Brand New Team

[Otaku]

Welcome to FIRST.

I'll say this:

I'm alright at designing and building robots (my team, as a whole, built a strong, meaty robot last year that was good, although not without it's issues) and I'll be willing to help you out if you want. Shoot me a PM or an email (preferably an email as I don't check CD all that often) if you want some of my help regarding chassis-s or drivetrains.

Cheers,
Mike Baker

[MiniNerd24]

Hi Welcome to FIRST
I guarantee that you will have a great time

[TheKing]

whats up guys sorry have been busy! so i was posting.

I went to the kick-off and wow overdrive seems real hard (mostly because it my first year) but guys so you should expect this i have some questions?

1. First of all is that guys if we made a robot which could hold one ball and still move one around would that be cool? what i mean is like say were a blue bot and we grab and capture a red ball on top of our bot then we keeping moving and push a blue one would that be against the rules because from what i saw it isn't so if you know could you please tell me! SO BASICALLY- is there a rule or how many track balls your robot can hold or move at once?

2.is there any rule for how many arms a robot can have?

3.Is there a rule for how many balls you can move at once?

4.What kind of wheels or wheel drive will give top speed and control? and what kind of control is best to use with it?

________________________

I post pics up latter by guys!

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by TheKing

whats up guys sorry have been busy! so i was posting.

I went to the kick-off and wow overdrive seems real hard (mostly because it my first year) but guys so you should expect this i have some questions?

1. First of all is that guys if we made a robot which could hold one ball and still move one around would that be cool? what i mean is like say were a blue bot and we grab and capture a red ball on top of our bot then we keeping moving and push a blue one would that be against the rules because from what i saw it isn't so if you know could you please tell me! SO BASICALLY- is there a rule or how many track balls your robot can hold or move at once?

2.is there any rule for how many arms a robot can have?

3.Is there a rule for how many balls you can move at once?

4.What kind of wheels or wheel drive will give top speed and control? and what kind of control is best to use with it?

________________________

I post pics up latter by guys!

1. Read the game rules, it's outlined pretty well.

2. Not that I know of. Just size & weight limitations.

3. Read the game rules.

4. Depends, really. Roughtop tread is good for traction, but you also need to keep in mind gear ratios. 8:1 through 4:1 is ideal for Overdrive. You don't need a lot of pushing power. so something relatively smooth with rounded corners will work well, methinks.

[SteveGPage]

Welcome to FIRST!

Assuming that your team will participate at the Garden State Regional, I look forward to meeting you and your team there! Give us a shout if you need any help in the next 6 weeks - or during the regional itself! We would be more than happy to help!

Good Luck!

[RyanCesiel]

Good to hear from a rookie team, you've come to the right spot for help.

If you still need help designing/setting up your website, I may be able to help. I designed and maintain AdamBots.com. Just send me a PM, I may also be able to help you with hosting your website.

[TheKing]

Originally Posted by Otaku

1. Read the game rules, it's outlined pretty well.

2. Not that I know of. Just size & weight limitations.

3. Read the game rules.

4. Depends, really. Roughtop tread is good for traction, but you also need to keep in mind gear ratios. 8:1 through 4:1 is ideal for Overdrive. You don't need a lot of pushing power. so something relatively smooth with rounded corners will work well, methinks.

sorry was so busy forgot to read the manual half way through started at like 3 a.m thank you. but do you know what the average pushing power of the robots from the KOP are??

Originally Posted by SteveGPage

Welcome to FIRST!

Assuming that your team will participate at the Garden State Regional, I look forward to meeting you and your team there! Give us a shout if you need any help in the next 6 weeks - or during the regional itself! We would be more than happy to help!

Good Luck!

cool thank you hope to see there to.

Originally Posted by RyanCesiel

Good to hear from a rookie team, you've come to the right spot for help.

If you still need help designing/setting up your website, I may be able to help. I designed and maintain AdamBots.com. Just send me a PM, I may also be able to help you with hosting your website.

Thank you so much the site you made looks awesome look forward to some help. (not that i ain't getting allot already just thank you to)

[Wetzel]

Read the rules. Then read them again. All of them, from the game to the robot to the tournament. Knowing the rules inside and out is hugely important. Trust me on this.

Wetzel

[KathieK]

Like it's been said, read the manual. All of it. Make several copies and put them into binders so that your team has access to them. Read the updates, which are released throughout the week and posted to the FIRST website. Update your manual binders with the Updates. Read the Q&A forums. If you want official answers, post the questions to the Q&A (AFTER reading through them to see if someone else has already asked), not here on CD. Our answers may be great, but they are unofficial.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by TheKing

1. First of all is that guys if we made a robot which could hold one ball and still move one around would that be cool? what i mean is like say were a blue bot and we grab and capture a red ball on top of our bot then we keeping moving and push a blue one would that be against the rules because from what i saw it isn't so if you know could you please tell me! SO BASICALLY- is there a rule or how many track balls your robot can hold or move at once?

This creates 2 penalties. I'm sure you can find them when you read the rules.

3.Is there a rule for how many balls you can move at once?

Depends on how you move them. Might be 1, might be 4.

[TheKing]

SO yeah i check the rules your bot should at all times only and only be influencing one track ball.


My team has come up with an idea but we are still starting our chaise [*sighs man we are way behind schedule] but we came up with a perfect design and the only problem is that the mechanism that we we taught of to put on top of the robot to pick up the track balls is slightly breakable. and i just wanted to know how nasty do these competitions get i mean like to the robot get really dinged up or do they like just some what mess up.

Basically i just wanted to know how nasty do the competitions get and will there bee a really good chance that my mechanism might break when i play the game? is there a good chance we might tip over? do teams play dirty? if so which ones?

Thank you for all the helps guys.

[4throck]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar
Trust me mate, this will help you more than anything else.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by TheKing

SO yeah i check the rules your bot should at all times only and only be influencing one track ball.

I'm not sure where you thought you saw that rule. You might look again.

My team has come up with an idea but we are still starting our chaise [*sighs man we are way behind schedule] but we came up with a perfect design and the only problem is that the mechanism that we we taught of to put on top of the robot to pick up the track balls is slightly breakable. and i just wanted to know how nasty do these competitions get i mean like to the robot get really dinged up or do they like just some what mess up.

Basically i just wanted to know how nasty do the competitions get and will there bee a really good chance that my mechanism might break when i play the game? is there a good chance we might tip over? do teams play dirty? if so which ones?

Thank you for all the helps guys.

Well, if I can decipher your prose, I would suggest you avoid "slightly breakable" anything. Go for robustness! Look for some videos of previous years - The Blue Alliance site probably has some. There's lots of bumping and banging out there.

[DonRotolo]

The short answer is that I have never seen a team play dirty, ever.

On the other hand, if it's likely to break, it probably will. If you can't make it more durable (especially keeping it all under weight), then just be prepared to repair it. And, if it does break and you need help repairing it, you need to know that (literally) every team at the competition will be willing and able to help you do that, if you ask. Sounds crazy, I know, but it's the fact.

Now that we're at the start of week 3, make sure you have a rolling platform that your drivers can practice with, and at the very worst you can go on to the field with. That means you have 4 weeks to build the rest, work hard but don't sweat (yet).

Make sure someone's building a crate!

Don

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by TheKing

and i just wanted to know how nasty do these competitions get i mean like to the robot get really dinged up or do they like just some what mess up.

Basically i just wanted to know how nasty do the competitions get and will there bee a really good chance that my mechanism might break when i play the game? is there a good chance we might tip over? do teams play dirty? if so which ones?

Thank you for all the helps guys.

The teams are trained, by far and large, to play with Gracious Professionalism. That means that they are strong competitors on the field, and within their alliance, they will work hard to defeat the opposing alliance. It also means that off the field if any team needs help or assistance, they will help, lending tools, parts, assistance/suggestions from engineers, and sometimes even drivers. Everyone works together to make the competition as tough and fun as it can be.

If your robot breaks due to lack of robustness, it will be a learning curve for your team. You will not leave the 2008 season the same team as you entered it. Learn the rules, understand the rules, implement the rules. Referees will be there during all of the matches with a head referee as well. There will be a coaches/drivers meeting before the competitions start, making sure everyone has the opportunity to be on the same page and clear on the expectations and rules regarding the game.

Build tough and come to play.