Ruling for what defines being at the auto-loader

[Andrew Schuetze]

I have not sat down and spent hours reading all of the rules. Is there a definition of what qualifies as being at the auto load station? You are allowed to load one tetra at a time. Stands to reason that one could back away and return for a second before heading out to score goals. Is there any language that details what qualifies for not being at the station and for how long before a tetra is replaced at the station? Would it get replaced if a sufficiently long enough arm retrieved one, capped a goal and then retrieved a second tetra without moving the robot from it's location some distance away from the station which would not be considered "at the station"?

Thanks in advance to those who point me to quotes from the 2005 handbook.

[pakrat]

umm, i dont have the handbook with me, ill reply again once i find that rule.

But i know that its something along the klines of you have to be touching the tringal in front of the auto loader.

And naturally, of course you can pull off multiple tetras before going off to score them, thats the whole concept behind the tetra spitter!

the rules dont seem to specify, sorry.

[Joe Ross]

The rules do not specify what is in the auto-loader. However, the Q/A specifies the the robot must be touching the autoloading zone.

[dlavery]

Asked and answered in this thread. Please search first.

[Andrew Schuetze]

Originally Posted by dlavery

Asked and answered in this thread. Please search first.

That certianly answers my last question if a 'bot could be some distance away from the load zone. My initial question was seeking some guidance on the cycle time for reload. Maybe there cannot be an answer until the game is played at each regional and it will be at judgement call of the field attendant as to whether a robot has "left" the zone and will refill the station.

As I read the ruling, a robot could drive up to the zone but not be on the spot, deploy a pneumatic outrigger and then be "IN" the zone and load a tetra, then retract the mechanism and await the refill, then repeat steps....