Are noise makers legal?

[Jengles]

At the pit we have been having to test our robot, mainly the shooter, and this can be dangerous as some of the team members haven't been hearing us say that its 'hot'. One team member found an adjustable beeper that is always 5 db above the backround noise, and was asking whether he should buy it. My question is that are these noise makers legal, and does anybody have any actual rules that go against it.

[KevinGoneNuts]

What we do is if we test something one person says clear and the others around echo it. If no one hears it, we say it louder and ask them politely to move.

I feel like having something beeping loudly in the pits would be a bit distracting/annoying to other teams. With all the complaints of people yelling "ROBOT" in the pits, I can't imagine what people would say about a loud beeping noise.

Hope this helps

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by KevinGoneNuts

With all the complaints of people yelling "ROBOT" in the pits, I can't imagine what people would say about a loud beeping noise.

This is something I always say when I get the chance, and I feel like it works in this thread.

Yelling "Robot!" DOES NOT EQUAL "Excuse me."

There are plenty of other ways to alert people to your presence than screaming.

Yes, the pits are loud. But, "Excuse me, Robot coming through!" is at least a little nicer than ROBOT! I have heard some very rude people in the pits and it doesn't make me very proud.

[Koko Ed]

Team 1270 the Red Dragons robot cart actually says "Excuse me, robot coming through." It was pretty startling at first and very amusing afterwards.

[AlexH]

i like to yell "human" when someone yells "robot" at me...

[Brian Ha]

Now I can't specify, nor specially say that there is a rule against noise makers, but I'm 99% sure that you are highly suggested to not have noise makers in the stands and more than suggested to not have them in the pits. Music in the pits is also frowned upon. I suggest that using your voice is a better solution seeing as the pits are already so loud, we don't need more sound.

[Tommy F.]

Section 4 - At the Events has a list of site restrictions, which are as follows:

Originally Posted by FIRST

http://frc-manual.usfirst.org/viewItem/6#4.15

4.15 Site Restrictions

Please read the following common site restrictions and adhere to them in order to promote an orderly, safe, pleasant and exciting competition. Please refer to Section 4.2 of this manual section for additional site restrictions at your event.

Do not bring food to the site. If you bring food, do not bring it onto the property.

Do not use noisy devices, such as floor stompers, whistles and/or air horns.

Do not arrange for Internet access or phone lines on the site or attempt to connect to the Internet.

Do not sell any products. This includes food, hats, shirts or any promotional products.

Do not distribute any food products, such as candy, water, soft drinks or fruit.

Do not sell raffle tickets.

Do not bring bottled gas tanks (e.g. helium). This is a safety concern.

Do not use walkie-talkies.

Do not invite or bring live bands to play in the audience. This dilutes the presentation on the playing field and is too loud and confusing for the audience.

Do not play loud music in the Pit because it interferes with important announcements. If a team receives more than a warning or two, the power to the team pit will be shut off and/or the music confiscated.

Do not form "tunnels" during the Awards Ceremony. This can cause discomfort to those traveling through them and creates safety issues.

(Emphasis mine)

I'd imagine that if you're using this beeper for a short period of time that it would be okay, as long as it does not interfere with pit admin announcements.

[Peck]

In my mind, it is something to ask the pit admin at all ur competitions. There are no specific rules on the issue other then 4.15 and whether or not that applies is based on the person making the call. Some would call it a safety benifit, some would say the oposite.

[Jengles]

Also how about getting a flashing red light?

[Peck]

Originally Posted by Jengles

Also how about getting a flashing red light?

(see post #5 in this thread)

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by Jengles

At the pit we have been having to test our robot, mainly the shooter, and this can be dangerous as some of the team members haven't been hearing us say that its 'hot'. One team member found an adjustable beeper that is always 5 db above the backround noise, and was asking whether he should buy it. My question is that are these noise makers legal, and does anybody have any actual rules that go against it.

I would most certainly say do not do this. While there may be a bit of ambiguity regarding the legality, i would think that FIRST would not appreciate this, nor would the regional nor the neighboring pits.

Honestly, i don't see the problem here. You can yell "Enabling!" or whatever floats your boat. Have the few mentors/students that know the dangers inform the people nearby them and act as "bouncers" to your robot. No one on your team should be touching your robot while it's running, let alone put their body/appendages near it. Furthermore, you could add polycarbonate protectors around the shooter/motor/whatever is "hot" (your unclear description of the danger kind of frightens me. maybe you could elaborate on the technical/electrical issue?) to make it harder for there to be danger. And surely you'd have some kind of meeting before your next competition to make sure that anyone in the pits is aware of safety hazards. Also, pretty much the only people in the pits, minus some of the "chairman's team" that talks to judges, should be tech-related students that know what's going on with the robot.

In short: Who cares about the legality, because they're not needed. Educate the students. Be proactive. Be safe.

Hope this helps,
-Duke

[AlexH]

The pits are already loud enough. Adding another noise won't matter, it will just blend in. Also unless you told everyone that the beeping was a safety warning it would most likely be ignored. The simplest solution I see is have someone stand in the path of the ball and catch it. It's a foam ball, how much damage can it do to a person.

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by AlexH

It's a foam ball, how much damage can it do to a person.

That is quite an understatement. Although it did not hurt a person, when our shooter wheels were rotating the wrong direction, it compressed the ball SIGNIFICANTLY (Ie ~7in or so of compression) and shot it the wrong direction. Previously, we had installed a polycarb shield to protect people from putting their fingers into the shooter. As you can probably figure out, the ball shot straight at this polycarb shield, and shattered it. Without it there, the ball would have shot straight at one of our mentors faces.

On the topic of the OP, I think that, while it is a good idea, it would be easier to just make sure that everyone is clear, form a student/mentor barrier, say rather loudly "Clear" or something to that effect, make secondly sure everyone is clear, then enable the robot. All while maintaining the barrier and keeping people clear. If you're not running it in autonomous, then make double sure that people are clear, then start the shooter. Basically, make well sure that it's clear. I like the idea of making everyone around the robot echo "clear" so that you are absolutely sure that everyone is clear.