Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny_5
Do you think they will give me the software and either a BOM or list of components that make up the field electrical system?
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I know you can get online the base set of components (that would be the basic requirements to run a match such as router, switches, CAT 5 etc.) If you want to design a full out field, I have yet to see a master list to construct those electronics. There are a lot of "modules" that FIRST uses that are custom made, such as the Scorpion Module, the SCC, even the Scoring IO's for the tower are customized.
I would contact FIRST and see if they could help you out. I myself would love to try to make my own Scorpion just to understand even more how the FMS system works.
Edit: Also in terms of software you have a couple options. The FMS Light Alan referred to is from 2009 - and is a basic FMS. It really is a stripped down version, allowing you to run matches with a basic audience Screen and thats about it. It doesn't handle match schedule, rankings, and all of that would have to be done on your own. The other downside is although it runs matches just great, the audience screen is still set for Lunacy so you can't really use the scoring system for the audience screen in it. However it's great for those new to using the FMS and has a low fail rate.
There also FMS Delta. The latest version is 2010, although I would be shocked if either there wasn't a new Delta of Light coming out in the next few weeks. This is effectively the full FMS, expect it is designed to run on PC's instead of servers, and doesn't have the support for the main FIRST network since it's meant to be used at off-seasons. Great if you want to go all out, but requires a lot of time to study the manual, and I highly recommend practicing with the setup (even if you don't have the actual field) to get used to it.