[BB] FIRST Choice, Second Year!

[Mark McLeod]

You remember correctly, (2) batteries were one of the possible selections last year.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Not to mention the spending war that seemed to erupt once teams knew sub 2 second minibots were possible...

I thought we knew that from simple physics on day one.

Anyhow, back to the thread. It's nice to see FIRST Choice back.

EDIT: Maybe not day one. I think we didn't have motor specs until later. It's all becoming a blur now.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I thought we knew that from simple physics on day one.

Anyhow, back to the thread. It's nice to see FIRST Choice back.

Agreed, depending on which spec was accurate, and how much friction existed, our calcs put a minibot at about .7-.8s on the pole. Our minibot was champs was about 1 second dead on including deployment, so the theoretical number was pretty close to actual.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Am I mistaken, or were Batteries available via FIRST Choice last year?

Yes, but they were offered with a caution: They were 2 years old and hadn't been maintained. Lead-Acid batteries don't like that much, and so they were likely in mediocre condition. OK for testing or cart lighting, but not for competition.
I would imagine/speculate that the batteries will be the same as always for 2012.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Yes, but they were offered with a caution: They were 2 years old and hadn't been maintained. Lead-Acid batteries don't like that much, and so they were likely in mediocre condition. OK for testing or cart lighting, but not for competition.
I would imagine/speculate that the batteries will be the same as always for 2012.

Don, I didn't remember the two year old part... Haha.

I'm just looking to avoid a 2007 (I think that was the year) when the batteries changed from one model to another leaving teams like 816 with two competition batteries and a half dozen batteries that were only good for practice and charging our pneumatics.

[Flalex72]

AndyMark has the public page up for viewing.

http://www.andymark.com/FIRST-Choice-Public-s/411.htm

Can someone confirm if those Rockwell parts were on the list from the first game hint? There's lots of interesting stuff, the question is how much of it will we be able to get, and how the credit system will work.

[avanboekel]

The chassis lift kit is interesting. could mean some sort of uneven terrain... Was it available last year?

What's with all the "parts details to be released later"? Is there something on that list that'll ruin it for us? And by ruin it, I mean that in a good way.

[Ankit S.]

I don't believe the chassis lift kits were available last year...

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by avanboekel

The chassis lift kit is interesting. could mean some sort of uneven terrain... Was it available last year?

It appears to be the same as the brackets used in 2010, down to the description: "4 Wheel Brackets from the 2010 C-Base System."

Originally Posted by BeltSanderRocks

What are all these "Part Details Released Later" for? Game related objects, or items they haven't been able to procure yet, so they don't want to put it in the list for fears of never being able to receive them?

My hunch is on objects that are game-specific enough that FIRST didn't want them shared. By withholding their listing entirely, a team could see the listings and say "Oh, nothing we need, rolling on..."--with those listings, enough mystery is there to make folks come back after Kickoff and claim their stuff.

[Ankit S.]

Originally Posted by Billfred

It appears to be the same as the brackets used in 2010, down to the description: "4 Wheel Brackets from the 2010 C-Base System."

Wasn't there some problem with those that year? I wasn't there myself, but I remember my team members telling me that they would warp or something like that...

Anyways, if its the same thing from 2010, does this mean next years chassis will be the same as 2010's? (which I believe was the same as last years).

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by BeltSanderRocks

Wasn't there some problem with those that year? I wasn't there myself, but i remember my team members telling me that they would warp or something like that...

Anyways, if its the same thing from 2010, does this mean next years chassis will be the same as 2010's? (which I believe was the same as last years).

None of my teams past or present used them in 2010, but there were some reports of the brackets inducing enough flex to throw chains. I'm not familiar enough with them to call a root cause. Still, their presence is interesting to me...

Originally Posted by BeltSanderRocks

Wasn't there some problem with those that year? I wasn't there myself, but I remember my team members telling me that they would warp or something like that...

Anyways, if its the same thing from 2010, does this mean next years chassis will be the same as 2010's? (which I believe was the same as last years).

There's a decent chance the kitbot chassis will be the same as last years. I don't think it's changed majorly for while now, though I may be wrong.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by BeltSanderRocks

Wasn't there some problem with those that year? I wasn't there myself, but I remember my team members telling me that they would warp or something like that...

Anyways, if its the same thing from 2010, does this mean next years chassis will be the same as 2010's? (which I believe was the same as last years).

These brackets mean one or many of many things:
(A) AndyMark had a ton to get rid of and thought teams might like these.
(B) The GDC is planning increasing the bumper height again.
(C) The field will have some sort of terrain like 2010.
(D) Really anything else.

The extrusion profiles are very interesting as well. Kind of a spin off 8020, but they'd be much more appealing if their profiles weren't entirely metric.

- Sunny G.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

These brackets mean one or many of many things:
(A) AndyMark had a ton to get rid of and thought teams might like these.
(B) The GDC is planning increasing the bumper height again.
(C) The field will have some sort of terrain like 2010.
(D) Really anything else.

The extrusion profiles are very interesting as well. Kind of a spin off 8020, but they'd be much more appealing if their profiles weren't entirely metric.

- Sunny G.

I think A is the correct option. You don't have to use them on the drivetrain, you know. They could be used as pivot points elsewhere on the robot.

I would be highly surprised if AM knew anything about the game more than what FIRST chooses to tell them so that items can be stocked for FIRST Choice (or otherwise be set up, like in 2009 with the wheels). And I'd be willing to bet that FIRST doesn't tell them very much that they don't think AM absolutely needs to know.