Retraction issues, because we're lazy.

[marshmello]

Our team is getting just a little bit sick of booting up the robot before every single match just to pull in our shooter, so we're within frame perimeter to start matches. The other day, I heard one of the mentors mention in passing some kind of arduino-based system that would power the necessary electronics and motors, without powering the robot and the whole comms system. This is sounding better and better as we start working on a lift system for our second regional, seeing as we'd rather not deal with 7 feet of flying tape measure trying to get the robot off of the field. Call me lazy.
So, have any other teams done this? Any ideas on legality/practicality? It would be a huge help, but if it's not more helpful than it is complicated, I can probably suck it up and just keep the driver station up and ready between matches.

[CalTran]

Like something somewhat akin to a PWM Signal Generator? I suppose it would get the job done, though going this route would require remembering to always rewire the robot correctly each time you want to jack into it.

I think it's far simpler to just boot up the driver station between matches and connect via ethernet, seeing as you'll have to do so anyways should you want to change the robot code.

[Alan Anderson]

If you want to use a separate control system, you would have to have a way to switch out the legal one and switch in the "simple" one. That sounds like a lot of trouble, and unless you had a huge many-pole switch it would probably take longer to change between them than to just boot the roboRIO. But I don't think I understand the problem. Is your robot out of starting configuration when you leave the pit?

As for having to retract stuff at the end of a match, one solution I have seen is to have a mechanical connection to the motor shaft that can be driven by an external crank or cordless electric drill.

[Arhowk]

As I believe the other two said, this board that you are using may in no way be used at any time during inspection or when the robot is in normal operation as you may not control motors from any other source than the roboRIO.

Another option (albeit not the first one I would recommend if you can find a better one) is to hook up a spare Anderson connector (one that you'd screw onto a battery) with some crimps on the end of it so you just disconnect the motor -> plug it in the battery (preferably middlemanned with some signal modulator so you dont overdrive the motor) and move it down like that.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

But I don't think I understand the problem. Is your robot out of starting configuration when you leave the pit?

I was wondering the same thing.

[cad321]

We used a similar system at palmetto thus year. We used the guts of a cordless drill and connected our arm pivot motor to it (variable speed trigger on the drill). During one of our Elim matches, we were told it was not legal to use. I can't remember specifics however it was because of a similar ruling as with off board compressors.

The motor was not being controlled 1) by the robots power supply for that match (simple fix, use the battery currently on the bot) and 2) the signal controlling the motor did not originate at the roborio.

So assuming this follows over to other tournaments, the only legal course of action in my opinion then is powering up and connecting to the roborio.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by cad321

We used a similar system at palmetto thus year. We used the guts of a cordless drill and connected our arm pivot motor to it (variable speed trigger on the drill). During one of our Elim matches, we were told it was not legal to use. I can't remember specifics however it was because of a similar ruling as with off board compressors.

The motor was not being controlled 1) by the robots power supply for that match (simple fix, use the battery currently on the bot) and 2) the signal controlling the motor did not originate at the roborio.

So assuming this follows over to other tournaments, the only legal course of action in my opinion then is powering up and connecting to the roborio.

If you're saying this motor power system was completely off-board and only connected outside of a match.... I don't think that's correct and I'd want a Q&A on it. The rules only require that a robot be legal and inspected when placed on the field for a match. It doesn't have to be legal in your pits or in queue or something. The off-board compressor rules are probably the only exception to that for safety and fairness reasons.

G10 does state that you can't tether to the robot after a match, and tether is defined as any wired or wireless connection to control or energize part of the robot. So your drill guts wouldn't be legal for driving a mechanism before you get off the field.

[FrankJ]

Originally Posted by cad321

We used a similar system at palmetto thus year. We used the guts of a cordless drill and connected our arm pivot motor to it (variable speed trigger on the drill). During one of our Elim matches, we were told it was not legal to use. I can't remember specifics however it was because of a similar ruling as with off board compressors.

In 2015 G9 specifically allowed powered drills to reconfigure your robot on the field. No similar rule in this years manual. You know what they say about last years rules.

[chapman1]

We have, in the past, used SAE connectors on all our motors to allow quick swapping out in the event of a failure. They (or other appropriately sized connectors like small Anderson connectors) also allowed us to easily power the motors externally for testing or pre-match positioning.