SLU-70 Lugs

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by gburlison

I still have not seen a satisfactory explaination as to why they were required this year.

The word from FIRST (unofficially) is that lacking a donor who would supply 1000+ crimpers for #6 wire and the associated terminals to be included in kits, it is and was necessary to find a cheap alternative. Given that rookies and veterans alike have a hard time with the #6 termination, this connector was chosen for it's ease of use, price and availability. What was most surprising is the sheer number of teams who did not read the rules and were required to change the connectors at competition. At the Championship alone, Spare Parts ran out of all their inventory by 1 or 2 o'clock on practice/inspection day. This after weeks of regionals and repeated reminders here and from FIRST that the SLU was required. If you know of a supplier/manufacturer would be willing to step forward with a crimper and terminals for next year's KOP please put them in touch with FIRST.

BTW, I have our students insert a star washer between the wire terminal and the battery terminal. This simple addition will bite through any surface corrosion to give a low resistance connection and it prevents the terminals from sliding past each other and loosening. Add the appropriate locking hardware and the connections will never come apart.