Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Stratis
For me, seeing all these bumper threads is actually useful. As an LRI getting ready for a week-1 event, I need to know what to expect from teams and what our big problems are going to be as far ahead of time as possible... seeing so many questions about bumpers tells me that it's going to be a big problem come week-1! If all of those teams came here, searched, and left again without posting, then it wouldn't seem like nearly as big of an issue, and could fly under my radar. As it is, I have time to figure out a game plan for fixing bumpers on a dozen or more robots in a day!
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I'm glad you got something positive out of all the threads. I had not thought of it that way. I was willing to tolerate the bumper threads earlier because I knew that so many teams had not had made bumpers, however the amount of questions asking about what was already in the manual was getting a bit excessive in my opinion.
I know what it's like to mess up bumpers at the first competition. I think 2010 (first season of red/blue bumpers) was the first season that numbers had the strict stroke and height requirement. If this isn't true, then we just didn't read the number rule. But anyway, I was a rookie that season and was tasked with making the bumpers because I had come up with the reversible bumper idea independent of everyone else (I had not had a CD account yet). The BIG mistake I made was making the bumper numbers way too small, and we had to go to competition at Washington, DC and paint add-ons to the numbers to make them legal. It was not fun. This was my "bumper experience."
Now that I think of it, since you mention that all the bumper threads drew your attention to the bumper rules, maybe a more interesting discussion for teams who have not done bumpers is for the more seasoned members to share our "bumper experiences," cautionary tales of when bumpers rules weren't followed in which the problems were not fixed until after the first inspection.
If anyone wishes to share their "bumper experience" as I have, feel free. I am actually interested, and this could serve as a productive way to show new teams what NOT to do, considering how consistent bumper rules have been the past seasons.
Pictures of my "bumper experience."
As you can see, these numbers are FAR from legal in 2010 as well as 2016.
My rookie self in the pit corner re-doing these darn numbers. We went to a bumper skirt since our reversibles were kinda messy with me designing and sewing them my first time. Also, hardly anyone had done this at the time. I remember seeing only a couple other teams that season with reversibles.
The result was absolutely atrocious, but hey, they were legal and got us on the field.
Nowadays, I make sure to supervise the bumper building process, and now our bumpers and painted numbers are ON FLEEK. (yeah I know I shared this pic in a previous bumper post regarding embroidery, iron on, and paint number applications)
