[Kevin Sevcik]

If you're controlling the robot with the radio and simulating autonomous mode with a dongle, you're simulating the actual competition environment as closely as you can. In competition, you hook your OI to the arena control system through the competition port. This handles RF communication for you as well as setting the disable and autonomous mode bits in your controller. In the pits you are only allowed to run on tether. You will not need your OI radio at the competition and are in fact probably better off leaving it and your OI AC Adapter at home so you don't lose them.

The only possible difference is that your robot will start up disabled but not in autonomous. Then when the match starts it goes to enabled and autonomous mode. So you might want to try simulating this with your dongle.