[thefro526]

1) We generally take as many batteries to a competition that we can. In previous years this number has ranged from 4-6 'competition' batteries and 2-3 'Practice/Testing' batteries.

2) Recently, we've taken 3 Chargers to most competitions, this is usually enough at most regional events until later in eliminations when battery changes happen more frequently.

3) In previous years we never had a scientific method of testing batteries, we've usually just relied on pre-season robot testing to find out what batteries are the best.

4) After a match ends and the robot is brought back to the pits that battery is immediately put on the charger and one of the charged batteries is staged to go into the robot for the next match.

5) Sometimes you'll come across an older battery or two that won't quite make it through an entire match but will hold enough of a charge to run the robot for some period of time. We usually set these batteries aside for pre-match testing and practice field use. In years that we've used the compressor, we'll often use these batteries to initially charge the pneumatic system. If you don't have enough batteries to do this, then you can always leave the battery from your previous match in your bot up until it's time to go into que for your next match and use that battery for testing and pneumatic charging. No reason to drain a fresh battery before a match just to see if everything's working, IMO.