3 Questions!!! (1/14/04)

[Jake177]

Originally posted by Andy Grady
Bonus Question for 1 point...

In what year did the national championship in Florida coincide with a NASA rocket launch, actually causing FIRST to take a break so everyone could go outside to see?

It was in 2001, and if I remember correctly it was going to Mars.

[edit] Sorry, I didn't realize that you had posted the answers already. [edit]

[Bill Beatty]

Andy

We definately could do five. We almost always picked up four and usually five. If fact we got an engineering award at the Nationals for it. It actually did it quite quickly. We would get one from the floor on the way to the human and get three from the human who only had to set them on a tray that extended out the back, and picked up the fifth on the way to the goal. The problem was when we disgorged them. We totally underestimated the amount of the human tossed balls entering the goal so early in the match. If the goal was nearly empty, we could empty reasonably fast, but usually it was filling up fast and our lifter had to put them in one at a time and it was slowwww.

I am not so sure about Baxter. Their "hay baler" could hold three, but usually only held no more than two at a time and another one downstairs. I never saw them do five. We went to Mountain Home along with Hot and did demos for all the grade school students in the entire county. We had some great head to head matches which they usually won. They could push balls into the goal when there was not any space left. I think it was their greatest machine. They got eliminated in the Nationals because their three point balls didn't pass the paper test touching both pipes. I call that loosing by a couple of thousandths.

Hey Greg. Give us the lowdown.

Mr. Bill

[Raul]

Originally Posted by Bill Beatty

Andy

We definately could do five. We almost always picked up four and usually five. If fact we got an engineering award at the Nationals for it. It actually did it quite quickly. We would get one from the floor on the way to the human and get three from the human who only had to set them on a tray that extended out the back, and picked up the fifth on the way to the goal. The problem was when we disgorged them. We totally underestimated the amount of the human tossed balls entering the goal so early in the match. If the goal was nearly empty, we could empty reasonably fast, but usually it was filling up fast and our lifter had to put them in one at a time and it was slowwww.

I am not so sure about Baxter. Their "hay baler" could hold three, but usually only held no more than two at a time and another one downstairs. I never saw them do five. We went to Mountain Home along with Hot and did demos for all the grade school students in the entire county. We had some great head to head matches which they usually won. They could push balls into the goal when there was not any space left. I think it was their greatest machine. They got eliminated in the Nationals because their three point balls didn't pass the paper test touching both pipes. I call that loosing by a couple of thousandths.

Hey Greg. Give us the lowdown.

Mr. Bill

Bill,
I did not realize this also happened to Baxter.

111 lost its first elimination match because our 3 point ball did not touch both pipes. Then we had to win 7 matches in a row in the loser's bracket just to make it into the quarterfinals - we came up one short.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Raul

Bill,
I did not realize this also happened to Baxter.

111 lost its first elimination match because our 3 point ball did not touch both pipes. Then we had to win 7 matches in a row in the loser's bracket just to make it into the quarterfinals - we came up one short.

I remember leaving the pits as your team came in from that match. There was disbelief at how egg shaped that ball was!

We've had a lot of great memories together.

Joe J.

[Andy Grady]

Originally Posted by Bill Beatty

Andy

We definately could do five. We almost always picked up four and usually five. If fact we got an engineering award at the Nationals for it. It actually did it quite quickly. We would get one from the floor on the way to the human and get three from the human who only had to set them on a tray that extended out the back, and picked up the fifth on the way to the goal. The problem was when we disgorged them. We totally underestimated the amount of the human tossed balls entering the goal so early in the match. If the goal was nearly empty, we could empty reasonably fast, but usually it was filling up fast and our lifter had to put them in one at a time and it was slowwww.

I am not so sure about Baxter. Their "hay baler" could hold three, but usually only held no more than two at a time and another one downstairs. I never saw them do five. We went to Mountain Home along with Hot and did demos for all the grade school students in the entire county. We had some great head to head matches which they usually won. They could push balls into the goal when there was not any space left. I think it was their greatest machine. They got eliminated in the Nationals because their three point balls didn't pass the paper test touching both pipes. I call that loosing by a couple of thousandths.

Hey Greg. Give us the lowdown.

Mr. Bill

Bill,

Wrong Baxter team you are thinking of. Baxter Mt. Home scored balls through the side rails and cold hold like 2 at a time. They also had a suction cup to hold the 3 point ball on the rail I believe. The team I was talking about was Baxter and Johnsburg High...they could pick up 5 balls and score them all over the top. The elevator extended extremely high, it was very impressive. My appologies for not realizing your team could hold 5....though I definately feel your pain on the whole human player scoring fast thing. Sign of things to come maybe?