[EricH]

We realize that communication is dropping out. What we don't know is why.

Every question we ask here is aimed at finding out why it's dropping out, so you can fix the root cause of the problem. There are a few possible reasons that comms can drop.

--Voltage could be dropping really low (see the battery voltage check request), which opens up a few more places to look for the problem.
--A non-electrical problem could be cropping up. How's the Ethernet connection holding, and is it loose?
--Lights will tell a lot. What are they doing, particularly the ones on the cRIO and the bridge?
--Do comms drop out under any other conditions than the bridge material/ball collector moving? If no, then it's going to be somewhere in that mechanism. Is it pulling a cable, or close to the D-link?