Why Did We Change To Flags???

[JaneYoung]

At LSR, 118 could remove the tubes if they got stuck. It was awesome.

[Athleticgirl389]

I liked the lights. The flags were okay as well. The only thing I disliked about the flags is, well a few things. One being in the rule is states where they have to be placed, and some teams disregard that and no penalty is assest. I think if they go against any rule, they should get a penalty (not competitng til it's correct) Also, they fall out and become a pain. I know with our robot, being such a low ground clearance, running over that even small thing can mess us up. A good thing is they were easier to see than the light; a driver didn't have to spend time wondering who was on their alliance to block by looking on the side for the light.

As per the light, sometimes it was hard to see them. I mean drivers aren't going to be focusing on those small lights to see who they will block or help (depending on their alliance). Also, like said, it used battery power. I'd like to have all that power go to the robot itself and not the light as well.

Maybe there is some way something can be made that is small like the light, as visible as the flag, and won't fall off the robot. Just my two cents.

[kawelch]

Most people seem to not like the flags because the ringers would get caught it but that is an aspect of this particular game. If you could carry more than one ringer, people would not have minded nearly as much. If you got a ringer caught on you, most of the time it was because the HP was not paying attention to where the robots were and threw wildly. As for the flags becoming projectiles this is often an aspect of poor Robot design. Don't put the flag where the arm will flip it. Of course there are exceptions (like getting caught by a spider leg) but these were very rare.

I should not be held responsible for the contect of any post...even my own.

[ALIBI]

The flags do exactly what they are supposed to do. Make the alliances easy to identify. They do not break and they do not use power. They do have two problems: 1) ringers get stuck on them, as said before, that is a function of this years game and probably will not affect next years game; 2) they fly through the air, last year we drilled two holes through the top end of the PVC Pipe and put a piece of surgical tubing through the holes to hold flag in place.

What we need is a way to better attach the flags. Under ideal circumstances the flag should be completely above the highest point on the robot in its' starting configuration (I have seen many that do not, my guess is that you will not see that in Atlanta). Why not have flags with poles of various lenghts (2', 3', 4' etc.) that could attach to your robot at the most conveinient place depending on your design? The flags could have a mouting bracket attached to the bottom that you could screw into a FIRST supplied mouting block that you locate on your robot. A simple 4 start course thread would make attaching the flag very fast.

[Mike Martus]

OCCRA (Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association) used flags several years ago and to this date when the lights became unavailable by the MFG.

There were issues with the lights as there are issues with the flags or even the LED's.

All in all the flags seem the easiest way to get quick recognition of which robot is which for the refs and the Tech staff.

I say keep the flags in future games.

[Schnabel]

Like I said in the other flag thread (man there are too many of them), use red and blue cold cathode tubes that flash in patterns. As far as keeping them safe, don't ask me, let that be up to the teams.

[Jay H 237]

The flags seem like they will hold up the best and handle the most abuse. They may fall off and have to be put back on but they won't break like the rotating light or even the LEDs.

[Kyle Love]

Man, I sure do love seeing those little flags go flying through the air. They add a new fun element to the game. Go little flags, go!

[LightWaves1636]

I'm okay with the the flags, the big revolving lights just take up too much space and suck up too much power. I liked the LED's but from a spectator's stand point it was hard to tell the teams apart(also, I liked the small red/blue LED lights way better than the Amber light this year). The only time I'm annoyed about the flags is if a tube gets thrown and it's caught(hasn't happen to anyone on our alliance yet, just flags getting thrown off), although I do love how team 2250 at the Colorado regional used their flag to get in the way of the human element, popped the tube too.(wasn't on purpose, very good match).

[SBass]

yeah, it's pretty bad when flags are flinging off and nearly spearing the head referee