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Unread 01-03-2008, 18:59
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mtaman02 mtaman02 is offline
FIRST's Spare, Queuer & Tech guy =)
AKA: Mike M. / Mouse =)
no team (FRC Volunteer)
Team Role: Alumni
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Rookie Year: 2001
Location: Staten Island, NYC
Posts: 1,504
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Re: NJ Elim Yellow Card Oddity

Quote:
Originally Posted by chaoticprout View Post
Firstly, I wasn't there so this may be off. However, I respectfully think this statement is insulting to the teams. When in competition with people screaming at you telling you the robot needs to get to competition, and not having the ability to go to the practice field, how does counting the seconds let them know if they have gone too far. If they were at home testing code I would agree, but this is during the stress of competition, and it's bound to happen. It's a part of FIRST , not something that should never happen. Not all mechanical elements of robots work, why should all the software? Don't blame the programmers. =(
If the robot is on chocks, you can watch the motions of the drive train and count down 15 secs. Mark a part of the actual tread / wheel and count the rpms and if it appears that the drive train is too fast and has gone no where but in that direction then adjust the program accordingly to try and slow down the robot OR put a turn command in that way it'll at least nail the side barrier and not the player station b/c to be honest there's not much holding that player station in place to start with but it's little bit of weight, some support from around the field and velcro. Why do you think it moves so much when ever it gets hit? I personally think better re-inforcement of the player stations will solve some problems of the decks being flung to the floor after being nailed by a robot doing 30mph. Look at the team who lost their entire OI b/c the Comp Port ripped right out of the OI after the wall took a hard hit from one robot.

I forget which team and what local event I saw this at but it worked... The practice field was unavailable for w/e reason so they chocked it, had a person with a stopwatch, had another person watch the drive train movements and guess how fast it was moving and adjusted accordingly... In the end they managed to get the robot where they needed it program wise w/ using only wood, a basic watch and good eyes. I'm not trying to say that stuff won't happen but if it does there are multiple ways to do correct it before you get to the Queuing box and even still you can try and tether before we get a hold of you to get on the field like some try and do. Sorry if I insulted the programmers out there . Just trying to say that there's more then one way to fix something w/o having the right tool for the right job available for you to use.
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Past FIRST Robotics Events that I proudly volunteered at:
FLL: NY State Competition '03
FRC: NYC Remote Kickoff '04 & NYC Regionals '04-'15 ,'10-'13 & NJ Regionals '06-'10, Finger Lakes Regional '09 & SBPLI Regional '08-'15 and the World Championship in '05 (Galileo Field) '07 (Newton Field) '09 (Practice Fields Attendant / FTA(A)), CeBIT Convention in '04 & NextFEST in '06 both held @ the Javitts Center, Monty Madness '07-'10, Panda-monium '08, B.Eruption '08 & '09, Ramp Riot '08, PARC '09 & '10, BR^2 '09 & Wol. Inv. '09 -'15
2015 FIRST Robotics Off Season Events that I hope to volunteer at:
Where is Wolcott Invitational
2015 FIRST Robotics Events that I will be volunteering at:
SBPLI Reg. & Championships
Volunteer Resume:
Alt & Lead Team Queuer, Field Repair/Reset, Field Setup/Breakdown, Spare Parts Attendant, Field Power Controller/Score Keeper, Co-Emcee & Official Scorer, Control System Advisor, FIRST Tech Advisor Assistant & recently Practice Field Attendant.