[Whippet]

Originally Posted by ProfessorAlekM

They also sold every team a base kit that can't even clear any of the obstacles, so that you would then have to buy another base kit or upgrades (Making them more money).

On top of that they knew what this years competition was, and they couldn't even keep Rhino Treads in stock during build. Some supply and demand could be going on.

I'm going to correct you on just this one point, since there will be plenty of people better able to address your concerns about motor controllers specifically. This year was the first time that FIRST revealed elements of the game to certain suppliers prior to kickoff. The only thing that Andymark or VEX knew prior to kickoff was that there would be obstacles for the robots to traverse and (I think) that it was a ball game. Nothing was disclosed of the size, type, or nature of the obstacles or balls. Accordingly, Andymark adjusted the Kit of Parts chassis to include 6 inch wheels rather than the 4 inch versions that have been provided for the previous two years. They did not know enough to guarantee that they would be able to move a sizable stock of Rhino modules, pneumatic wheels, etc. The same thing applies to VEX and West Coast Products.

The FRC suppliers have done an excellent job of handling supply shortages for the past few years. We recently purchased a set of hex shaft collars from Andymark and received a set of VEX collars - still in vex packaging - in the Andymark shipment. These companies do everything they can to help make sure your robot gets completed in time and I have nothing but good things to say about them.