[FTC]: Edison Division replaying a ton of matches today.

[JohnFogarty]

This comes from the words of John Tobes and Micheal Coleman.

There is a very consistent problem with NXT lock-ups which are always caused by static arcing.
Micheal was explaining to me FIRST was running some tests on a NXT lockup issue they have where the NXT completely freezes where there was no drop in voltage or Samantha module disconnect.
This happens when a 8000v~ or higher discharge occurs on the Tetrix Motor Controllers.
There was a discharge/ground cable that was given to us at championship and because it wasn't enforced both sides either using it or not experienced problems.
The people who did use it were at a high state of ground than the people who were not therefore when robots collided with the field or other robots that were charged all the energy was then discharged onto the grounded robot.

[aklego]

Originally Posted by John_1102

This comes from the words of John Tobes and Micheal Coleman.

There is a very consistent problem with NXT lock-ups which are always caused by static arcing.
Micheal was explaining to me FIRST was running some tests on a NXT lockup issue they have where the NXT completely freezes where there was no drop in voltage or Samantha module disconnect.
This happens when a 8000v~ or higher discharge occurs on the Tetrix Motor Controllers.
There was a discharge/ground cable that was given to us at championship and because it wasn't enforced both sides either using it or not experienced problems.
The people who did use it were at a high state of ground than the people who were not therefore when robots collided with the field or other robots that were charged all the energy was then discharged onto the grounded robot.

This is VERY interesting. Do you, by chance, have any more information/photos of the ground cable?

[Shof]

Originally Posted by aklego

This is VERY interesting. Do you, by chance, have any more information/photos of the ground cable?

i too will like more info on this cable

[Coach Doug]

The ground cable was nothing more than a wire ( 18 gauge maybe? ) that grounded the chassis to ground ( bare wire on chassis and stripped/bare wire dragging on mat ).

I know from our robot we would get shocked during practice - i believe the theory was to help save samantha.

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by Coach Doug

The ground cable was nothing more than a wire ( 18 gauge maybe? ) that grounded the chassis to ground ( bare wire on chassis and stripped/bare wire dragging on mat ).

I know from our robot we would get shocked during practice - i believe the theory was to help save samantha.

The "Ground the frame" theory is OK, but that assumes that it's the robot that is charged up, and not the person. Since the electronics are isolated from the frame, I guess I don't see how grounding the frame helps. My experience is that any sparks were usually between the frame and the person. Not sure how the ground wire protects the Samantha module.

On our robot, most (if not all) of the wiring is shrouded by metal or Poly. It's almost impossible to touch the electronics without first touching the frame. I think this offers more protection than just grounding the frame. It

I also noticed that a LOT of the robots that HAD attached the grounding strap had passed over obstacles, so the strap was no longer touching the ground. I guess that's why they use chains on busses.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

I also noticed that a LOT of the robots that HAD attached the grounding strap had passed over obstacles, so the strap was no longer touching the ground. I guess that's why they use chains on buses.

Phil, I'm sure you're aware that the real purpose of the chains hanging from buses and pickups is to attach the Faraday cage to the earth via the Tesla Effect, which prevents the Psi Wave Detectors in the black helicopters from reading your thoughts.

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Phil, I'm sure you're aware that the real purpose of the chains hanging from buses and pickups is to attach the Faraday cage to the earth via the Tesla Effect, which prevents the Psi Wave Detectors in the black helicopters from reading your thoughts.

Ahhh. I always wondered about those black helicopters.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Phil, I'm sure you're aware that the real purpose of the chains hanging from buses and pickups is to attach the Faraday cage to the earth via the Tesla Effect, which prevents the Psi Wave Detectors in the black helicopters from reading your thoughts.

._. I knew it.......