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Hello All,
I am very happy that we were allowed an electrical box this year but some teams who do not have experienced elec techs had some really dangerous outboard wiring. So the rules there need to be tightened up a bit. Also raise the $100 limit, $200 would be nice but $150 should open some doors for teams as well.
The weight and size limits are in place so two people can move the robot and get it through standard size doors. For these reasons I can't really see a need for any change there.
Over the years there has been some really interesting interpretation of the rules that required some informed (multi person) discussion before a rule question could be answered. Experienced teams have qualified adults who could help in this area. It is essential that teams get all the latest updates and not have to go searching for them. If there are team updates, perhaps they should be e-mailed to team leaders or at least be published in weekly updates.(Fridays OK?)
There needs to be better checklists for judges particularly with electrical. i.e. A simple volt/ohmeter check to insure no shorts to chassis at inspection. There were teams who also had battery mounting that was less than secure and placed the battery terminals very close to structural metal. Since battery damage is a real threat here for a 12v/17aHr battery I really cannot advocate larger batteries. Under no circumstances should teams be allowed to power up without tether in the pits and should not be forced to by judges during inspection. (This caused a great deal of interference at regionals.)
Finally, let teams know that this is open competition and they can expect help from any team. Hammer this point home and make sure that rookie teams understand the concept. Too many teams struggle through competition with a problem they can't solve, or don't have the tools or matierials to fix.
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Good Luck All. Learn something new, everyday!
Al
WB9UVJ
www.wildstang.org
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Storming the Tower since 1996.
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