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Unread 08-01-2004, 10:58
ChrisH's Avatar Unsung FIRST Hero
ChrisH ChrisH is offline
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FRC #0330 (Beach 'Bots)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Rookie Year: 1998
Location: Hermosa Beach, CA
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Re: Most Competitive Regional

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Soukup
It's one thing to argue your point that competitiveness does not matter, but it's totally absurd to imply that teams in the midwest are out to win at all costs and do not care about their fellow competitors. You've made the general accusation, care to publically back it up with team numbers? If not, don't imply that we're all snooty, aloof, and unfriendly.

Have you been to a regional in the midwest? Do you know how much we cooperate and help each other out? Have you seen how many veteran teams reach out to rookies and other veterans in need? A competitive robot does not mean a team does not help other teams. I'd argue the opposite. They're the teams that have the most experience & expertise at building high caliber robots and are anxious to share their talents with others. My team has members who will slave over a fellow competitor's robot the whole day while other members of my team slave over our own. Just because you see teams working like mad on their own robot does not mean the team does not reach out to others and offer assistance.

Maybe instead of assuming that all the midwest teams fit into pre-defined notions you should come talk to us and give us a chance to prove the stereotypes wrong.
While I have never been to a Midwestern Regional, the BeachBots did send a delegation to IRI in 2002. We sent a "minimal team" and therefore did not have the luxury of having several of our mentors with us. Wouldn't you know, the areas we were short were the areas where we had problems. WildStang in particular but also Team Hammond and others worked with us to try and resolve the problems we were having. We never did get them fixed, but we had a good time anyway. We might have gotten the problems fixed if we had people there who could answer the questions their experts were asking.

I can't say that the Midwest teams are more helpful than anybody else, that would be an incredibly high standard to reach. But they are at least as helpful as any other group of teams and certainly more so than some, based on personal experience. I still haven't figured out anything more they could have done to help us. It was rather humbling to have to be on the recieving end of that help for once.

BTW we never did resolve the source of those problems. When we got it back home the robot behaved and has ever since. We suspect it might have been due to damaged batteries and or batteries with a marginal charge. Unfortunately we had a unique battery/main breaker configuration and couln't swap batteries with other teams easily to test whether that was the problem or not. We have added a "standard requirement" that we be able to use "stock" batteries in all future robots as a result.
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Christopher H Husmann, PE

"Who is John Galt?"