Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
Teams should not compare MK batteries with previous years as they are different in construction. There is a difference, between gell cell batteries and the MK AGM batteries. It would appear that the MK batteries are a little more sensitive to shock and mishandling.
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I would like to disagree with the bold in this statement. It is taken a touch out of context, but I will explain why. In the world of engineering, we buy parts to meet a specification...
Semi-Tangent:I happen to work in the military engineering world where the standards are extremely high - could you imagine dropping a cellphone off a 3 story building and have it work when you pick it up? Our radios are required to do this. Could you imagine leaving your car stereo underwater for 3 days, expect to pull it out, let it dry for an hour and have it work? One of our radios DID that during Katrina & saved lives... Could you imagine exposing your robot to -30degreesF or +120degreesF and expect the electronics to still work? Our radios have to. They have to and we design them to meet that. We cant use parts in them that dont allow us to meet our -30degree requirement. We cant use a battery that will only last in our product for an hour, or our soldiers wouldnt be able to carry enough batteries to last a mission.
Yes, these are extreme examples, so whats my point? My point is that FIRST is FORCING us to use this vendor and this battery, they have lain the specifications for us. We dont really know why MK... did they get a better discount/donation or a sponsorship donation from MK? did the old battery vendor not want to donate anymore? did they think that these batteries were actually better? Who knows. But the reality is that these batteries ARENT as good as the old ones, and teams SHOULD be comparing them. If there is something better out there, that meets the specification of a FIRST event better, we should be allowed to use it. Teams are right to raise an eyebrow because they are spending a lot of money on batteries. Some try to keep up to 10 at a time alive, and thats a BIG expense. At bare minimum you need 4 if you are going to end up in the finals (unless you beg & borrow), and having to buy new ones put us all on edge. Now it appears that there is evidence that they arent as robust and dont hold up to the riggors of a FIRST team's usage as well as the old ones. So maybe we/they should revisit the options...
My point being that Cellphone & Radio designers alike, we all design/engineer FOR our users. We are using motocycle batteries... they are not designed to be taken in and out, dropped, handled incorrectly, charged and discharged over and over again... so if we are using something NOT for its intended use, we need to find the part that most closely matches our specifications and will last the longest so teams dont have to take on that expense over and over again.