[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Everyone,
The Mercotac slip rings are not slip rings in the true sense of the word. They are mercury filled contacts and are not legal on FRC robots. If you read the application notes on these contacts, you will see warnings about mercury leakage when mechanically stressed or when max current is exceeded. I contacted the manufacturer and was told that those events are rare but do occur. Mercury spills on an FRC field will close down the event.

Originally Posted by JVN

Which rule is this illegal based on? Looks like <R8>?
What is the definition of hazardous?
Is there a list of hazardous materials? Mercury isn't mentioned in the blue box next to this rule.

If there is no list, does that mean it is up to the individual inspector to judge the hazardous nature of the material?

As such... isn't the legality of this sort of component determined by the lead-inspector at an event?

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

Per Q/A, they were legal in 2006, 2009, and 2011, and illegal in 2010. The reason for them being illegal in 2010 was not because of mercury, but because any type of slip ring was not legal in 2010. There have been no relevant Q/As since 2011.

I'm now slightly confused. Were these slip rings legal or illegal in 2014?