for sure. I'm planning on contacting the FLR regional committee in the fall to start the process. I might even do a third if I can find a venue that I like. I visit RIT 3-4 times a year so I might even get to do a random dry run attempt at some point way before the event which would take some of the time/resource pressure off at the event itself. You can't buy time, but you can come real close with proper planning!

All I need is a reasonably reliable net drop, I've got the rest of the equipment. The RIT firewall adds a small wrinkle to overcome, but that just needs time to coordinate. Maybe next year I'll get to use the SloMo capabilities of the vid mixer I'm using! :D See ya'll next year.

Bud

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Greetings all. I won't be able to make FLR, and there are some awesome rookies who need some labVIEW help. Any volunteers? :)

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Well that was a very tiresome day...Took forever to get everyone though the WPE table, but we did it.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Did anyone see how 1405 pretty much built their robot today?

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Yea, that was way more intense than I thought it would be, especially for a practice day...I guess I can assume tomorrow will be insane? I loved how everyone was shocked that we used an inner tube on our robot :D :D

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

It's one of those things that makes other teams rethink their own robot building strategies. It's a very good idea and no a lot of other teams thought of it. I was shocked myself and did a double take.

My biggest shock was The Grapes of Wrath team 1551's robot smells like a grape.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Dang it, I only now looked to see if the event is Webcast and it isn't :(

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Good job today everyone. I am sure all of the matches were great even though it wasnt webcast. Sure teams rose above the rest to be where they are.



I just wanted to say Congratulations 316 and my bff Ally(little loser and sister) on their winning the Judges' Award. See you all at Philly and good luck with competition tomorrow. You guys(and girls) deserve the award you won.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

A member of Crescent School's robotics team lost his video camera today. It is a black Sony HD camera. If found could you please contact Oleg Baranov at either 647 893 9249 or olegbaranov@crescentschool.org.

Thanks,

Toye Ojo

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

What teams do you think scored the best.(Not just based on their rank)
My List:
188
191
1126
1507
1511
2053
3015

One side of the group
 

The other side will be tomorrow when I have more time...

Since the Regional Committee decided to suspend all press passes to non-credentialed media (which I find humorous as the folks I see *with* press passes do not have 'press' cameras) I won't be able to offer action photos to teams for free again this year. If you managed to find one from previous years and want it let me know and I'll send you the raw/processed photo.

-Images are still free, I'm just not allowed on the field to take them.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

One of the volunteers is apparently downloading and saving the regional. If I can get a hold of him I'll let everyone know if we can share it or upload it all somewhere.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

hmmm

if my memory serves me correctly, this regional is being broadcasted on Time Warner Cable Rochester Channel 4.

Would anyone be willing to do a stream of the channel from their PC while their at the regional?

ie: if you have a PC with a TV tuner

when you go to ustream, your able to select which video input you would like to use, set up your tuner on Channel 4. and just let it broadcast through ustream.

would anyone be able to pull this off

thanks

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Actually - I already had a Ustream event scheduled I'll give it a shot at home.

Brilliant!

Webcast: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Ok Folks give this a try for Saturday's 2009 FLR Competition! I hope it works... no promises. Worst comes to worst you'll have to wait for the archive video I have.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2009-f...lakes-regional

If you log on to it now you should be see SUNY Brockport ads.

Unfortunately I'll be waking up early to get breakfast so I won't be able to access the web to do anything to adjust anything.

Also I can't get the audio to work for some strange reason but it's late and after standing all day I'm out.

Ellery

Re: Webcast: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Ellery, you're my hero! Thanks for trying this! Also, if you have a way to get me the FLR footage that you've been recording, I can snip up the matches real quick at school and upload it to TBA. Unless you were planning on doing that.


GREAT JOB TODAY TEAMS! FLR IS STILL THE MOST GRACIOUS/SPIRITED REGIONAL OUT THERE!

Re: Webcast: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Josh,

I'll get you the footage if you have a HUGE memory stick or Laptop with a HDD- it'll be roughly 5 GB per day (2 files). I know longer have time to split the clips now anyways so this will work out great if you can parse all the matches out. FYI you'll need something to edit MP4 since I am using the Pinnacle Video Transfer device at "Better" quality setting.

Re: Webcast: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I'll bring my external hard drive tomorrow. You can just put it on there. And yes I can edit mp4.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I suppose I'll toss my hat in the ring on the whole streaming issue. A mentor from my from my team put me up to the challenge to see if I could get a stream up.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/finger...nal---saturday

Figured I'd post mine just in case one goes down...and I've been working on it since about 8...dang older hauppauge card.

Hopefully everyone enjoys these!
Justin

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thank you!!!
Thank You!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks a million for the webcast!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

So.....I'm guessing 610 thought 424 would pick 340? So close....yet so far.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Their out of it now. Questionable call.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Alliance Pairings:

1: 1507, 188, 174
2: 191, 1503, 173
3: 1765, 1728, 211
4: 1241, 229, 1626
5: 424, 1126, 2228
6: 809, 250, 378
7: 340, 1511, 316
8: 3015, 3003, 2053

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

It was certainly a gamble... I don't know enough about the teams or how they performed to tell if it was a good call. I think 610 will still be the backup robot.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Can't be a back up robot if you decline.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

If you decline you go to the bottom of the list so Tim is right. 610 is out.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Just something fun i do... Picking the winners. (kinda got march madness on my mind anyways lol)

1 v 8
2 v 7
3 v 6
4 v 5

1 v 4
2 v 6

1 v 2

Alliance 2 wins it all




*These picks are based on what I have seen today (and in my opinion the Saturday morning rounds tell a very large portion of the story)

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I like following your picks each year Tim, you are often right, or really close.

I personally really like this pick :D
possibly cause you have my team taking the regional... which would just be amazing!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

There isn't anything in the rules that says that, as far as I am hearing they are the backup bot.

edit: now I hear they are not... I am confused/frustrated, and need a lawyer to explain to me why they aren't the backup bot.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

here are the rules:

9.4.1: "If the TEAM declines, that TEAM is not eligible to be picked again and the ALLIANCE CAPTAIN
extends another invitation to a different TEAM.
• If an invitation from a top eight ALLIANCE to another Alliance Lead is declined, the
declining TEAM may still invite teams to join their ALLIANCE, however, it cannot accept
invitations from other ALLIANCES.
The process continues until Alliance Eight makes a successful invitation.
Round 2: The same method is used for each ALLIANCE CAPTAIN'S second choice except the
selection order is reversed, with Alliance Eight picking first and Alliance One picking last. This
process will lead to eight ALLIANCES of three TEAMS."

9.4.2: "Of the remaining eligible TEAMS, the highest seeded TEAMS (up to eight) shall remain on standby
and be ready to play as a BACKUP TEAM. If a ROBOT from any TEAM in an elimination match
becomes inoperable the ALLIANCE CAPTAIN may have the highest seeded BACKUP TEAM join
the ALLIANCE. The resulting ALLIANCE would then be composed of four TEAMS, but only three
TEAMS will be permitted to continue with tournament play. The inoperable TEAM remains part of
the ALLIANCE for awards but can not play, even if their ROBOT is repaired.
The original three-team ALLIANCE shall only have one opportunity to draw from the BACKUP
TEAMS. If a second ROBOT from the ALLIANCE becomes inoperable, then the ALLIANCE must
play the following matches with only two (or even one) ROBOTS. It is in the best interest of all
teams to construct their ROBOTS to be as robust as possible to prevent this situation.
• Example: Three TEAMS, A, B and C, form an ALLIANCE going into the elimination matches.
The highest seeded team NOT on one of the eight ALLIANCES is Team D. During one of the
elimination matches, Team C’s ROBOT becomes inoperable. The ALLIANCE CAPTAIN
decides to bring up Team D to replace Team C. Team C and their ROBOT may not play in
any subsequent elimination matches.

In the case where a BACKUP TEAM is called up onto the winning ALLIANCE, there will be a four-
TEAM Champion Alliance."

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I think that the word eligible is the key word

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

229 1241 and 1626 take out 1126 2228 and 424 in 4 matches including a replayed 2nd match after a field error

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

congratulations 1507,188 and 174!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I would just like to say a huge huge congratulations to all of the teams that participated in the 2009 Finger Lakes Regional! I always love traveling to this event, it has a small town feel with a few big city names.

Congratulations especially to 1507, 188 and 174 for your amazing performance today. The strategies and execution of all three teams were finely tuned and responsive to the changing scenarios of each match. To 188 especially, you really deserve it. The students, knowing them for the past 4 or 5 years since I've graduated, this year's group is one of the smartest, most intelligent and committed groups I've had the privilege of knowing.

Shawn, Kaj and the rest of the drive crew, congratulations on starting and building on a new legacy.

Enjoy it guys, enjoy it, I look forward to seeing the team again in a couple of weeks time.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

This year was competition was amazing, as a roookie team we had no idea what this was going to be like and it was much larger than I thought. We were very proud of our team for ranking 11th in our first year and winning the rookie inspiration award. Naturally, we were a bit disappointed to not win the Rookie All Star Award to go to Atlanta but the team that did win it deserved it much more than we did. Congratulations to all teams in the event!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

That first quarterfinal match where you guys trapped 188 in the corner and you guys descended on them and filled them up in the last seconds to steal the match was amazing. You guys showed alot of veteran savvy then. I think you guys will be a force to be recond with for years to come!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

It's usually said that FLR is incredible. This year was EXPLOSIVE!

I want to thank all of those team members who thanked all of us volunteers. Many of you shown us some FIRST love and we all thank you for it. Plus thanks for everyone for keeping calm and cool during the field problems.

I want to give my congrats to 340, 1511 and 316 for the truly hard-fought fight they put up. You deserve the champs just as equally as any other.

Congrats to 1507 for their amazing robot, 188 for ther determination and 174 for their second FLR win in a row!

A special congrats to 340 for their second Regional Chairmans award. I hope this year you can take it to Atlanta and bring it home to rochester for all of us other FLR teams!

High Fives all around for 2791 and their Rookie Allstar award. The moment you walked in I knew there was something big for you at the end of this weekend.

I have to say that it was an honor to sit next to the one and only Karthik and watch him pull off his MC magic. One day I want to be an MC and have the energy he can put into it all.

Congrats to all the teams and students for their own personal victories and good luck in your other regionals. I'll see you all next year.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

This is actually their fourth time getting the Regional Chairman's Award at the Finger Lakes Regional (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009)! What an accomplishment by such an excellent team!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congratulations 1507, 188, 174 for an amazing win
340 for a 4th regional chairman's award

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congrats to 340 and 1547 for their amazing inspiration and FIRST involvement. Good luck and see you in Atlanta!

Also, congrats to team 188, 1507, and 174. Probably the best playing and robots I saw out there today. With that last finals match, you must have gotten the highest score of week 2.

Finally, and most importantly, thank you to 340 and 316, our dedicated alliance partners. Many thought we couldn't make it past qualifications, but that goes to show you how strategy is a huge part of this game. I have to honestly say, out of the 3 years I have coached this team, those eliminations were the most fun I have ever had in my life. You guys are AWESOME!

See all you teams at Chesapeake and Annapolis!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

First off, I would like to give my deepest thanks to 1503 and 173. You were great alliance partners and it was truly a pleasure to work with the both of you.

Second, congratulations to 188, 1507, and 174. Simply put, an amazing alliance. Good luck with all of your future competitions and I hope to see you guys in Atlanta.

Finally, Congrats to 1507 for earning the B-NY Cup and the Industrial Design award.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Hey,

Congratulations to ALL the teams that competed, you were ALL fantastic, regardless of how you placed. Take a while to reflect on how you went about this tournament, think about how it makes you feel. Do you feel like you played your hearts out? Do you feel you, as a person contributed everything you could to your team? Think about this, but give yourselves a pat on the back, because you made it. You built a robot, competed with the best in the area and held your own. Again, congratulations.

And now, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to 191, and 173 for being such awesome alliance partners and being such great sports about our misfortunes. We love you guys, and we hope to work with you guys real soon.

-Nick

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

peaking of the video cast

does anyone here know where I can get ahold of Videos of the regional?

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Ellery has the full video of the event. We didn't have enough time to transfer it onto my drive before he had to go so he'll be giving it to me in a bit and I'll be parsing it and uploading it to soap/TBA.

What I'll probably do is just do from 3-2-1 Go until the end of the match for TBA and for soap keep the team introductions and the opening/award ceremonies. Just so that people who want to watch the whole thing can, but those just interested in scouting don't have to waste their time.

So, yes. I will. Just not yet.:)

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congratulations to 1507,188,174 for the Regional Win, you guys had an awesome alliance and is well deserved.

To 340 for Winning the Regional Chairman's Award - your team is an inspiration and makes the Rochester FIRST community proud.

Thanks to our Alliance partners 1503, 173 - I think we would have gone farther if we were not succumbed to the intermittent field issue. This issue was not acknowledged till the final match and the root cause, as I was told by the field crew, was an "intermittent Emergency Stop Switch" at the Red Center Driver Station and NOT a "cRIO Powercycling failure on your robot or static causing communication drops" as 639, 211, 1503 were told initially. I hope they documented this issue and junked the part that was replaced. This was probably a continuation of the issues seen at BAE in week #1. I'd hate to see what happened here repeat once more for the remainder of the competition season where outcomes may have been different because of this.

Thanks to all the teams for making FLR such an exciting event this year. I had my doubts about this game being audience friendly but it was great.

FLR has always been a great regional, kinda like an annual reunion. Great to see everyone again!


Josh - If you want I can probably burn you a few DVDs today if you'd like to pick it up. Give me call.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

We did have some problems with some of the e-stops all weekend. In fact they were the only 'field' problem there was other then the strange stop of play during the Elims.

Each time we had a problem with an e-stop they were removed and fixed by one of our very experienced FTA's. I do not know if they become documented but I can assure you that the higher ups have done a lot to make sure the next regional gets the most information they can on these issues.

EDIT: I also want to add that at the start of each day plus before the elims, I sprayed an anti-static spray on the carpet part of the field to reduce the static. And it did work. On Thursday, before we started to get serious about that spray, I swifted the field I felt so much static from the swifter broom. After that spray was put on the field, there was no trouble with static. We also covered the Air Lock in tape to prevent any possible static from jumping from the metal to any robots that hit it.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congrats 340 for your excellence on and off of the field! Once again showing why you're such a great model to emulate.

namaste.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

This was a brilliant move. We simply got baited into an extremely vulnerable position, and paid for it dearly. It was a perfectly executed reversal, and cost us the match.

I made the call to try and score on 3015 as they were stationary at their own airlock delivering an empty cell to their payload specialist. Normally you'd think this is a good opportunity to strike a stationary target...

We thought so too, and it ended up costing us the match.

Great work 3015, 2053 and 3003! We learned a lot that match, and that sometimes the best shots in Lunacy are the ones you DON'T take :P .

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks Rich, it means a lot.

This year at FLR was amazing. There are a ton of people to thank.

The planning committee and all of the volunteers worked so hard and made the 5th regional event the best yet

A truly special thanks to Team 1511 and Team 316 for making our elimination matches one of my most memorable times I've ever experienced in FIRST. It was amazing to have been able to work with you guys to bring the 7th seeded alliance all the way to the finals. I knew once we all joined up we could go far and we played our strategy to perfection. It was really awesome.
Good luck to 1511 in Chesapeake and to 316 in Philly.

Congrats to 188, 1507 and 174 for winning the FLR Championship. Losing to your alliance was easier to take because we know we got beat by the best. You guys really deserved the win and I wish you all the best of luck in your future events.

Congrats to 1547 for their deserved Engineering Inspiration award. We knew your team was bringing a strong program down form the north and I was happy to see you were rewarded for you efforts

To team 1126, Your Gracious Professionalism award was truly deserved. Your team never hesitates to help anyone in need, even if it means driving to Webster to grab your old bumpers and fit them to a robot to help them out this year. That's what makes FIRST awesome and I think your guys were an easy choice for this award. I love you guys!!!!

John Darr and Karthik, you guys were a great team and you really got the house excited for match after match. Thanks for giving us your time this weekend and I hope you can come back next year.

To all the other award winners and competitors, congrats and thanks for making the 5th Annual Finger Lakes Regional the best yet! :)

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

By the way, does anyone from 340 or 316 have that awesome picture of our alliance teams at the end? If so, could you email me one/them? Thanks a bunch!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Yeah that was a pretty epic alliance. Who would have thought that 7 meets 1 in the finals. :D

I have to say that 340's PS was pretty awesome with last-minute super cells. Much of our strategy depended on that and he didn't disappoint.

I hope that we get another chance to work with both 316 and 340 next year at FLR if not later this year at the championship!

Thanks for making my first event as a driver (operator last year) an unforgettable one!:)

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks guys!!!
It was wonderful being able to work with 340 and 1511. :D

~I have a few pictures of the drive teams...I can check with the rest of the team because i'm sure someone has the picture of everyone.

Congratulations to all teams!!!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

This year was a big turn around for team 229.
On behalf of our team I would like to thank 1241 and 1626 for being amazing alliance partners. We would love to run with you guys again in the future, we had a blast.

Now this thread is full of congratulations and thank you's, so I feel bad having to lodge the first complaint, but I feel it is necessary.
This entire weekend it seemed like the only thing that mattered to the referees, FTA, and scoring table was staying on time.
They refused (until the very end) to believe that there could be anything wrong with the field. They refused to let 1241 link with the field in one match, and in the same match when the field stopped working with 2-3 seconds left they still almost said that the scores would stand(even though human players kept going because the buzzer never went off). We actually took the rule book to them, and showed them the rule about replaying the match whenever there was a field error. It still took them a 10 minute conference and the stands to start chanting "re-do, re-do" before they finally agreed.
We all know what happened in week one, and all the field errors that went on then, but they completely disregarded that this could even be a possibility. Now I can understand that some problems were because of a jostled wire or some code issue, but they blamed absolutely everything on the teams. It wasn't until the finals when they started to truly acknowledge field problems. After quite a bit of complaints.

Now this is all after the competition has ended, but who knows how many problems actually happened during qualifications? the rankings could have changed, and the outcome could have been completely different. (absolutely no disrespect to the winning alliance, you had a phenomenal alliance).
Speaking for my team, we were all very disappointed in how the field was ran.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I definitely agree with Andrew Morrison on the points he has made.
I hope these issues are solved as soon as possible.

On behalf of Theory6, Team 1241, i would also :P like to thank team 229 (division by zero) and team 1626 (falcon robotics) for being our alliance partners and becoming semi finalists! We would love to work with you in the future. Good Luck to both teams at Chesapeake!

At the same time, I would like to thank all volunteers and organizers who made this regional amazing! John Darr and Karthik were a truely amazing team that kept this regional thrilling all weekend!

Congratulations to Teams 188, 1507 and 174 on their regional win! The semi finals between ours and your alliance were intense and very competitive!

I would also like to thank the programmers from Team 1511 Rolling Thunder for helping us with LabView problems we were facing. Congratulations to team 1511 on the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship and Regional Finalist Awards!

Teams Attending the Greater Toronto Regional, See you there!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Team 188 had not won a regional since 2003, and that finally changed yesterday after earning the title of the 2009 Finger Lakes Regional Champions. Thank you to our alliance partners 1507, and 174 for their great attitude and performance on and off the field.

1507: from the start, you were one of the teams we wanted to be with. You guys had amazing match strategies which really impressed us. When we were asked to join your alliance, we were more than thrilled. You guys had an awesome robot and definetly showed it especially when you won a 3 on 2 match. We knew we could count on you! Good luck at philadelphia and perhaps atlanta!

174: we were not dissappointed to have you on the alliance. We loved your willingness to go out there and do what you were told. Your team did an awesome job and contributed greatly to our alliances success. No regrets at all! Good luck an hope to see you at atlanta!

340: A little while back, i stumbled upon your website and went through alot of the content. Just by looking at your previous chariman's submissions, i said to myself that your actions definetly can't go unrewarded, and they didn't. Your team deserved the chairman's award and you guys set a marvelous example!

Another group of people who we can't thank enough for their contributions are the team 188 alumni. As i mentioned above, team 188 has not won a regional since 2003 and our alumni, despite little success on the field have been around for a while. Alumni truly understand that FIRST is not about robots and winning, its so much more which can't be simply explained! We thank you for playing an important role and using your experience to prevent us from making the same mistakes twice. Thank you greatly for your underground support! ;)

Finally, i'd like to thank everybody who made the finger lakes regional possible. This was by far the most fun i've had at a regional and i owe that to you guys!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

It was 1246's first time at FLR. It is such an well run event. Field problems aside, everything from lunch catering, pit admin, queuing and pit area just went smoothly. It was a pleasure to attend.

Congrats to team 188, 1507, and 174. After seeing 188 on their practice field before shipping, it felt like they had a winner.

Karthik did his usual great energetic job. I really liked the way John never let there be any dead air time. Whether it was pointing out people in the audience, highlighting robot features or providing visitors with a better understanding of the game, he kept everything interesting.

Great Job!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

The 2009 Finger Lakes Regional was definitely a great time. Special thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to put this event together and keep it running smoothly. I met a lot of new people who each impressed me with their dedication to FIRST. They've definitely got something good going on in Rochester. Working with JonDarr was an absolute blast. He's definitely one of the best announcers in FIRST, and I'd love to hear him announcing a division in Atlanta.

I said it a few times during the event, but 340 deserves a lot of recognition for everything they've done in the Rochester community. After talking with their team, and hearing about their efforts I think they're on the short list of contenders for a Championship Chairman's Award. To me it's not a matter of if, rather a matter of when.

There were lots of amazing teams on the field, but none impressed me more than 1507 and 188. 1507 played well and more importantly played smart all weekend long. They'll be a force in Atlanta. As for 188, they're one of the top 3 robots that I've seen all season long. A ridiculously fast turreted shooter, which rarely missed. Shooters like 1114 and 217 had a lot of problems with accuracy in Week 1, but 188's drive team were stone cold marksmen, rarely missing shots despite not using active camera tracking. They'll be one of the favorites come mid-April in the Georgia Dome. Congratulations to all the amazing students and mentors who put that robot together.

A special congratulations to Team 1547 on a well deserved Engineering Inspiration Award. They were gracious enough to take me in as a guest this weekend, and remind me what FIRST is all about. It was a pleasure and honor to travel with the team. They're a team who really does "get it".

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

When you get a hold of one, please post it on CD-Media! Thanks!

It was awesome playing with you guys.

Karthik: Thanks for the kind words in your post above and throughout the competition. It means a lot and we will have to see what happens at Championship but hearing people like you say that about our team means more then any award could. Thanks again.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congratulations to all teams that attended FLR, you all have amazing robots and gracious professionalism throughout the whole event.

1507,188,174 - you guys played amazing during the elimination rounds, congrats on the regional win.

1547 - from your start in 2005 your team has shown that you really "Get it", from your 2005 Championship Rookie Inspiration Award, 2006 NH Engineering Inspiration Award, 2007 NJ Imagery, 2008 ON Regional Chairman's Award and 2009 FLR Engineering Inspiration Award. I know your first regional win will come soon good luck at GTR.

610, 1511, 340, and all the other teams that help get our robot running thanks for your help.

340 - Congratulations on the Chairmans award

and to my team 2624 - you girls never gave up all weekend and kept working hard, it was a pleasure mentoring a group of such talented girls

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

This is something that should be discussed. Why do we always have to be happy and show smiles when there were some obvious issues?

18 problems during qualifications, actually. I was recording them. And yes, the rankings would be different if there wasn't a single problem. 18 problems is almost 1/3rd the matches.

I was working one of the computers that shows what is working or not working with both the field and the robots. The robots weren't connecting to the system because of something that was wrong with the robots, not the field. If there was a problem with the field being unable to link to the robots, we would have seen that it was the field that was in error.

Most all the robots that started with problems kept having those problems. It wasn't random. If it was a field problem then why would the same robots have trouble getting into the system?

1241 had their problem for that one elimination match. After it was called the match would be replayed, the FTA's took the robot and fixed their robot. It took about 4 minutes but we got it fixed. The robot worked for the replay. Robot problem, not field problem.

The field problem that match was different. First off...remember the official time is the time on the field clocks, which what I was told did hit 0. Meaning that the match was over and would have counted. The official time is not kept by buzzers or the clock on the scoring screen, but the clock on the field. I can't speak too much about this because I didn't see the field clock, but I can say that the reason why there was such a long conference was to determine the reason why the field went nuts.

The field crew did everything they could. None of us just tossed over teams and said 'whatever'. We were up to what was happening and if we could end up fixing it we halted gameplay and solved the issue.

Just as much as you can say that the entire regional would have changed if we didn't have those problems, the regional would have been much different with more problems or fewer. There would be different results if it was week one or week 5. And there would be different results if the field was swapped out with new regolith after each match. We can't solve everything but if we can solve it we will do it.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

What an amazingly fun event. I love the Rochester teams, how well we know eachother and how much everyone loves to help everyone out. To me, Rochester teams define GP :)

I will add a few more thanks/congrats to the list...

Congratulations to 2999, our favorite Rookie team for making it out there and putting on a great show!! We are so happy your kids had so much fun, and it was truly an honor to work side by side with your team this year. It was inspirational to our students to see a team that was so green, and see the excitement as everything was so new!!

An incredible heart-felt thank you to 191, for the card that showed so much amazing support to our team that it brought tears to all of our eyes. And to 340 and 316 for wearing our armbands in support as well.

HUGE thank you to all of the volunteers and staff that really made this regional run so well. Liz - you are an awesome FTA!! Pete, thanks for coming up and for all the help & great conversation! Dante - thanks for doing the tough job!! John Darr - thanks for visiting us once again, we are so happy you had a great time (& thanks for lunch!!).

Big thanks to 340 for selecting us and 316 for being great alliance partners!! It was so much fun to go through the event with such great partners, all working so hard, but all having such positive and amazing attitudes!! It was so exciting!!

And as a mentor, I would like to congratulate our drive team: Josh, Theo, Brenton & Shauna for an amazing performance and thank our AMAZING scouting team for all the hard work they did pouring over all the data!!

And I have to thank/congratulate our amazing programming mentors: Larry, Eric & Jeff were called on all weekend to help numerous teams all over the event with everything from Labview issues, to field control issues, to reprogramming relay code and more. We rarely saw any of the three of them in our pits as they were always being dragged off somewhere to help, and seemed to have a blast doing it!!

And last, thanks to all the teams that came and made FLR so much fun this year, it was great to have such broad competition, and we are so honored to be a part of the Rochester community. Thanks for a great event!!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

1503's Robot Signal light would go fully out, then blink fast, then come solid again. Once they began to try driving again, the RSL would go out, blink fast, then solid again over a period of roughly 30-45 seconds. While they were located at what was eventually found to be a faulty console location, the robot symptoms they experienced are not possible if the robot was being E-Stopped intermittently. If that was occurring, their RSL would be solid, then go to a slow blink, then solid. If it was an intermittent radio communication issue, the RSL would have gone into a fast-blink mode if the bridge lost contact, then come back solid once regained. I spoke with 1503 immediately following that match, and their drivers agreed that the RSL was doing precisely as I explained above. We then powered up their robot, and showed them the process the RSL light goes through after a reboot. While the robot was on, I showed them what would happen if the radio modem power/ethernet was pulled loose/plugged back in, and the process was also as described above. They seemed satisfied that the symptoms of their robot out on the field matched a poweroff/poweron rather than an E-Stop.

To the robot, the E-Stop button is a disable/enable condition no different than using the dongle normally attached to the competition port. This was evident from the match in finals where the faulty E-Stop was diagnosed. Team 188's robot would sit with their RSL light slowly blinking. This indicates a successful link with the Driver Station, either through the field or when tethered. If the E-Stop was rapidly toggled/intermittent, 1503's robot would have been going in/out of enable mode, thus the RSL would be solid/slow blinking.

I regret not having the chance to follow up with 1503 to determine exactly what their situation was once they were in the pits. If anyone from 1503 could contact me/post if you found anything specifically wrong with your robot following that finals match it would be appreciated. I can add your situation to a list of common robot 'gotchas' being compiled.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Hey guys! Thanks again for all teams for coming to FLR and congrats to all the teams. You all did a fantastic job. I would also like to comment on some of the issues that were mentioned.

Whenever there was a problem with the robot jumping in and out we would always go back to the FTAA computer and scoring table and check it out. With the FMS software that we are using we are always able to monitor the status of a robot. We are able to determine if it is a robot issue or a field issue. The software is very helpful and we had 2 certified FTA there as well as others that were trained on how the system ran. Second of all you should always go to the FTA if you have a question. Whenever you talk to someone on the field that is not an FTA or Head Ref...usually you get unreliable information that is incorrect which leads to more problems. Whenever there was an issue FTA checked it out and told the teams the issue. FTA is not just a random person...they are trained by FIRST on how to take care of the field and how to run the event. We never assumed it was a robot issue right away. We would always check it out first and communicated over the radios what was wrong and then would communicate with the teams.

Some things that I saw throughout the week was bad ports in the Driver Stations, bad wireless gaming adapters (light turned to orange meaning you can try resetting it to factory default settings and go through all the settings and set them again, and if that doesn't work it means it is a bad wireless gaming adapter), power issues (Robot not turning on or power issue of getting power to the wireless gaming adapter), and low batteries. Also please please plug in your wireless gaming adapters back into your CRio and make sure it's in the correct port. I can't tell you how many times this happened and once the field closes in qualification matches you are not allowed back out to fix that problem (You will see this change throughout the regionals depending on how the Ref calls that).

Alright now the issue about rushing teams. I do agree with you Andrew that we may have been rushing teams a little bit too fast. I will definitely bring that up in a follow up call this Monday and take care of that for you man and make sure that it's addressed. On Friday tho, regardless I really think the event ran very smoothly and we didn't have any field problems at all. Thank you teams for listening when to plug in and when to turn your robots on. This made it much easier to get the matches started.

Alright the issue with 1241. They had a issue with getting power to their wireless gaming adapter for one of the matches I believe. During that match was when the audience screen stayed at 1 sec. After that happened, FTA got together with the scoring table and we talked it over. We first talked about what could have happened to have that image freeze on the screen. Then FTA took it into their hands and talked to the refs to see if they had looked at the official clocks on the field to see if those had gone to 0. I remember that team 229 was told we might not replay that match but it was not told by FTA (as I remember). We then got the two alliance captains together to explain the problem. After talking to them we all agreed on replaying the match. Now what took so long after that was we had to determine what happened to the system and make sure that it would not happen again. We called FIRST and they told us to back up the system and restart the FMS software. After that we had to go through all our checks and make sure that they all worked. After making sure it was all up and running we got all the teams ready to go. ( I am sorry that it took so long but we wanted to make sure that we were taking the right steps to ensure this would not happen again). At that time we allowed teams to put new batteries in their robots.

Alright last issue that happened on the field. On the Red alliances side station #2 we did have a bad e-stop switch. Any matches before that were not effected by that though. In matches before that robots were working fine and any issues were to do with robots having power issues or code problems. We determined it was a bad e-stop switch since the robot was in autonomous mode but showed being disabled. After confirming this we changed it out and tested the field to make sure this was working correctly. After that we had no more problems and the event ran smoothly till the end!

I would like to thank all the teams for being patient throughout all of this. I just wanted to clear up some of the stuff as some people got relayed the wrong information. I also want to thank Ellery and Andrew for bringing this stuff up. When you guys give us feedback on the event and any issues you had, we like to make sure that other regional's are told about this so that their events run smoother.

I would like to thank both of our FTA's (Pete and Liz), and especially Liz Smith as this was her first year being FTA. I think she did a fantastic job at running the event regardless of some issues. I would also like to thank all the volunteers that were helping out. They make it possible for the FLR to run! Also I would like to thank John Darr and Karthik for doing an amazing job! We want you guys back for next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again thank you teams and congrats on all the award winners and regional winners and finalists. Thanks team 340 for all your support and Great job winning the Chairman's regional award. You guys deserve it!

Good Luck to all teams for the rest of season!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Congrats to everyone at FLR it was a great regional to watch ( i only saw Saturday). also thanks Karthik for the updates and small chit chats on ustream.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

On behalf of Team 1507, the Warlocks, I'd like to say thanks so much for giving us the opportunity to represent the Fingerlakes Regional as a champion. We are in truly elite company.

Our alliance mates, Team 188 and Team 174 were awesome and a pleasure to work with. We couldn't have asked for better teammates.

All the teams in the finals were close in skill and quality. We would have been proud to have teamed up with any of them, unfortunately, each alliance can only have three teams!

We’ve really gotten to know so many excellent teams and to be honored in winning the regional championship among them is not only an honor, it’s humbling as well. To think our little team from Lockport can rank among so many great teams we’ve looked up to, is mind-boggling.

Thanks for a great time. We'll see you all at other regionals, or next year.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

We had a great time at FLR. There were some issues with the system but everyone worked to make sure everything was FAIR. THe ref's were great, Liz was an amazing FTA, & Pete was an awesome addition to the feild team. Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked to make sure all teams were able to compete. It was unfortunate that the field caused some losses. It is part of the game.

On behalf of 340, thank you to 1511 & 316 on being such great alliance partners, good luck at your next Regionals.

On behalf of 424 thank you to 1126 & 2228 on also being such great alliance partners. That was a tough loss & you all handled it with class. You should be proud.

1547, congrats on your IE. 1511 congrats on your CP&B Award, Good luck at your next 2 regionals. I know you will rock!

1507, 188, & 174 - Congrats on the Regional victory. You guys were amazing! Good luck at your future events.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

2009 Regional photo gallery: http://rollingthunder.smugmug.com/ga...86420135_VbijZ

2009 Regional video gallery: http://rollingthunder.smugmug.com/ga...87958214_NB6Sr

Courtesy of Team 1511, Rolling Thunder!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I'm not going to lie you guys were a great alliance. You definitely deserved to win it all. I did cry a little bit when 174 changed their autonomous so it turned in the beginning so we couldn't pin them from the start. I'm glad we taught you not to get stuck in the corners and to make sure you didn't get pinned during the autonomous so I could score 15+ shots on 174. Anyways nice job winning it.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I'm afraid we found nothing. We checked every terminal and every wire from the battery all the way to the cRIO. We then tethered up and drove the robot around (with the same battery); it worked fine. We rammed it repeatedly into a wall to see if there were any loose connections to dislodge; nothing. We always run electrical checks between matches, and we always zip-tie our battery connectors, and we didn't experience a single electrical problem at FLR up to that point. I guess I don't believe in coincidences...

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Pat,
Thanks for the followup. I will add your issue to the list of things to try and reproduce given what we saw on the field with regards to the RSL and the eventual situation with the center console's E-Stop.

If you were able to watch the robot's operation from your position in the audience/driver station, do you agree the Robot Signal Light was behaving as specified in my post? I'd like to have everyone on the same page regarding robot symptoms to ensure that NI/FIRST have accurate information regarding what happened.

While I'm not privy to the design details of the cRIO or the DS (I'm just another mentor), the only way I know of to remotely restart a cRIO is to issue a 'reboot' command on a console connection to the RIO, given your confidence level in the power system and ability to ram your robot into the wall (understandable after what happened).

While I don't normally believe in coincidences, your bots behavior matched a brownout or reset condition on the cRIO. I did go over the robot's power and data connections with your drive team immediately after the match to try and identify if there was anything loose, possibly anything that was wrong with your bot on the field was fixed when checking the connections. That's a pretty farfetched theory however, as while they were doing that I did not see any sketchy connections :confused:

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Everything seemed ok... The only think I'm scratching my head about is the one time our autonomous did not go off.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Depending on whether all DS's are detected during the initial match setup (before robots are out on the field for the next match), the FMS seems to briefly toggle through Auto-Disable, Auto-Enable, then Auto-Disable as it sets up. This caused a number of teams using both WindRiver and Labview who did not take special precautions to ensure that enabling and disabling in autonomous mode would fully reset their code each time to malfunction.

Specifically in WindRiver, if you do not override StartCompetition() and extend RobotBase instead of SimpleRobot for your main class, it is possible to begin executing code in your Autonomous() function somewhere in the middle, or to be caught in the "while (IsAutonomous() && !IsDisabled()) Wait(.01);" line in StartCompetition. This occurred with both 211 and 229 in the same match, and after they updated their code to cover this case did not experience a problem again.

Teams can test this in the pit by having the DS in Auto-Dis, turn their bot on, then toggle to Auto-En, quickly back to Auto-Dis, then back to Auto-En and verify their program works as expected. Also, teams should verify that after this occurs they correctly enter teleop code after going to Auto-Dis, Teleop-Dis, then Teleop-En. When reproducing this in the pits, 211 malfunctioned exactly the same way as they did in the field. Once updated they drove correctly in auto and teleop.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Which match did this problem occur in? I wasn't able to watch the finals, but someone else on 2702 managed to go down and take some HD footage of some of the quarterfinals. I might be able to pass along some footage if I can find this problem occurring in what I have.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

QF3 Match 2

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

That match was the highlight of the entire regional, and probably the entire week 2. It was just as incredible as watching 71 and 1114 getting defeated. You three teams deserve so much more credit for that tactic then you are given and I tip my hat to you for the accomplishment. As much as I love my old team 174, I was so excited to see you win that one match and I did root for you the other matches.

It will be one of the many great moments of this regional that will be talked about for years.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

According to FIRST this is not the case. Rather, what is probably happening is:
1. The robot is powered up before the driver station acquires a DSlink (which occurs within a few seconds of plugging in), e.g. before plugging in;
2. The driver station's Auton/Teleop switch is set to Auton;
3. The driver station is plugged in, immediately links to the already powered-up robot and sets Auton-Enable;
4. The driver station acquires a DSlink from the FMS and sets Auton-Disable.

This could be prevented by ensuring that the driver station has a DSlink (it will show FMSMode on the display when it gets it) before powering up the robot. Setting the driver station Auton/Teleop switch to Teleop before plugging in should prevent jumping, but the robot might still get a brief Teleop-Enable if it was powered up before the driver station linked.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I have it, but I only have a stable shot of 1503 and their RSL for 5-10 seconds total throughout the match. The camera man was concentrating on the moving robots, and would only glance at 1503 periodically when they were not moving. If you think it'd be useful, I could edit the 1503 portions tonight.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks for the update here Pete. Anyone reading this thread should be aware of this and ensure your auto and teleop mode code can handle this occurring and not flip out!

It would absolutely be useful, thank you!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

thanks alot 1126 and 424 you were great alliance partners sorry our robot broke down

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Can you PM me with an email? I'll send it once I've got it edited.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks for investigating this. I did see that the RSL was out completely when the robot wasn't moving, but I wasn't paying enough attention to see whether it was blinking slow or fast at the other times. The alliance station light was blinking too while the robot wasn't moving, but I suppose that's just an indication of everything not working right.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Thanks to Teams 1241 and 229 for picking us to work with you. We had a great experience. We're hoping to be able to work with 229 in Annapolis as well.
I agree with the points you made as well. They should not have started that match if there were field communication errors.

Good luck to 1241 in your next regional(s).

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I would like to say thanks to all the teams who showed up to the Finger Lakes Regional this year. I hope everyone had amazing experiences. The FLR would have been even more incredible if there were no field problems, no doubt about that. Although I wasn't there to see my team along with 1507 and 174 win the regional, I was following the regional via the webcast just wishing that I was there.

1507 and 174, you guys were amazing alliance partners with great robots. Good luck at the future regionals and at the World championships.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I did the video editing, and despite the high resolution, it simply isn't possible to tell if 1503's RSL is blinking, not blinking, etc because the camera moves too much and the field lights are too bright.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

i would just like to thank 173 and 191 it was amazing working with you and hope to c u in the future:D

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

The only thing that not many else have noticed that I did during that match was, our robot was completely powered through the match, indicated by the victors and the radio. I would love to see that video to confirm this, as I am not 100% positive.

It is quite possible that I beat our operator to powering things up, as for that match I did power the robot up in a hurry. I cannot recall a thumbs-up from our operator at the start of that match. So, although there was nothing we could find wrong with our robot, human error on our side of things could have played a role. The RSL is still confusing me though. For sure I am hoping to implement a monitoring system, so our team can review every match the robot's functions and happenings.

-Nick

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

The picture that many wanted:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/33341

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Man - what a week! I'm so proud of all the volunteers that make this event run so smoothly! Saturday I was able to sit and watch 340 and 424 compete. The headset was quiet - well at least channel 1. The field headset was a different story. These events only work when the volunteers are putting in their A game. Great job to each and every volunteer at FLR. :) Thank you for your help and dedication

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I'm glad to hear another 1503 team member see what myself, the FTA, and others noted. I have a lot more confidence that there was a power/reboot issue with your robot at that time with the number of other people that have noticed it. I will still follow up regarding any possible field-initiated method of resetting robots, particularly with regarding to intermittent E-Stops.

Once Josh Goodman finishes cutting up the 'official' footage captured at FLR for the blue alliance, perhaps we'll see something in there to confirm.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Huge thanks to 191 and 1503! It was super exciting to be selected for our alliance. We had a great time working with you guys and look forward to doing it again in the future.
RAGE had a great time at Rochester. Thanks to all the volunteers and staff that put on this great event.
Karthik and JonDarr you guys are one of the best combos ever! I hope to see you at many other events.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

SECONDED!! FYI - JonDarr will be announcing for the first time at championships this year!

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

YES! That is very exciting news. He will soon truly be the voice of FIRST. I hope they put him on an exciting Division - like Arch or Gali. or Einstein.

That's why I always love my old team: they give it their all for no matter what or how they are needed. I think I'm the only person from 174 who visits this site, so I'll let the team know about this.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

MADE MY DAY! :D :D :D

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the field crew wouldn't let us plug in until the robots were powered on.

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

I'm pretty sure you had to plug in your driver stations before your robots were on the field. We worked that system out on Thursday which sped things up enormously through Fri and Sat. The field crew can then make sure your DS is seen by the FMS while the field is being cleared, and it gives them another minute or two to work out any issues with your DS <-> FMS connection. The robots also 'seem' to link up more repeatably when the DS is up first, then the robot comes up.

If your robot link wasn't OK at the start of the match, the field wouldn't have gotten a green light. 1503 also seemed to move ok at first in auto mode, then died in the middle of the field :(

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Towards Finals, we were told to turn the robot on the instant it hit the field.
That meant that if our student who was plugging in the controls wasn't quick to do so, the robot could have been turned on before the controls were plugged in.
It could have very easily been a problem for some teams.
Thankfully, this did not effect us, but could have effected our partners...

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Nope, The robots didn't matter.... The score table needs to pre-start each match before it can successfully link to the DS. That being said the DS was the ONLY thing that needs to wait to be powered on. Our score table sent us 3 types of signals that we followed to ensure Pre-Start was complete. One was his verbal voice over the mic, the second was the announcer instructing the teams to do so and last but not least the score table wrote on a white board which instructed us to do so just in case no one was listening. Once the DS powers on it takes a lot less time to search for the robot b/c the robot has already been on for a minute and searching for the DS.

And if I'm not mistaken 1503's issue on the field was either the radio wasn't plugged in the way OR it wasn't jacked in all the way on the cRio... I say this only b/c I wasn't the one to do field checks during that match BUT I do recall something coming over the radio to which was either those 2 cases. Someone from FTA should've have came over and explained why the robot wasn't moving. I don't also recall if it was a field issue b/c we did start getting those in elims. BUT I doubt it since the robot did have Auto., The robot could have also shut down due to a Watchdog error which we were getting / seeing from lots of teams via software installed OR the battery could've been low but once again someone from FTA should've said something. There was alot going on so the message may have gotten lost in either those cases...

Re: 2009 Finger Lakes Regional!!!!
 

Alright so some key notes after our scorekeeper follow-up call this week.

-To eliminate your robot from moving or twitching....when you plug in your DS make sure that the switch is on Teleop mode, not auto mode. (Peter talked about this in an earlier post)

-Do not plug in your DS until you are told by FTA, one of their assistance, or the announcer

-Robots really should be turned on after the DS is linked to the field, this will prevent any movement from the robot but it is ok if the robot is powered up (Just a safety issue that they will make sure is done for week 3 regionals!)

-We also had trouble with the pit display, when there was a tie it didn't sync up correctly. They are looking into that.

Here are basically the key notes or at least the most important that they told us about. If you have questions about anything else feel free to post and I will look into them along with others. Week 3 regionals should be very smooth!