[TBA] Episode 2 - Custom Controls

[Greg Marra]

The Blue Alliance
Episode 2: Custom Controls

You really thought you were going to have to wait all the way until New Year's for more of The Blue Alliance?

The second episode of The Blue Alliance brings you a more advanced topic than the first: custom controls. Have you ever seen teams with their own array of buttons and wonder how they did it? We take apart team 177's 2006 custom controls box to show you how it works. Want to know the difference between a switch and a potentiometer and how to use them to control your robot instead of the kit of part joysticks? Then check out this episode.

All of that is relatively simple, and at The Blue Alliance, we are all about taking it up a notch. So instead of regular boring buttons, we take apart an Easy Button from Staples to show you how to wire it up to control your robot. Warning: If you add an Easy Button to your controls, other people may ask you to push it non-stop.

Don't go thinking New Year's Eve is entirely out of the picture yet. We have a big announcement planned, so be sure to check back!

[chris31]

I wasnt expecting it till New Years. Again, Great work guys!

[Libby K]

rrrgh, the computer i'm using while on vacation doesn't want to let me watch TBA. I'm gonna have to double...[triple?] up after new year's.

from what i've heard, i'm definitely looking forward to it.

:-)

[JBotAlan]

Just out of curiosity, what program(s?) are you using to process the video after you've recorded it? I might be able to do something like this in Pinnacle, but it would not be too fun...

I am definitely using these to help out our rookie programmer. He is going to need some help.

Thanks
JBot

[Michelle Celio]

Great job again guys.

I've posted it on FIRSTr

[Greg Marra]

Originally Posted by JBotAlan

Just out of curiosity, what program(s?) are you using to process the video after you've recorded it? I might be able to do something like this in Pinnacle, but it would not be too fun...

Ahhh! Pinnacle is evil! We're using Adobe Premiere Elements, which is the most cost-effective video editing software on the market. Seriously, the thing is a beast. Plus you can get it for under $60. How can you lose?

We're going to cover the technical side a bit more in depth in Episode 3 to show you how it's all done. I am working on editing that now, and the audio came out really bad. I'll see what I can do to clean it up, but it's the last of our beta batch of episodes and we'll just have to fix it for next time.

[AV_guy007]

Originally Posted by Greg Marra

We're using Adobe Premiere Elements, which is the most cost-effective video editing software on the market. Seriously, the thing is a beast. Plus you can get it for under $60. How can you lose?

We're going to cover the technical side a bit more in depth in Episode 3 to show you how it's all done. I am working on editing that now, and the audio came out really bad. I'll see what I can do to clean it up, but it's the last of our beta batch of episodes and we'll just have to fix it for next time.

umm.. dare i mention ilife and imovie i think they are very cost effective especially because it comes free with a new mac. however i will agree for those of us not lucky to have a mac in our life premiere elements is great software.

and sorry about the audio i believe that would be my fault considering i am "head audio tech" i just hope we don't have any problems like that at kickoff

[BandChick]

This was great guys, I learned a lot and definitely let my team know about this. I'm glad I didn't have to wait for New Year's.

Oh, by and by, the NJ/NYC FIRST website, now has a link to the Blue Alliance in their Team Resource section. Well, at least, it will, when I connect to the VPN & upload it. Thought you might like to know you're making an impact =)

But, I have to say, my favorite part was Tom's comedic interjections during Greg's explanations. Good stuff guys!

[Stuart]

this has fastly become *required* watching for 1745

I'm giving a gold star to the each of you(remember if you collect 17 you get a 1 free)

good job guys

[Kingofl337]

Great Job guys

[cjelly]

Originally Posted by Greg Marra

Ahhh! Pinnacle is evil! We're using Adobe Premiere Elements, which is the most cost-effective video editing software on the market. Seriously, the thing is a beast. Plus you can get it for under $60. How can you lose?

We're going to cover the technical side a bit more in depth in Episode 3 to show you how it's all done. I am working on editing that now, and the audio came out really bad. I'll see what I can do to clean it up, but it's the last of our beta batch of episodes and we'll just have to fix it for next time.

Yeah, Premiere Elements is very powerful. I used to be running Studio 7 which I liked, and I still think is great for small projects, but I have outgrown it. Premiere Elements has almost every feature that I could need, with the exception of batch capture and color correction (which it probably has, I haven't ran into it yet though). The 99 video & audio tracks are also very helpful. The only thing I have found that's bad about it is the inability to separate group-selected clip's audio and video at once.

[JamesBrown]

Good job guys, the videos look good but I think the notes are much more impressive, They look alot nicer than most of the whitepapers out there and they conveniently give you the OI pin out so you don't have to dig around IFI's website. Again, good job.

Also I'd have to agree, premier elements is alot nicer than Pinnacle, especially since it came free with my laptop.

[Greg Marra]

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

Good job guys, the videos look good but I think the notes are much more impressive, They look alot nicer than most of the whitepapers out there and they conveniently give you the OI pin out so you don't have to dig around IFI's website. Again, good job.

I think eventually it'd be cool if CD-Media were expanded to somehow house links to video content as well. It'd let it be searchable and all contained inside of CD, which is where people go anyway. Uploading it as a picture or whitepaper doesn't convey the entire message.

That being said, it'd be a lot of work, so maybe if Brandon ever feels like he's up for a fun project... ;-)

[Kyveck]

Thanks for the good video. I'll probably show it to my programmers this year. Last year we hacked an easy button to turn on a gyro assisted PID drive that did a good job of letting the robot still drive straight after the drivetrain team drill pressed our encoders. However, our driver didn't like it so we had to turn it on with a button. We hacked ours by making a little switch under the pop plate, so that the switch was on a separate circuit from the sound. We took the batteries out for competition anyway, but it was popular on demonstrations and with the team to still have sound. I never did look up whether it would have been competition legal to keep the batteries in. Thanks again,

Kyle W,
Engineering Director, Team 1014 (Dublin Robotics)

[JBotAlan]

Originally Posted by Greg Marra

Ahhh! Pinnacle is evil!

Yeah, I agree. Especially since I don't even have the full version; just the "quickstart edition"--BLECH!

Originally Posted by Greg Marra

Plus you can get it for under $60.

The lowest I can find it is for $70 at Circuit City, but I don't know where the best places are to shop for software, so...umm...where did you get it? I WANT IT!!

JBot