[Doug G]

Again more reason for teams to invest in a load tester, available in many auto parts stores or on-line. We suffered 2 bad batteries in 2008 that costed us several matches at Atlanta - never again!! When charging and tested with a standard voltmeter, we thought all was good. But when the batteries were put under load during a match, the voltage would drop to 6 or 8 Volts.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that this year, batteries will take a beating with all the up and down over the bump and hanging / falling. Also teams maybe tempted to lay the battery down to lower the CG, but when it is on it's side, it is more prone to damage the internal plates. Keeping the battery vertical when the bot goes up and over the bumps, along with some cushioning, may be help batteries survive.