WiFi in pits

[EHaskins]

Has there been an official ruling whether WiFi will be allowed in the pits?

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Has there been an official ruling whether WiFi will be allowed in the pits?

Originally Posted by Update 12

• Two-way radios or other form of wireless communications are not allowed (with the exception of the previous bullet).

No wifi allowed.

[chmconkling]

NO WIFI IN THE PITS
URE WIRELESS INTERNET ON A LAP TOP MUST BE OFF
OR U MAY TEMP LOSE URE LAPTOP

[ZInventor]

Originally Posted by chmconkling

NO WIFI IN THE PITS
URE WIRELESS INTERNET ON A LAP TOP MUST BE OFF
OR U MAY TEMP LOSE URE LAPTOP

says who?

also, that would be illegal, since it's a public event, they cannot confiscate personal computing devices.

also, as it's been said before, WIFI is built to coexist. I've run a test with 400 (yes 400) wifi broadcast points (routers and laptops broadcasting ad-hoc) and there was very little interference... it's called an epic lan-party

also, as it's been said before, cell phones would have to be banned, and did i mention that many PDA-Phones have wifi? so, it seems like it would be hard, if not impossible to stop people from using laptops.

also, by the way,
please, type full words.

L33tsp34k just gets annoying when you are trying to read through a forum.

thanks

[Mr. Freeman]

Originally Posted by ZInventor

also, by the way,
please, type full words.

Also, please refrain from use of the caps lock key.

[dcbrown]

Although WiFi is made to play together, with a new field management system why take the chance that there could be frequency interference of some kind or any kind of digital interference like packet collisions - sure the FMS is using closed computer to computer setup but why take the chance with a new setup? From a debugging standpoint if no one else is using WiFi then any problems encountered - and there have been a few - and you can immediately eliminate any interference due to improper setup or jamming or other random effects. The bug to chase is localized in the FMS somewhere...

[GBIT]

I would assume if it is anything like last year you will need to teather the robot for any testing/running of the robot in the pits....

I will find the rule and site it give me a min...


[EDIT] Found it:
Every team should know, understand, and follow
the safety rules.
• Do not run in the venue.
• Wear closed-toed shoes to protect feet and toes.
• Charge batteries in an open, well-ventilated area. Do not charge near an open flame or
near equipment that may produce sparks. Do not use smoking materials in the battery
charging area. Charge in an upright position. It is not safe to charge the SLA battery in
an inverted position. Should your battery leak, ask the Pit Administration Supervisor for
baking soda to absorb the acid.
• Open flames are not allowed in any of the buildings
• Only the drayage company may handle loading robots in and out.
• Robots may be operated via wireless control only on the competition or practice fields.
• Two-way radios are not allowed.
[/EDIT]


hope that helps

[ATannahill]

Originally Posted by GBIT

I would assume if it is anything like last year you will need to teather the robot for any testing/running of the robot in the pits....

I will find the rule and site it give me a min...

It is in update 12, but I believe he is talking about a wireless network.

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by rtfgnow

It is in update 12, but I believe he is talking about a wireless network.

Yes, I'm taking about for purposes other than robot control.

[Rick Wagner]

Originally Posted by GBIT

• Robots may be operated via wireless control only on the competition or practice fields.

Update 12 amends the rules to prohibit wireless control on practice fields.

[Rick TYler]

Wireless computer network adpaters are radios, and therefore I would think they are forbidden.

[wt200999]

They don't exactly specify if it is meant to be just robot communication. Otherwise things like cell phones would be dis-allowed under this rule...

I think it would not be beneficial to disallow wifi for scouting, pit cast etc...

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by wt200999

They don't exactly specify if it is meant to be just robot communication. Otherwise things like cell phones would be dis-allowed under this rule...

I think it would not be beneficial to disallow wifi for scouting, pit cast etc...

Depends on how tough they are on the "no radios" rule. If they enforce it thoroughly, there would be no cell phones allowed either.

[nathanww]

I believe that cell phones have been technically banned for a while, but almost never enforced(it's hard to do with all the spectators). Anyway...

Is using wifi illegal? Probably, since in previous years radio devices have not been allowed, and those don't even work on the same protocol as the IFI radio modems.

Will using wifi hurt anything? Probably not. Wifi as a standard was built to coexist peacefully with other wifi networks, cordless phones, ,bluetooth systems,microwave ovens, and anything else that uses that part of the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands(and be default wifi systems will find frequencies not already in use). That's not to say some performance degradation won't occur--but from our experiences testing at a school with high levels of wireless traffic, the biggest source of performance degradation is e-noise and shielding problems from your own robot, and everything else is pretty minor.

Will you get caught using wifi in the pits? It depends. If you're hooked up to a robot, you're basically announcing your ID through your SSID and the destination of packets, o you'll be easy to track down. If you're more covert about it(i.e.using a seperate wireless system), the only way to track you will be to home in on the signal, and even this can be defeated, for example, by hopping SSIDs or having a mobile AP.

[Vikesrock]

The bizarre thing about this rule to me is that a number of these venues may have one or more wireless networks in place anyway. I know for a fact that the 10,000 Lakes Regional will have the U of M Wireless network accessible as I was using it from the video drop table last year in Williams Arena.