New engineer, need to know the basics....

[65_Xero_Huskie]

if you can look up seminars of kickoffs or anything like that, they will help you alot. (Patton/Copioli is my fav, but i might be biased)
Also, this website is the NUMBER ONE resource about FIRST, all you have to do is ask and your answer will be granted.

[Billfred]

Other things I've learned over the years:

1) If it's possible, get to events. Sometimes, just looking at robots in action does a world of good. (I never fully understood the power of four-bar linkages until I saw 1902 in action this year.)

2) Keep a camera handy. If you come across something and think "Hey, this could be handy for something", snap a picture. I did that the first Saturday in build while doing my next point:

3) Know what's in your area. In the case of 1618 last year, our options for materials were to find it in the room, get it at the little True Value up the road, get it at Lowe's further down the road in the other direction, or get it online. I walked the entirety of the local Lowe's, just to know what's around. While it's nice to be able to get stuff off of McMaster-Carr, it's even nicer to be able to run to the store, get the part, and not have to wait until the next meeting to get it. (Time is one of your resources. Treasure it.)

4) Pick the brain of anybody you can. There are a lot of people out there who've been in this competition far longer than I have, and they've got a lot of knowledge. Whether it's in the pits, over dinner, or even standing in the middle of a street at 4:00 in the morning*, listen to these folks. Quite often, it will be to your benefit.

*No, I'm not kidding.

[Doug G]

Get practice learning things which you thought you'd never need to know. Every team needs a few folks that "won't drop the ball", "pick up the slack", and all those other proverbial sayings. And if your the Chief Engineer, then that's you. I like what Don said....
1) Find the Robot Rules from last year. Get used to finding out where documents are, doing searches and such.
2) Find something within those Rules that you don't understand, say maybe how to connect the Power Distribution Block. Then search these forums, FIRST forums, and the updates to get an answer.
3) Repeat step 2 over and over with other items (pnuematics, electrical, mechanical)
4) Read every thread by Al Skierkiewicz.
5) Repeat step 2 again.

Learning to be a quick learner is what you will need to be good at, and is a pretty important life/academic skill. Have some fun along the way and don't overly stress about the robot not working perfectly and find a team in your area and get their cell phone # - most are very willing to help answer questions and can save you time.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by 65_Xero_Huskie

Also, this website is the NUMBER ONE resource about FIRST, all you have to do is ask and your answer will be granted.

Although, please try to be specific about what you ask for (The first post in this thread is a very good example ). It makes a life a lot easier for those attempting to answer your question.

[JesseK]

I would say that the first thing to do is to go to a local event with a camera, or visit a couple of local teams to ask questions. Make sure you take a couple of other students with you for more sets of eyes and ideas. Cool thing about FIRST competitions, most of the time teams have no problem explaining the complexities and design considerations they underwent in order to make the machine you're looking at. Will you use everything you learn? Definitely not, but it helps having it as a resource.

Definitely know the rules like the back of your hand. They have to be taken into consideration with most every detail of the design. Things like cut-off switches mounted near chains will fail inspection, so there are some gotchas even after the rules. Seeing another well-designed robot will help you gain experience in those areas.

Start learning how drive trains work and the importance of a GOOD drive train. "Defensive" teams can do 1 simple thing very well (e.g. ramps in 2007), play defense for the rest of the game, and STILL get to the same levels of competition that a more exotic team can get to.

[Alan Anderson]

Anna, you are going to attend the Battle at the Border with the rest of your team, right? Get to know some of the veteran teams there, and let them know that you're looking for guidance.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Anna, you are going to attend the Battle at the Border with the rest of your team, right? Get to know some of the veteran teams there, and let them know that you're looking for guidance.

Also make sure your team is tied in with Team San Diego. This is a network of teams in the San Diego area. The guy here on CD you really want to talk to is Jon Jack (that's his CD screen name). He knows everything there is to know about FIRST in the San Diego area. Search Members for him and it will help you get in contact.

Also I've heard that some teams may be bringing extra robots to Battle for pre-rookies to play with. But in that case you will want to make arrangements in advance if possible.

[dgonza36502]

I'm not an engineer, just an animation and website mentor, but I would suggest that you have fun with this, don't stress and hopefully the lightbulb will light above your head( as in Eureka!!!!)lol. I know my first competition was stressful initially, but after seeking help and advice here at Chief Delphi life became so much easier...