Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

I referee from Oklahoma regional told me about a team he saw in kansas with a very unique lifting mechanism. It had something to do with an inflatable arm. i would like to know the teams number so i can look them up and watch it in action. Please let me know the Number if you know it, or if youknow of any other unique lifting mechanisms, let me know.
-Thank You

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

I believe it was team 1810. They inflated a balloon to lift a hook, then winched themselves up. They won the Creativity Award, I believe.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

I thought the "balloon arms" were really cool. Were they exempt from rules regarding pneumatic parts? Could someone link me to the rulings and Q&A's that made them legal? I don't doubt them at all, I just want to see what I missed.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

They probably just use a fan to pump air in the balloon, what rules would that break?

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

That's just it, Chris. A custom pneumatic inflating arm to raise the hook, powered by the air from the compressor, was specifically declared to violate multiple pneumatics rules by the GDC. http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=14703

Now what I'd like to know is, how did the team in question inflate their balloon? If they did something like the above proposed design, then they were most likely in violation of the rules. Otherwise, it's an open question.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

i think they used a fan, not the compressor.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

For what it's worth, more than one team did this without penalty. I think 69 did?

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

As long as they used a fan, they're fine.

Chris (Picone), there were a number of teams with relief valves off the compressor. Some of them probably passed inspection. Does that make them legal to compete? No. It means that the inspector thought that it was a legal placement. If they went to the Championship and said, "But it passed at the Magnolia Regional", the inspector would promptly tell them that that doesn't make it legal and they'd be moving the valve.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/match/2010kc_qm36

You can see team 1810 deploy the balloon thing around 3:19. By all appearances, it's a low pressure device - once it's deployed, they go into the tunnel enough to hit the balloon, which knocks it over... and it just doesn't have the strength to pick itself back up again. This, combined with the incredible volume of the balloon and the quick fill rate, lead me to believe it's done with a fan, not the compressor/pneumatic system.

Re: Need help finding a certain team from the Kansas city regional
 

In Boston team 69 inflated a balloon to raise a hook and team 3280 used a tape measure.