[DFTF] Control System Limbo...

[Joe Johnson]

This is part of a series of posts called Drinking From The Firehose on getting Dr Joe back up to speed on All Things FIRST.

Today's topic:
Control System Limbo...

Okay, I hate whiny posts but I guess I don't hate them enough not to do it myself (everyone should follow the golden rule... ...except me). I will try to keep the whine factor as low as I can.

As you all have gathered, I am a rookie again. I finally got the school administration to cut loose enough money to allow me to have our team build a practice chassis (it is going to be a swerver -- yeah, I know I should go for something less aggressive, but sometimes you've got to go big or go home ... and the design has baked in fall back positions so I am not betting the farm on the chassis doing the crab walk... ...but I digress).

BUT... ...as ya'll know from reading Bill's Blog, you (we) can no longer order cRIO FRC1s. Fine. You can order cRIO FRC2s. Okay so far. But... ...they are simply expensive paperweights until kickoff when FIRST publishes the firmware.

Bottom line. There is no way for a rookie team to obtain a new cRIO that they can use to program a practice robot prior to the FIRST season.

Without putting too fine a point on it. This stinks and is yet another reason FIRST needs to have more people with team experience calling the shots.

So... ...here is the point of this post.

What should I do? Should i buy a Vex controller? Should I try to buy or borrow a cRIO FRC1? Should I just roll my own controller?

Advice is welcome.

Joe J.