FIRST Christmas gifts

[EDesbiens]

Do you guys have any idea for FIRST christmas gifts? It would be fun to have a bunch of different ideas of things to give to FIRST lovers!

[thinker&planner]

My actual christmas list is a hex driver set, a bunch of #9 and 5/32 drill bits, and some VEX stuff.

Although the VEX-hexbug promotion would be a great way to raise money for your team and get some cool gifts. (Unfortunately I don't know any kids that age)

[TedG]

A good pair of safety glasses would be a nice gift, maybe customized with a strap and case or something.

Just an idea..

[jwfoss]

The Behind the Design books:
FIRST Robots: Rack 'N' Roll: Behind the Design
FIRST Robots: Aim High: Behind the Design

[*Rachelle*]

https://marketplaceforfirst.com/
Backpacks, shirts, water bottles, and a lot more. It's official FIRST stuff and it looks like they are having a sale for Christmas.

[Jimmy Nichols]

http://www.thinkgeek.com

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by *Rachelle*

https://marketplaceforfirst.com/
Backpacks, shirts, water bottles, and a lot more. It's official FIRST stuff and it looks like they are having a sale for Christmas.

Also since the old logos are being phased out

[*Rachelle*]

Originally Posted by GreyingJay

Also since the old logos are being phased out

Fair enough (I forgot about that for a couple minutes somehow), then we can add that some of it is 2015 Champs stuff haha. I don't think the new style is quite different enough to call the old stuff "inadequate for use" though.

[Whippet]

Originally Posted by *Rachelle*

Fair enough (I forgot about that for a couple minutes somehow), then we can add that some of it is 2015 Champs stuff haha. I don't think the new style is quite different enough to call the old stuff "inadequate for use" though.

Well, I mean, "vintage" FIRST stuff would be pretty cool to have in a few years. "Yeah, kids, I was around back when the cRIO was still a thing! You and your newfangled waterproof robots..."

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Whippet

Well, I mean, "vintage" FIRST stuff would be pretty cool to have in a few years. "Yeah, kids, I was around back when the cRIO was still a thing! You and your newfangled waterproof robots..."

Solder cups and PBasic anyone?

(Where's Baker/John Novak to talk about when the robots were tethered?)

[Foster]

Originally Posted by Whippet

Well, I mean, "vintage" FIRST stuff would be pretty cool to have in a few years. "Yeah, kids, I was around back when the cRIO was still a thing! You and your newfangled waterproof robots..."

You whippersnappers had it easy, I remember when the new IFI controls came out with the super powerful PIC processor. Ahh the memory space, 128Kbytes of code and almost 4K of data. Oh the things we could do in that 22 ms timing loop! Back then the only java we had was in a cup as we tried to make Kevin Watson's base code work with our robots. Making the CMU cam works was also a high point. Now get off my yard and go shopping.

(I still have the follow-on Qwerk, sadly it's just holding papers down. For 2006 it was a very cool piece of gear. )

To stay on the gift topic, mechanics gloves are good. Not starting the war over wearing gloves around fast rotating machines, but gloves help in those early days of sharp edges from prototypes and "almost complete" parts.

[pmangels17]

If the person really liked machining, some precision measuring tools could be nice. Two of my favorite gifts I have ever received are a pair of 8" Brown and Sharpe dial calipers that a family friend used at Grumman and a pair of 4" Mitutoyo dial calipers from an old watchmaker's shop. Sure, any old pair of calipers will be fine for 99.999% of work for FRC, but if you really love doing machine work, few things are as nice as the smooth accuracy of quality dial calipers or micrometers.

If that is a little bit out of you budget, maybe some other cool tools. My uncle gave me a Multi-Use Rule and Gage (not a perfect tool, but handy for a ton of different tasks) which I absolutely love. I always have it within arms reach when I'm doing CAD or working in the shop. Along similar lines, a nice auto-punch or scriber is an invaluable tool.

For someone who wants the ultimate luxury for doing design work, I have heard nothing but good reviews on any product from 3D Connexion, they make computer peripherals that help automate and streamline the design process.

This year, I have my eye on one of those newfangled hoodies from VexPro, because they are just plain nice.

[Jon K.]

Originally Posted by pmangels17

For someone who wants the ultimate luxury for doing design work, I have heard nothing but good reviews on any product from 3D Connexion, they make computer peripherals that help automate and streamline the design process.

This! I love having a 3D mouse whenever I am doing design work. I first had one as an intern at my last company, which I continued to use the whole time I was there (about 3 years. They are that solid.) It was the first thing I asked for when I found out I would be doing some design work at AndyMark, and now we have a couple of them in house. The Space Navigator will do almost everything that an FIRST® Robotics Competition student or mentor would need and is around $90. It's a bit pricey, but totally worth it once you get the hang of it. I couldn't imagine doing CAD/CAM work without one now.

[Chief Hedgehog]

I like simple things. Like maybe a key chain made of blue nitrile.

I don't know why, but the smell of blue nitrile relaxes me.