They're Off!!
 

from : http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2008/11/theyre-off.html

Good Evening Teams,

The first new control system kits have just left the building on their way to teams who paid their registration fee and requested early shipment. The last two items arrived at our warehouse yesterday afternoon and I promised the kits would go out as soon as possible, so now we're shipping out kits as fast as we can pack them. The first 150 went out this evening and we'll get back to work bright and early tomorrow morning. Its not too late to get in on the fun. We'll continue shipping control system kits until December 5th, so if you change your mind, change your settings in TIMS.

46 days until kickoff,
See you then!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Woo Hoo!

Re: They're Off!!
 

aww yea, i cant wait

Re: They're Off!!
 

And thus ends any appearances of my life being normal... and to think, I planned on relearning piano before kickoff :(

Re: They're Off!!
 

and I planned on getting prepared for/studying for my exams :D

Re: They're Off!!
 

Its like a heavanly early start to FRC2009!

cant wait to start experimenting!!!

Re: They're Off!!
 

I'm glad; this means that ours will hopefully arrive before our first scheduled meeting (which is to organize everything in it and play with it).

Luckily I'm a senior and I have been accepted to my school of choice and given some pretty good scholarships there... so I don't really have to worry anymore.*


*I do have to keep my grades above a certain level cumulative GPA, but it's nearly impossible to drop below it now (especially since my Latin and German teachers are sympathetic)**.
**I'll still keep my grades up... but I won't worry as much anymore.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Yeah, new control system!
45 days til kickoff!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Ironically it's a great start to our pre-season! (Our first meeting is tomorrow) Can't wait to get it!

Re: They're Off!!
 

I wonder if this counts as one of our game clues?

HA HA


Matthew Forman
Mortorq 1515

Re: They're Off!!
 

UPS ground to Hawaii. Scheduled to be received by the end of next week.
I guess that means the following Monday since our school will be closed. :(

Re: They're Off!!
 

There's something just plain wrong about that statement.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Did you receive shipping info? I guess we aren't getting one of the first shipment of shipments, did that make sense?

Been a long year, we started our pre-season training in October and have been meeting 3 days a week.

Re: They're Off!!
 

You will receive a FedEx or UPS email and tracking number when they pick up your Control System package.
I'm sure they're packing up the boxes as fast as they possibly can, trying to get them out to us all by Thanksgiving.

P.S. Our new Control System passed me on the way to work this morning!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Fedex notification! For 1 of our 2 teams, but not both?

Ship date Nov 18, 2008
Estimated delivery Nov 20, 2008


I strongly urge teams to read and follow the directions on on setting up your new controller. Please ask questions of Beta teams.

Take your time! And most importantly THINK before you do.

Re: They're Off!!
 

*sigh* I wonder how they are determining who's gets shipped when? We want it yesterday! :-) I haven't been this excited since I was 12 years old and it was x-mas eve.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Maybe you'll have to teach the robot to play piano. :p

Re: They're Off!!
 

Im not going to lie, this comment just made my day, it also means I will spend the rest of the day thinking of how to make a robot play piano...

Re: They're Off!!
 

I almost cried in happiness when I saw this :)
Its gonna be a good year!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Ditto!!! :yikes: :ahh: :) :D :D

Honestly, ask the kids on the team, I'm still just a big kid. Balding and graying, but still just a kid.

This season is going to ROCK!!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Sure, everyone is happy know,singing and dancing and then the guy comes out of the woods with a mask and the screaming starts. Well ,some movie line like that.:)

Re: They're Off!!
 

No,no,no. The screaming starts on Jan 3 when everyone starts screaming "They want us to do what!?!"

Re: They're Off!!
 

Aside: What would be cool is thinking about how to make the robot tune a piano. (To watch someone tune a piano, esp. a grand piano, is an amazing experience.) Then the robot could play its perfectly tuned instrument.

It's good to see so many teams excited about the shipment.

Re: They're Off!!
 

http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/

Piano is fun but I prefer the guitar. Gibson's already done this but it would still be a very fun learning exercise in mechanisms, sensors, electronics and controls.

Russ

Re: They're Off!!
 

You mean like this???

http://dorkbot.noodlefactory.co.uk/w...te?action=show

The video clips are pretty cool.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Guess we need to hurry up and finish our prototype drive base--Travis and and the programming team are going to be anxious to play!!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Somehow I dont think my mum would be too happy with me poking around inside our piano...

Re: They're Off!!
 

Not you, silly, your robot.

Oh wait... what am I saying?! :D

Re: They're Off!!
 

Id have to put it in there somehow. But I think she would trust ME more than a robot.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Yea, we got our tracking number!

Re: They're Off!!
 

but arent robots unable to make mistakes?:D


that reminds me i need to get my piano tuned:ahh:(its been like 30 years)

Re: They're Off!!
 

Only if their builders and programmers are unable to make mistakes. :yikes:

Re: They're Off!!
 

Our team is pretty excited to see the new controller and asks questions I can't answer very well, each time the e-mail check doesn't reveal a shipment notice. A couple of the more common questions:

1. Is there a current estimate of how long it will take to complete shipment all of the early delivery units?

2. Are the shipments being filled in a systematic manner - perhaps based on team number?

Thanks in advance

Re: They're Off!!
 

According to Bill's blog (referenced in the first post of the thread), FIRST plans to ship advance controllers until December 5.

As for the second question, I have no clue. But, I have a return question: You did pay for your first event and indicate that you wanted it shipped early, right? If the answer to either is "no", then you won't be on the list of teams to get it. You can change that pretty easily, though.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Shipment certainly seems like FIRST randomly mixed up who receives theirs first.
They aren't being shipped based on team number or geographical location as far as I can tell.

We're team 358 on Long Island and we received our control system in the very first shipment, but I had dinner last night with the control system mentor for team 58 from Maine and they have yet to get a shipping notice for their system.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Maybe the orders are being filled on a first pay first serve system.

Re: They're Off!!
 

We paid, indicated that we wanted the controller shipped early, and gave a shipping account number - this will be the first shipment on the account number - so we are a little worried about using an untested system on the precious controller :eek:

Not sure that it is conclusive evidence, but we registered and paid within 2 hrs of the start of the regional enrollment period.

This will be a growing experience for us - patience is not a strength :rolleyes: .

Re: They're Off!!
 

I was so pumped when the FedEx tracking system said that our kit was supposed to be delivered today instead of tuesday that I had sat in front of the computer right after shop clean up for a good while pressing refresh waiting for the status to say delivered. As soon as it said delivered, we called our mentor (it was delivered to his house) and drove to his house to pick up the package and start benchtop testing. We got it set up, but immediately made a mess with the shop right after we cleaned it up:rolleyes:

Re: They're Off!!
 

aww man, are we gona be the last Indiana team to get ours?:mad:

Re: They're Off!!
 

lol, an Indiana team got theirs before us? Anyway, congrats!

I'd like to start seeing a lot of videos with teams putting the new system on old bots.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Hey man, no worries. Its pretty easy to work with...still need to get used to the wago's though lol
benchtop test took me only 2 hours tops working with 1 other guy.
plus, there is plenty of time to work on em.
my word of advice is have a 120 amp breaker, because they dont send you one.

anyways though, 1501 is putting our system in sidewinder, the 2005 bot.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ght=sidewinder
Its got a monocoque skin like all of our bots, which is what the aviation industry uses on airplane bodies. It was a tight squeeze with the old system, but it got its electronics torn up during the last build season. (psh, programmers lol)

Re: They're Off!!
 

anyways though, 1501 is putting our system in sidewinder, the 2005 bot.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ght=sidewinder
Its got a monocoque skin like all of our bots, which is what the aviation industry uses on airplane bodies. It was a tight squeeze with the old system, but it got its electronics torn up during the last build season. (psh, programmers lol)[/quote]

we only meet once a week so we dont have that much time

Re: They're Off!!
 

we only meet once a week so we dont have that much time[/quote]

I dont know if you have the facilities, but luckily we have the use of the Henlines Towing building. They have been great mentors, and great in providing facilities. Anytime we want to show up, we are allowed to. Basically the lead programmer and I are meeting everyday we can to figure out all the kinks and cool things about the new system. I will post a pic as soon as we get the bot up and running. I will also post a before pic so you can see how much of a difference we had in using the new components vs. the old.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Any day you want? That's awesome. We'd do anything to have that kind of schedule.

I'm looking forward to those pics.

Re: They're Off!!
 

we only meet once a week so we dont have that much time[/quote]

You can make the time....

Re: They're Off!!
 

We are lucky to have sponsors like them. Even though they dont give us 5000 a year, they are worth much more to our team. They provide transport, facilities, tools, and their time. They even baked us cookies today!:D
Another benefit our team has is 4-H as a sponsor. They actually provide our insurance and give us a whole community building where we can set up our playing field and leave it up. I cant thank our sponsors enough. Now if only me or the programmers could drive. It is going to be a cold walk between the 2 buildings:ahh:
PS, I'll try to get those pics up asap.

Re: They're Off!!
 

You can make the time....[/quote]

we are trying to, at least i want to but, the old people cant because they have these job or w/e they call it or the best excuse because there wives are mad ;)

Re: They're Off!!
 

Once a week? That's, what, 6 meetings? Or is that before the season?

Re: They're Off!!
 

b4 season, man that would awesome if we could build a robot in 6 days:cool:

Re: They're Off!!
 

Oh, I was about to say, if you could even build a half-decent robot in a week's-worth of time....

Re: They're Off!!
 

I am challenging our FRC team to build a rolling chassis in one. I KNOW our electrical guys can get it wired in under 2 hrs. And programming, well, thats going to be the hard part. Besides, I know teams that built their robots AT Championship a couple years back. ^_^ It is doable.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Do you mean a square bot done in one day or a bot with a whole bunch of stuff?

Re: They're Off!!
 

Im not sure what the Championship team did but I am talking square bot for our team, though I may challenge them to do a Mecanum in case we decide to do that this year.

Re: They're Off!!
 

I believe the team at championships did a square box, using spare parts from other teams, along with theirs.

So I guess it is technically possible.

Re: They're Off!!
 

our team i belive have pit a square bot together in one day. is that a big deal?

Re: They're Off!!
 

Not really, like I said, its doable.

Re: They're Off!!
 

We got ours!! It said we would get ours on Saturday. I figured FedEx would be cutting back and not make deliveries on Saturdays. We were all at a district Lego tourney, our son who was a judge beat us home. Imagine our suprise when we walked in the door and seen him sitting on the floor surrounded by several boxes and the biggest smile on his face!!!:D

BTW The White Wolves Lego Team of The G.R.A.Y.T. Leviathons has made it to the State Championship!!!:cool:

Re: They're Off!!
 

We have our bot driving!!! I will get the pics up asap. I will tell you ahead of time that it is a mess because the robots motors and sensors are all hidden, so there is pwm running all over the place. I ran into one problem, which was the digital sidecar not getting any power, and it was plugged in. I moved it to another slot in the fuse panel and it worked just fine. I do think it may have been my fault for sticking the wire too far into the wago connector and having the insulation touch instead of the copper.

One question though... how are you supposed to supply power to the gaming router thing on the bot. It did not come with a connector that goes from the fuse panel to the router, only a 120v power supply. Am i just supposed to hack into the wire and cut it, or am i supposed to have one come in the kit?

Re: They're Off!!
 

Cut off the end and connect it to the PD Board.

Re: They're Off!!
 

here are the pics of the progress so far. Its driving:D , but needs to be cleaned up and programmed... also have to hook up the encoders, limit switches, and compressor.


If you notice, the speed controllers and spikes dont fit in the old electrical panel area, so they are now located in the back of the bot. (pic 3)

Re: They're Off!!
 

We have ours up and running as well. I will try to get pics or maybe video possibly. We had some issues with the sidecar as well and with the wireless. We got it fixed though. Good luck everybody and Happy Thanksgiving!

Re: They're Off!!
 

Hey,

My team signed up for early shipment but hasn't received an email yet. Have other teams not gotten emails either, or did we make a mistake in registration somewhere?

Re: They're Off!!
 

They are also shipping units until the 5th of Dec, so you still have time. I'd check with your TIMS "shipping Contact." I would also double check all my info in TIMS. If that's correct, I'd be making polite inquiries to FIRST.

Re: They're Off!!
 

No tracking number as of 6 hours ago at our meeting. :(
Hopefully it will arrive before our next meeting next Monday!


Wetzel

Re: They're Off!!
 

You get it in the order of who paid first. We were paid on Oct. 24th and got our system on Nov. 22nd. I hope that gives you some indication as to when you will get yours.

Re: They're Off!!
 

No tracking number for 1712 as of this post ... hoping we see something soon as well. I've corresponded with team support twice - they couldn't really tell me anything other than there are other teams that haven't gotten it and that if there was some sort of problem they'd inform me. So I suppose we're in the queue somewhere.

Re: They're Off!!
 

We didn't receive notification of the shipment until 11:56 last night and its expected delivery date is today, for what it's worth.

Obviously, we didn't get a lot of notice.

Re: They're Off!!
 

I sure hope ours ships soon, the suspence is too much. There is only so many times you can read through manual and oogle at the parts check sheet.

crossing fingers that it will ship this week......

Re: They're Off!!
 

Also, 397 has ours, but we have no meetings until next Wednesday. :( Oh well, I should be working on the mentor's vex bot anyway...

Re: They're Off!!
 

Ours was picked up at 4:56
Due in Fri sometime ...

Re: They're Off!!
 

Rich -

We have yours. To save time, I just asked FIRST to ship it to us. It arrived today. It seems to be really cool. Hey, is water supposed to come out of it when you tilt it to one side like that? It is here whenever you want to come and pick it up.

-dave



.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Great! More time for me this winter. Who wants to spend six weeks snow tubing? Anyone who prays on insecurities like you do should NOT be around young people. And remember my friend, revenge is a dish best served cold. ;)

Re: They're Off!!
 

I see what you did there!

Re: They're Off!!
 

We have ours. It came yesterday and it was dry:D

I'll send you some pictures next week if you want to see one, Rich.

Re: They're Off!!
 

Ours was picked up on the 18th
Due in Fri sometime...

Re: They're Off!!
 

It doesn't go by when you paid because our payment was received on October 2nd and we still have not heard on shipment yet.

Re: They're Off!!
 

We paid the day before they started shipping and they shipped ours today.