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Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
Since the battery is an NXT power device under par. o and an electrical component under par. s, I read this as no mods can be made to batteries. I did not check the FTC Q&A to see if there is any response there. That does not mean that APP connectors are the better choice, just that I believe the battery cannot be modified.
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Al, I'm afraid you are giving bad advice based on incomplete information.
1) "NXT Power" means the NXT's internal battery pack, and thus not allowed to be modified. The 12V Battery is Tetrix, thus it is "Non-NXT Power" so it IS allowed to be modified acording to 'o'.
2) Apparently you are going to totally ignore the final caveat in the 's' rule that specifically states that Battery Mods are legal? It says....
Quote:
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"Also, the connectors on the TETRIX and MATRIX battery packs may be replaced or augmented with any compatible connector described in <R03>n above. "
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I'm not sure how they could have stated it any more clearly. TETRIX battery mods are legal. Period! Why put that sentence in, if you are not allowed to modify the battery? They even refer directly back to the Andserson connector clause. This is 100% clear.
Rule S is NOT inconsistant with itself if you read the whole thing. It states that you can't change any other electrical components UNLESS it's allowed by the rules... and then it goes on to specifically allow modifying the battery connections. You can't just choose to apply some of the rule to make your point.
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For the record, last year's rule was ambiguous about the battery connector. The rules said you could use the connectors, but couldn't change electrical components. So we asked the Q&A about the battery connector, and it was approved. This year they have added that last caveat to make it clearly legal.
And... although it doesn't prove anything more than the rule itself, the #2 robot at worlds last year used Anderson connectors on it's batteries, and it never had problems with inspections (or power). And we know all the rules have openned up since then.
I'm going to let the dead horse lie now...
Phil.