[Al Skierkiewicz]

There are a lot of questions above me here so let me try a few...
In St. Louis (I was just visiting) there was one player station that had a lot of failures. I think it was the right side Red. From Friday PM to Sat AM I think at least 5 or more teams went dead at that station. So I don't think anyone had hardware failures at that point.
When tethered there is a strict limit of 25 ft with known good serial cable, if you have that really thin stuff and/or have lights on your button box, the current draw through the cable is high enough to cause a brownout at the OI and it won't operate. (That is why local power brought it back in the one case above.)
Generally, the Innovation First stuff is pretty well put together and should survive any shocks we can give it. The RC has a few failure points, one being the connectors can't take side loads. If you don't tie down all cables entering the RC you are asking for trouble. Another is the Pico fuses are not tied down. Many teams put a piece of tape across the top to hold them in, but there usually isn't much of a problem. I have seen a few teams this year who mount the RC upside down, which gets gravity working to drop the fuses out.
Beyond that you should check for crimped or severely bent cables. (look for someone who get very aggressive with a tie wrap as the cable goes around a corner.) Sharp bends and crimps on the radio cable especially, spell disaster.