Quote:
Originally Posted by adman
Sorry about I don't know what the JM(NS)HO is but thanks for the
review. The reason I want FIRST to contact me is that I was prepared
to run all 1500 controls on my production line for at my cost to help first teams have less money to pay out instead of
more for the new system. I dont want my company name on the banner.
Open forums do good. I took a chance and spoke many of the concerns
that occured at Nationals. I didn't mean to offend anyone. As I said
I really like NI and I am a LabView programmer but also teach HIgh School
Engineering Classes when I am not designing at my Company.
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I apologize if I came off kinda heavy handed (wasn't my intention). My intention was to show my background with NI equipment (mostly LabView programming with NI or MCC DAQ modules), which seemed counterpoint to your discussions and concerns.
oh and JM(NS)HO = Just my (not so) Humble opinion
I, too, have my concerns about the new controller. I'm concerned about the level of abstraction that LabView and VxWorks gives, and that the students may be missing out on protocol and hardware control stuff. Curently, with the IFI stuff, setting a PWM doesn't require the kids to learn about the timing of the 'on' pulse, about hardware delays, or any of that protocol ... and I'm concerned that we may be getting farther away from that understanding and utilizing systems and controls that students have no idea how they work.
My other concern is that teams will be getting 1 of these units and if it gets damaged, some teams may not be able to pay for a replacement. Depending on the cost of a replacement, teams might be required to skip a year or 2 if their controller becomes damaged. It's my hope that
FIRST gets a decent enough discount for a single replacement (or spare) unit so that teams don't have to worry about this (I know they are working on it ... but it is a serious concern).