Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankJ
The Vex web site says the spike is designed to use the self resetting breaker which you can buy on the same page. You are certainly not modifying the Spike by using one. It is not specifically disallowed in the rules. There is a good argument that it is by implication. Ultimately it will the officials at the tournament will make their interpretation the one you will have to live with.
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The bolded part is why we're saying it is a modification.
What is in there stock from the manufacturer is a fuse. Fuses, as you know, are "one and done"--if they take an overcurrent, they are no longer functional and the device that uses them is no longer operational until the fuse is replaced, which takes until after the end of a match. This is the COTS configuration of a Spike.
When you replace the fuse with a self-resetting breaker, the breaker will reset after an overcurrent breaks the circuit. This is NOT the same function, as the breaker does not need to replaced after every time it takes an overcurrent. The device is operational as soon as the breaker resets, which takes a matter of seconds or less. This is not the COTS configuration of a Spike.
Because the performance has been altered, the Spike has been modified from COTS. The rules disallow any modification of control components from COTS unless the modification is specifically allowed. The replacing of a fuse with a breaker is only specifically allowed on
one Spike, and that is the one for the compressor.
Therefore:
1) You are modifying the performance of a Spike by using a breaker instead of a fuse.
2) Modifying the performance of any control system component by any means other than an exception is specifically declared to be illegal.
3) Therefore, replacing the fuse with a breaker is illegal in the general case.
4) For the compressor Spike, the replacement of a fuse by a breaker is specifically declared to be both legal and recommended. Therefore, for that Spike only, it is legal.
You cannot make a good argument that because IFI says it's designed to accept the breaker, it is legal to use the breaker instead of the fuse provided. IFI has no control over FRC rules (AKA legality). That's like saying that because an RS775-18 is designed to handle 18V, an FRC robot can run a circuit on 18V. And the implication is, quite simply, no modification. That is what the rule says. That is how multiple veteran inspectors see it. And I'd give it a 90%+ chance that your events inspectors will see it the same way.