[RyanN]

The board does have a lot of downfalls in its design like the brownout problem and no reverse polarity protection. Obviously these are simple problems to fix (a small code change and a diode), but this is not Diversified System's fault. All they do is put together the boards to the customer's expectations (FIRST). If I were to give them a circuit that would catch on fire and release tons of magic smoke, then they would, and they would not be accountable for my mistake. I believe Diversified Systems also manufactured our sensor strips, and it appears to be an issue with the schematic FIRST gave them, so again, this is an issue with FIRST. Don't get me wrong, FIRST is a great organization that has benefited me for 6 years now, but in the past two years, I've seen quite a few quality control issues, some of which were not FIRST's fault, but they could have been prevented by testing the KOP that every team gets in January.

I believe the big three (Dean, Woody, Dave) could have sat down in November with a prototype KOP and tried to make a robot with the parts given, then do stress tests like that of a competition robot for four weeks, and try to break some components by making mistakes like some students may do in the build season. By doing this, they could have found the issue with the BaneBot gear boxes that plagued many teams, they may have found the issue with the radios last year, they would have found the issue with the IR Board, and they would have found the issue with the gear tooth sensor board. By doing this, FIRST would save money and would ease the burden of the build season.