[EricH]

You could send a message to FIRST's GDC. IIRC, the procedure last year for suggestions was to send an email to FRCTeams at usfirst.org with the subject line reading "For GDC eyes only". They might not be taking suggestions via that channel this year, but it might be worth a shot.

Now, before you send that email, there are a couple of questions I should probably ask you (because if they aren't asked here, they'll be asked elsewhere, possibly by the GDC without consulting you).

1) Besides <R01>'s "stored at the start of the match" phrasing, which could be modified or eliminated, could you put an alternator on and comply with the entire current wiring rules (<R34> aside, as it would also be rewritten--I'm thinking <R37-E>, <R38>, and <R43> here)? If not, why not, and how could you fix that without removing the current safety elements?

2) Is there a COTS alternator that would meet current FRC safety rules and guidelines? If not, are you saying that you want to develop one and make the plans--and wiring instructions to hook it into the FRC robot electrical system--available to all teams that want to use it?

3) This is one to ask yourself, hard, and ask a few EEs as well: Is the possible electrical gain, theoretical and actual, going to be worth the extra weight?

If you're having trouble with batteries lasting (which I sort of suspect due to the component you're asking about), you may be better off asking yourself about optimizing power usage on the robot than asking the GDC to allow alternators.