What to do in the off-season

[kstl99]

Thanks, all, for the interesting replies. As just one part of the team (1st year electrical mentor) I do not know all the plans but it looks as if we do have alot of the suggestions covered.

jblay-Some of our seniors want to rebuild the robot from 2007, maybe because it was their first year? I don't know if it will happen but it could be fun.

steelerborn-This year we used Labview and Autocad Inventor, both things that can be leaned and practiced during the off-season. I am trying to get ACAD Electrical so they can learn to make schematics if any of them are interested.

We are also trying everything we can think of to spread the word about what we accomplished and how much fun we had and how rewarding it has been, and hope to attract more students, mentors and sponsors. Last year we started an FLL team which we should probably be promoting at the same time.

Thaine-Our workspace is also a classroom so we could not get too carried away. The biggest cause of chains coming off that I have seen is usually misalignment or improper tension but I am sure there are others. We experimented with our kicker alot before putting it in the robot. We ended up with a large cylindar pushing an aproximately 3/4" horizontal tube below the center of the ball and were easily able to kick over the bump.

Sunshine-Great list. I think that we have most of it covered. I failed to mention anything about your first suggestion - having fun together. I think that is why we have been successful this year. This team has enjoyed eachother's company all year and already have fun things lined up.

Isaac-We have talked about River Rage and Mayhem and from the sounds of it you will definately see Oz-Ram at at least one. I would like to be at both but it is not up to me. So much good can come out of being there from recruitment of people and sponsors to practice for our new drivers, and it sounds like alot of fun.

BEEKMAN-How do you build a tee shirt launcher?

Finally, thanks again to all for the suggestions. It is good to see that others want to continue and not just wait till next year and I hope this thread will help other teams also.