Another electronics question (and we couldnt find this one in the rules… 
)
last year we had to have the electronics visible, and we assumed the same for this year until we hit a design flaw that wouldn’t happen if the electronics needed to be visible. In the rules, there is nothing (that we could find, anyway…) that says the electronics need to be visible. So do they need to be visible again this year, or can we keep our same design?
thanks! 
The LEDs in the robot controller needs to be visible and the breaker must be easily accessible.
Well, as far as I know, it’s not stated in the rules, but it would be a good idea to keep you robot controller’s LEDs visible. We found it could be useful at the end of a match when your robot does something totally unexpected and you want to know what happened. Next, you look at the robot controller’s LEDs (which are still being powered by the backup battery) and you notice the problem with a red LED. You go back to your pit area, fix the problem, and it doesn’t happen again. If you’re looking for a material for see-through material, try lexan. It was protective enough for us last year and we were still able to see our LEDs on the robot controller.
Yeah, the RC status lights must be visible. But whether or not the rest of the electronics are visible during a match, you definitely want the robot to be inspectable at competition. I wouldn’t hide things so well that you have to disconnect parts in order to get to the electronics.
In section 5 - The Robot, check out R57 and R58.
R57 says that the RC indicator lights must be visible at inspection and during the competition.
R58 says that all circuit breakers must be visible for inspection.
“Them’s the rules”
Not mentioned anywhere else, the spikes and victors have lights that although they don’t need to be visible, helped us out more than once.
I think, in summary, that it’s part rule, part good idea.
Sparks
yea thanks guys!
knowing our team, we’ll need to make MANY adjustments…
It’s easy enough though…i think we have an idea to make most of the electronics visible and the rest easily accessible
if anyone was in Annapolis last year, we were the team that had a drill motor brake on us, and as a result, only half our robot worked in the last competition…
so we know the importance of easy maintenance :rolleyes:
I remember last year the inspectors were also looking to make sure out pump valve was clearly accessable… we had it buried within our drivetrain and although they didn’t disqualify us, they didn’t seem to like the idea.
They also wanted the “Robot Reset” button accessable when they inspected us at Sac.
Fortunately, if that’s a problem, there are header pins on the RC to which you can connect external switches to replace both the Program and Reset switches.
Electrically thats possible … if the inspectors allow it is another story.
That’s why they are part of the RC. Please make electronics visible, it makes an inspection much easier and it willhelp you when a problem arises. Don’t forget a potential finals alliance partner will want to know you can make repairs quickly and diagnose problems should they arise.
<R63> A remote reset and remote programming switch may be wired to the Robot Controller’s RESET/PROG header. Any switch may be used. See the Robot Controller Reference Guide for wiring information.
There is no requirement for access to the RESET button this year. But it is still a good idea
Please please please take this to heart. It only takes one “we have an elimination match in FIVE MINUTES!!!” with one bad inaccessible wire/pwm cable/fuse/radio/whatever to ruin an entire year…
No one will tell you that you need to spend all your time laying out your robot components, but do make sure you at least try to make things accessible.
-SlimBoJones…
Hmm…well our team planned to get an aluminum hood that would cover the electronics and protect them during operation. However, the hood will be hinged on the side so that it can be easily opened up to access the electronics. So does this mean that we’ll have to cut a slot open in the hood so that the LED’s will be visible while we’re competing? I’m getting mixed answers from this thread, I understand that we’ll have to have the electronics ACCESSABLE, but do we also need to have the LED’s visible so that they can be seen from a distance while the robot is in use (competing on the playing field)? Because I don’t think that’d matter much, since if the LED’s WERE visible you wouldn’t be able to discern from twenty feet which LED was correpsonding a certain problem anyways.
So I guess the question is: can we use a protective shielding/hood to protect the electronics during operation, but which can also be easily removed to access the electronics componenets for inspection and while in the pit area?
The answer from this Inspector is: as minimum the LEDs on the RC must be visible without opening/removing anything.
This is due to the time sensitive nature to the competition. The IFI rep checks each robot before each match.
You can do whatever you think is best but…If an IFI rep or another smart individual can’t see the panel when you are having a problem, they won’t be able to help. It is wise to cover the RC but when things start acting up, you want to be able to get some feedback and see that all the PWM connectors and sensor are still connected. When you are 30 seconds from the start of a match and are on the field with your alliance waiting for you, do you want to be removing a big metal cover?
As an inspector, I will agree with Mr. Tedrow, we need to see to help you.
Protecting the electronics is a smart idea. However, you are better off using polycarbonate instead of aluminum.
lexan is perfect, strong and see through
Unless you’re using transparent aluminum. Oh Wait that hasn’t been invented yet 