BOM Info

[nick reynolds]

Could some one post the BOM Information. not every one has Java or some other means to open the down load.
Why do we need to open the files this way any way, why cant we just click on another page where the info is, it makes no sence.

[Jay Lundy]

Well, the BOM is in Adobe Acrobat format, as is the manual and almost every other document FIRST releases.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

[nick reynolds]

Jay. Unfortunatly my putter has a problem and WONT down load Adobe, it just freezes up and I have to re-boot, its old and confused like me.
So if some one could copy and paste to this board I would apreciate it, or email it.
Thanks

[team222badbrad]

This is a Bill of Materials for parts that will be used to build (something) It says something...... that will be part of the 2002 Competition game. All materials listed are available at The Home Depot. FIRST realizes that areas that are heavily populated with teams may need more sources than just The Home Depot, so shop around.

As always, to add a little more suspense, this may or may not be a complete list of parts.

Looks like FIRST does not want us to figure out what IT is.
Did you notice how they have Accessories (but really important accessories) on the bom.. lol There obviously some sort of plywood base (maybe even more that one) with casters like the goals from last year. With some sort of jail type compartment in the middle. FIRST purposely left out all of the elbows so we could not figure it all out. I personally think there is 2 of these thingies.
Any guesses to what it might be???????????????????

Oh and yes there has to be some sort of carpeted flooring, propably the usual rectangle.


http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/doc_updt.htm

Brad

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by nick reynolds

Why do we need to open the files this way any way, why cant we just click on another page where the info is, it makes no sence.

While it wasn't really a requirement based on the information in the BoM, I do understand why FIRST chooses the PDF format for distributing the manual. The compression is awesome, and it allows them to ensure that every person who opens the file will be seeing the same thing. With any other program, even Word or Excel, if the fonts, or program settings, or just about anything, are not exactly the same, things can be thrown way off...

[Jon Lawton]

Originally posted by Nate Smith


While it wasn't really a requirement based on the information in the BoM, I do understand why FIRST chooses the PDF format for distributing the manual. The compression is awesome, and it allows them to ensure that every person who opens the file will be seeing the same thing. With any other program, even Word or Excel, if the fonts, or program settings, or just about anything, are not exactly the same, things can be thrown way off...

Meh... they could use .ps But seriously, I'd have to agree that .pdf is the most "universal" format when it comes to the windows and macintosh platforms.

[nick reynolds]

Thank you all for the quantifying the use of PDF Files and adobe but could some body PLEEEEEEEEEEEEESE Post the BOM on a regular format that I can read on this site or email it.
Thank You.
nick921@hotmail.com

[Nate Smith]

Consider it done...just go here...

http://www.provide.net/~crazynate/earlyBOM.htm

[nick reynolds]

By George I think I have it. Have we all forgotten that each year the new game has some thing improved from the year prior.
1999 we had a puck that moved and we had to climb on it.
2000 We had a ramp that we had to climb on and a bar to hang from.
2001 We had a ramp that we had to climb on and a teeter totter to balance. Last year we had some thing that was a great disapointment to it use with F.I.R.S.T. The Stretcher was not a great success as it was hardly used. The paint is for the Stretcher as they will all be uniform.
The PVC I believe will be for an obstacle Course. The angle Iron is for protection of the Ply wood stretcher so the wood is not splintered from use. The BOM List is not complete and I think we will find hanging there some where is Bar, Goal or Hopper.
This is just a guess but by golly I bet im close. Look at the BOM again.
Nick 237


Life is like a Train, There are Leaders and Followers. Will you be the Engine or the Caboose. ChooChoo. There again theres the chance of freight.

[mehtank]

Originally posted by Nate Smith


While it wasn't really a requirement based on the information in the BoM, I do understand why FIRST chooses the PDF format for distributing the manual. The compression is awesome, and it allows them to ensure that every person who opens the file will be seeing the same thing. With any other program, even Word or Excel, if the fonts, or program settings, or just about anything, are not exactly the same, things can be thrown way off...

but the manual, and updates, and most everything else is pretty much just text... with that, i don't really see the benefit to using pdf. plaintext will be much smaller, i guarantee, and its completely universal. sure, for the diagrams and all, pdf is fine, but where its not needed, can't they just go with text to make it easier for us? or if you insist on fancy formatting or whatever, i'm sure it wouldn't be that much more difficult to html-ize it. how crucial is it that everyone read it in the same font?

-ANkuR
minimalism.

[Nate Smith]

Originally posted by mehtank


sure, for the diagrams and all, pdf is fine, but where its not needed, can't they just go with text to make it easier for us? or if you insist on fancy formatting or whatever, i'm sure it wouldn't be that much more difficult to html-ize it. how crucial is it that everyone read it in the same font?

A few reasons why I think that the PDF choice is better than using something like plain text:

-It allows FIRST to do a straight conversion from the actual working document that they send to the printers for the hard copy manual to what they give us in digital form, without having to worry about "OK, this section is all text, so let's make that one format X, but this section has all these diagrams in it, so let's make that format Y" Converting a document to Acrobat format is as easy as selecting a different printer in the program you're using.

-It allows FIRST, in the updates, to refer to something that was said in a previous document as "rule M14 on page XXX," allowing us to find what they are referring to much faster than having to read through the entire section that rule M14 is in, looking for the right page.

-Other possible formats pose their own problems. For example, even the "plain text" format has differences, depending on what platform you are using. For example, in a MS-DOS/Windows system, a end of line in plain text is denoted as ASCII characters 13 and 10(carriage return and line feed). In Macintosh and Unix systems(at least some of them), one of those two characters(I think the line feed) is left out. So, if you were to choose to use a MS-DOS "plain text" format, Mac and Unix users would have an extra line between each actual line of text. If you were to use a Mac text format, Windows or DOS users would see it as one continuous line. And while there are ways of denoting a page break in plain text, not all programs will recognize that notation when printing the file.

-Even something such as HTML poses its own problems. Putting aside the conversion issues mentioned above(not knowing what program FIRST is using to create the documents on their end, I can't say how easy it would be to convert the entire document, graphics and all,) what browsers do we want to support? Unless you design everything in HTML 1.0(which means no table support I believe), you run the risk of certain browsers not being able to view the page correctly. And if you say "designed for Browser X," you're back at the same problem we are now with Acrobat.

Also, a side note on the BOM. While I was temporarily unable to download the newest version of Acrobat Reader, I found an old 3.0 copy of Reader on one of the many CDs that I had laying around. It opened and printed the file without any problems. Version 3.0 is back from when Adobe was still releasing a 16-bit version for those who had not yet upgraded to Win9x. I would be very surprised if I could find a machine that would not run this program. I have a 133-MHz machine here, with 8MB RAM and Win98, that is able to open the file without any major problems, as long as I don't have anything else running.

Is PDF the perfect solution? I highly doubt it. Is it one of the best, considering the amount and type of data that is used? Based on what I've seen, I'd have to say so...

[mpking]

Nate covered nearly everything.
There is one last point, that I feel pretty confident doesn't apply to us, but it's worth mentioning.

-Security. Once released in PDF format, you cannot (without exterordinary measures) change the wording of the text unless your the author.

[Ryan Curry]

Hey,
I was copying the BoM into Excel. As i did this, i noticed an error in the BoM. For the steel angle, it says Quantity: 4 and Unit Price is $4.98. The final cost for 4 of these should be $19.92, however it is listed as $33. Simple mistake, or does that mean they might have the wrong quantity?

[Tom Fairchild]

Quite a theory you got there Ryan. Can't wait to see how it pans out on the 5th!

~Tom Fairchild~, who's really paranoid and thinks that FIRST did it on purpose for smart guys like Ryan to pick up on.