[EricH]

I have one question. This is aimed at the members of the GDC who commonly appear on these forums, but it is not exclusively for them. In fact, I'm also looking for input from electrical engineers.

Are the batteries COTS after a build season of testing, assuming nothing is done other than to charge/discharge them, clipping leads on for that purpose with, say, alligator clips (yes, I know that isn't safe, but bear with me)?

You're asking, "Why did he ask such a stupid question?" 1) I'm a mechanical, not an electrical, and haven't had my one required electrical class yet. 2) I understand that there is a distinct difference between new batteries and ones that have been through a few dozen/few hundred charge cycles.

You heard me. (EEs, feel free to correct me on the above statement.) If there is a difference, and it's reasonably obvious, you wouldn't pay full price for a battery had been used before, right? You'd ask for a discount, right? So the batteries (by the GDC's version) are NOT COTS if they've been used a bit, like any normal team would do!

This changes the entire game plan. Now, you can only get 2, or if you're lucky, 3 batteries in your withholding allowance. So you have to buy new batteries for every event, or else only use 2. Guess how many batteries is enough in an event? Hint: it's almost certainly more than 2.

Somehow, I don't think this is what the GDC intended. I am lawyering a bit here, but if the GDC has defined COTS to be, effectively, "you'd pay full price for it", instead of "Commercial Off The Shelf" as it is intended, then it's a case of "you started it".

To everyone, the best thing I can say is to quote Dave Lavery from a few years ago: "Stop being LAWYERS and start being ENGINEERS!"

Edit: After looking at the Q&A more thoroughly, the GDC says that the batteries are COTS without the leads whether or not they've been charged/discharged. Double standard here? I.E., a gearbox, purchased from a vendor, can be used as is, and be worn to have a lot of slop, or some other characteristic that isn't immediately available, through normal use, and it isn't COTS, but a battery can get the same treatment and it's COTS?