[BB] Odds and Ends

[Jared Russell]

http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2009...-and-ends.html

Good Morning Teams,

Thanks to the generosity of Rockwell, all teams (not just rookie teams) will receive a panel signal device in their Kit of Parts this year.

FRC will continue to adhere to its tradition of not reviewing film or electronic replicates of game play during competitions.

Filming for the 2010 game reveal at Kickoff will begin at headquarters this coming Monday. No, I’m not going to tell you how long I expect it will take to fill the pool for filming. I’m not going to give you any hints at all. Ok, the Kickoff may look a little different this year, but that’s all I’m saying.

We’re trying to reduce the overwhelming number of email blasts sent to your team Main Contact, and we’re trying to make information more accessible to team members, so you’re going to notice a change this year. We’re going to post general information and news items here as they become available. We’ll then email blast the Main Contacts every Thursday with pointers to new items on this page to remind teams to come take a look. You never know when something interesting might be posted (Don’t worry, we will always tell your Main Contact about it in the next Thursday email blast so teams won’t miss out.) Team Updates related to the game and game manual will continue to be posted here

And speaking of email blasts, next week the FRC email blast will be a day early (due to the holiday) and will have news for teams interested in programming in Java during the 2010 season.

52 days until the 2010 Kickoff
See you there!

[ATannahill]

Oh no! More transparency!

[Andrew Schreiber]

Forgive the stupid question, what is a panel signal device?

[Andy Baker]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Forgive the stupid question, what is a panel signal device?

That's the amber blinky thing, indicating robot status, Rockwell Automation part number: 855PB-B12ME522.

Andy B.

[Josh Drake]

If FRC is in some way supposed to represent a sporting event, maybe that instant replay needs to be looked at more closely. Maybe the drive teams can have a red/blue flag they throw onto the field.

I realize it takes a lot of time and money to put multiple cameras around the field and edit film, but it would be a crowd pleaser to have highlights of the previous round shown on the big screen while robots are being taken off and on. I can dream can't I?

[JesseK]

Filling the pool ... heh. That attempt at baiting us into thinking it's a water game is really a subtle hint to the GDC that Bill thinks they should do a dunk tank during kickoff...

Einstein matches are replayed on the big screen right after they're played on the field ... well ... that's what the TBA archive leads me to believe. It probably would take an additional volunteer and some equipment to do it, so it'd have to be on a per-regional basis just like webcasting/archiving the matches already is. I think it's a great idea though and it would keep the crowd a little more engaged during the matches.

[Taylor]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

That's the amber blinky thing, indicating robot status, Rockwell Automation part number: 855PB-B12ME522.

Andy B.

Oh, the Suck Light! We've got one of those.

Originally Posted by DRAKE343

If FRC is in some way supposed to represent a sporting event, maybe that instant replay needs to be looked at more closely. Maybe the drive teams can have a red/blue flag they throw onto the field.

I realize it takes a lot of time and money to put multiple cameras around the field and edit film, but it would be a crowd pleaser to have highlights of the previous round shown on the big screen while robots are being taken off and on. I can dream can't I?

I would prefer a game that is decided upon alliance gameplay and not by the questionable rulings of human officials.
Furthermore, I think FIRST events move slowly enough (from the spectators' standpoint) without adding in instant replay and/or challenges. For a 2-minute game with 8-minute cycle time, that means only a quarter of the time robots are moving. Sure, that beats the heck out of baseball, but I think the more action there is on the field, the more exciting the event.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

That's the amber blinky thing, indicating robot status, Rockwell Automation part number: 855PB-B12ME522.

Andy B.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by DRAKE343

If FRC is in some way supposed to represent a sporting event, maybe that instant replay needs to be looked at more closely. Maybe the drive teams can have a red/blue flag they throw onto the field.

I realize it takes a lot of time and money to put multiple cameras around the field and edit film, but it would be a crowd pleaser to have highlights of the previous round shown on the big screen while robots are being taken off and on. I can dream can't I?

Been discussed a couple times, search around. Summing it up, there was a lot of whining about "bad calls", a lot of criticizing refs, some name calling, and then the cost of the whole thing was brought up. This took roughly 50-100 posts. (It has been a while since I read the thread) Here it is, http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=40383 I would also like to say that if this becomes another discussion of officiating at FRC events it should be another thread and should be discussed calmly and rationally.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Taylor

Oh, the Suck Light! We've got one of those.

I'm amused at the number of names this little blinking light has. We always called ours the idiot light, or just "the flashy yellow light."


I'm interested to see what aspect of kickoff will look different this year. I'm sure it's just going to be something different about the broadcast, since every site is different and having some kind of physical change would be really hard to accomodate, but you never know.

[Trying to Help]

I'm just glad that they're giving us another blinky light! You know that costs $98 (if I remember right) to replace?

I do wish that the new FRC web pages would let you know where in the tree you are when you view a page. For instance, how do I find the list of news and email blasts that Bill references besides checking CD?

Trying to Help

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Trying to Help

I do wish that the new FRC web pages would let you know where in the tree you are when you view a page. For instance, how do I find the list of news and email blasts that Bill references besides checking CD?

Trying to Help

Pat? Does FRCLinks support BB and maybe this news list page? Could it?

[EricVanWyk]

My favorite is BFL, pronounced "biffle" for BIG FLASHY LIGHT.

The LED on the DSC is therefore the LFL, pronounced "liffle", for little flashy light.

[Jon236]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

My favorite is BFL, pronounced "biffle" for BIG FLASHY LIGHT.

The LED on the DSC is therefore the LFL, pronounced "liffle", for little flashy light.

All right! We have new 'official' designations for the 2010 Game Manual for Robot parts. The FTA's will now perform "biffle checks" before each match begins.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Taylor

Oh, the Suck Light! We've got one of those.

I always called it the indicator light or the $!#/>*ing light.

I would prefer a game that is decided upon alliance gameplay and not by the questionable rulings of human officials.

You mean like Lunacy? I think people underestimate how much of a step in the right direction the game was; all scoring was at the end of the game, basically no penalties... I wouldn't be surprised if FRC games keep moving in that direction. Such as this next one!

Kickoff looking different = field looking different.

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I always called it the indicator light or the $!#/>*ing light.



You mean like Lunacy? I think people underestimate how much of a step in the right direction the game was; all scoring was at the end of the game, basically no penalties... I wouldn't be surprised if FRC games keep moving in that direction. Such as this next one!

Kickoff looking different = field looking different.

Or perhaps Dave just decided that he would like to sleep during the month of December for the first time in 7 years.