Who's Blue? Who's Red?

[jjv]

Who told you that? EL lighting has been used by several teams in previous years, and it has always fallen under the legal heading of "non-functional decorations" I cannot find anything in the rules that prevent it from being used this year. Team 116 is using it in their OI this year.[/quote]


I asked FIRST on the Q&A system.
Actually, i guess I asked about extra LED's, but I assumed that the response would be the same...


Q: Is it permitted to connect additional LEDs to the Team Color LED's, as long as the proper colors are used, i.e., strips of red or blue to increase team visibility?

A: No.

[Elgin Clock]

Ha Ha!! TireFlys!! Classic. I remember a couple summers ago when those little doo-dads were on just about every car I drove, and a few of my friends car's as well!!

Thanks for the inside info into this situation Dave. The world is about checks and balances and time contraints, so I'm glad I was not like every one else in this thread and jump the gun and post negatively about the LED's till I found out the story behind them.

That said - The only suggestion I have for the LED's is to make them blink just a bit faster when they are on the playing field and are controlled by the system. They seem to blink slower on the playing field than when in the pits or during testing off the field while under tether.

Thanks to the folks at Innovation FIRST for coming through for us once again. That is one the reason for their award last year in Houston. They are always there for FIRST no matter how much of a deadline they may be under!

[Yan Wang]

It may be hard for spectators to see which teams each robot belongs to... but for the drivers, I think they should know exactly who their alliance partner is and exactly what their robot looks like. You shouldn't have to look at for a light during a match to know who you're with and who you're matched against. Go scout them beforehand.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by jjv

I asked FIRST on the Q&A system.
Actually, i guess I asked about extra LED's, but I assumed that the response would be the same...


Q: Is it permitted to connect additional LEDs to the Team Color LED's, as long as the proper colors are used, i.e., strips of red or blue to increase team visibility?

A: No.

I think this is of you asking a very specific question, and then generalizing the answer. I beleive the reason they said no to you is not because you can't have extra LEDs on your robot, but because you can't hook those LEDs up to the same place as the team color LEDs. See this response also:

ID: 516 Section: 5.2.10 Status: Answered Date Answered: 2/5/2004
Q: Can LEDs be classified as "nonfunctional decoration"? If so, are they exempt from the $200 limit on electronic components. Furthermore, can an entire array of LEDs all run on the same circuit breaker?

A: Yes as long as they are truly decorative and not informative.

[pi_guy578]

Originally Posted by jjv

We wanted (FIRST said no) to run red and blue EL wires up our arms and around our chassis, and connect to the LED's, so that when we were red, the red wires would light up, and vice versa. Not only would it be easier to tell, it would look cool.

Also, I don't think the LED output connectors are ment to supply more power than is required by the LEDs. i.e. run it off the circuit breaker instead of taking power from the RC...

Thanks for the info on the LED's, and thanks to Innovation First for coming through! I didn't mean to be negative; I was just interested in people's thoughts on how well they worked. I think it's hard to beat the old strobes for visibility. I agree that if they blinked faster they'd be easier to see.

[jjv]

Originally Posted by pi_guy578

Also, I don't think the LED output connectors are ment to supply more power than is required by the LEDs. i.e. run it off the circuit breaker instead of taking power from the RC...

true, but it would still need to be connected to the leds to determine which color... yes, i know we could put a color sensor in to determine that, but it wasn't a priority...

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

I think this is of you asking a very specific question, and then generalizing the answer. I beleive the reason they said no to you is not because you can't have extra LEDs on your robot, but because you can't hook those LEDs up to the same place as the team color LEDs. See this response also:

My team asked this question and we basically built a panel of LEDs ourselves. We didn't connect the LED panels to the team leds but had them controlled by the software.

Unforunately, we never had time to connect the LEDs to the robot