[Kit Gerhart]

Originally Posted by Richard

I can't comment about every year, but at least once I know that FIRST kit-of-parts batteries were definitely not selected to create business for the battery supplier.

In 1997 (for Toroid Terror) I was the battery "supplier". The batteries that year were used in a 12V cordless Skil-Bosch drill made by another division of the company I work for. My management OK'd buying a few hundred extra units to donate to FIRST. Things were simpler then -- only about 150 kits, if I recall correctly, with two batteries per kit and about 200 spares. We also supplied a similar quantity of the battery chargers, drill motors, gearboxes, and drill housings from the same product.

Just look at this awesome 2007 kit of parts! FIRST has come a long way!

I remember the cordless drill batteries, and yes, what we know have to work with is much better. The drill batteries, as I remember, had 10 sub-C nicad cells each and probably had a capacity of not much more than one amp-hour. Using two of these batteries, we still had, at best, maybe 20% of the battery capacitiy we have with the current gel batteries. Another area where we are much better off is the speed controls. The Tekin R/C car contollers that we used through 1998, while very good for their intended application, were seriously overstressed when used for drill motors at 12 volts.