[FRC Blog] FIRST Choice Round 2!

[SoftwareBug2.0]

I don't understand why they would have a week for window shopping during build season. This seems like an unnecessary delay. With the given calendar I wouldn't expect to see anything arrive until two weeks after kickoff.

In the offseason time doesn't really matter but if I'm trying to get something during the build season an extra week of lead time is killer. Give people a day and a half to look at things and call it good.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by SoftwareBug2.0

I don't understand why they would have a week for window shopping during build season. This seems like an unnecessary delay. With the given calendar I wouldn't expect to see anything arrive until two weeks after kickoff.

In the offseason time doesn't really matter but if I'm trying to get something during the build season an extra week of lead time is killer. Give people a day and a half to look at things and call it good.

Because not all teams meet every day. Some teams only meet on the weekends.

[Joe G.]

Curious whether quantity limits on some items (like those 4,751 available victors) will be relaxed for the second round.

[mman1506]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Because not all teams meet every day. Some teams only meet on the weekends.

During the season? Wouldn't those teams have some other method of communicating between meetings? I really doubt a team could field any sort of a effective robot in 12 days of work.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by mman1506

During the season? Wouldn't those teams have some other method of communicating between meetings? I really doubt a team could field any sort of a competitive robot in 12 days of work.

I never said competitive.

[mman1506]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I never said competitive.

Sorry, I meant to say effective.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by mman1506

During the season? Wouldn't those teams have some other method of communicating between meetings? I really doubt a team could field any sort of a competitive robot in 12 days of work.

You'd be surprised at how many teams out there only work 5-10 hours a week. There are definitely greatly varying levels of team involvement in FRC.

[markmcgary]

Originally Posted by Karthik

You'd be surprised at how many teams out there only work 5-10 hours a week.

That was our rookie season.

[mman1506]

Originally Posted by Karthik

You'd be surprised at how many teams out there only work 5-10 hours a week. There are definitely greatly varying levels of team involvement in FRC.

For sure, I just expect most teams to have some sort of alternative communication. When we used to work 5 hours a week (and our robots reflected that) FIRST choice could still be sorted out with a couple of emails. It's not as if you miss the due date you are out of luck, traditional ordering is still available.

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Because not all teams meet every day. Some teams only meet on the weekends.

The scheduled open date is noon on kickoff. Surely teams meet sometime in the day and a half after that.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by SoftwareBug2.0

The scheduled open date is noon on kickoff. Surely teams meet sometime in the day and a half after that.

You would like to make that assumption. It's not always true.

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

You would like to make that assumption. It's not always true.

Sure, with ~2900 teams the number is probably greater than 0. But how many do you think there are? And is it worth holding everyone else up?

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by SoftwareBug2.0

Sure, with ~2900 teams the number is probably greater than 0. But how many do you think there are? And is it worth holding everyone else up?

Yes, yes it is. If the system doesn't work for everyone, it is broken. I bet you will be able to buy whatever you need from AM the day of kickoff if a week's delay won't work for you.

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

Yes, yes it is. If the system doesn't work for everyone, it is broken. I bet you will be able to buy whatever you need from AM the day of kickoff if a week's delay won't work for you.

My concern is not so much for my own team. I have the luxury of being able to overnight random parts if needed. But if a team were a little more resource constrained they might hold up some part of their build waiting for a part from FIRST Choice.

I don't really get your argument that no team should be left behind. Wasn't it like 1/3 of teams didn't bother to submit a priority list the first time?

[Oblarg]

I don't think any team is going to have their build held up waiting for FIRST Choice, to be honest. Or, rather, no team should have their build held up waiting for FIRST Choice. FIRST Choice is a somewhat random selection of items that happen to have been donated this year, with no guarantee that you will get the item you want. It is not a standardized set of parts that a team can or should design around.

If your team has such limited resources that you need a part from FIRST Choice to complete your build, you should probably rethink what you're building, and rethink your design process - there's plenty a team can do with a kitbot and some improvised materials (I recall hearing of a fairly successful drive-base-and-lawnchair robot last year...).

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that the robot in question was not a kitbot drive - regardless, the point remains (basically) intact. Corrected post to reflect this.