Broken parts

[benandjerry]

Hello,

We are a 2007 FRC rookie team and are in need of advice. We broke our robot controller's serial port (it's been dislocated from the board).

We went to Radio shack and bought replacement serial ports (both the male and female connectors for the robot receiver as well as the controller board), but does attempting to fix the parts ourselves void any warranties that come with the IFI Robotics parts?

Should we just send the parts to IFI Robotics, or should we try to fix it ourselves?

[Andrew Blair]

Opening the case will void the warranty. If you can afford the $150 to send the thing back and get it fixed properly, by all means do so. It'll be less hassle at this point in the game, and no risk! We've gone this way before.

However, I do know that teams have repaired this port in the past, and the internals of the RC make it relatively easy to do so. But, it will be nearly impossible to attach it in the original fashion- teams typically just run a little cable out and let it flop.

Warning- I don't know how well the team repaired Rc's pass inspection. That could be an issue later on.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Andrew Blair

Warning- I don't know how well the team repaired Rc's pass inspection. That could be an issue later on.

I know for sure: it won't pass. For reference, <R65>:

<R65> The control system is provided to allow wireless control of the ROBOTS. The Operator
Interface, Robot Controller, speed controllers, relay modules, radio modems, batteries,
battery charger, AC adapter, and 9-pin cables can not be tampered with, modified, or
adjusted in any way, (tampering includes drilling, cutting, machining, gluing, rewiring, etc.)
with the following exceptions:
 Dip switches on the Operator Interface may be set as appropriate.
 User programmable code in the Robot Controller may be customized.
 Speed controllers may be calibrated as described in owner's manuals.
 The fuse on the Spike relay for the air compressor may be replaced with a 20 Amp Snap-
Action circuit breaker.

To become legal, you would be required to check out a loaner Robot Controller from the IFI rep at the event (bear in mind, spares are sometimes limited), re-download your code to the new unit, and connect the spare to everything else on your robot. Then, at the end of the event, you'd return the unit to the Spare Parts table lest someone's credit card get charged a few hundred dollars.

You've got a little over three weeks to ship day--I'd recommend calling IFI on Monday morning and seeing what they can do for you.