FIRST Choice shows the older 8 slot cRIO as being available, but not the newer 4 slot model. Does anyone know if it’s possible to order the 4 slot cRIO through FIRST Choice, or do we have to go through NI?
The 4 slot Crio is not a FIRST Choice item at this point in time. I believe if you are in need of one you will need to go through NI as in the past.
The 4 slot cRIO was never available through FIRST Choice…just the 8 slot.
how many credits does it take to get one ?
The 8 slot was 9 credits.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t come woth the modules. You’ll have to order them from NI.
Yes, and unfortunately they are quite expensive 
It’s all relative.
That 9 credits has to be the most bang for the credits I saw on there. I kind of wish we did not buy a 2nd one the last two years.
I am not sure what happened to the NI module prices, I just checked my order and I paid $152 for the analog 9201 card in September, now it show up at $351, yikes!
Still a 8 slot cRio for 9 credits, or a wire stripper for 10 credits… I think I’d take the cRio…
Exactly…the cRIO was easily one of the best deals, if not the best deal, on there. NI sure is asking a lot for the modules, I’ve been looking around to see if it’s possible to get them cheaper anywhere else, but I’m coming up short.
I’m not sure if Chris Rake or anyone else from NI is around who might be able to clear the air on cRIO module pricing and how teams might be able to purchase them at a more reasonable cost to accompany these new 8-slot cRIOs.
It is worth noting that you should just be able to disconnect your sidecars/breakouts and swap modules between robots.
I have an email in with NI about the module prices. Does anyone have an idea as to why it is cheaper to but the complete package with a new cRIO ($525.00) than it is to buy the three modules ($782.00) separately?
At this point we’ll probably just skip the 7 slot unless we have extra points.
This is highly puzzling to me as well. There’s no way that makes economically. Hopefully with all of these teams purchasing new bare 8-slots they can put together an affordable package. Please post any response here on the forums.
Here is probably a clue. The whole cRIO system was graciously provided to FIRST at a significant discount. Somewhere along the way they probably determined that the package deal was going to a FRC team and they would allow that at a deep discount.
Discounting just the modules would not be smart on their part because most of the sales is not to FRC, but to their normal customer base. It isn’t proper for there deep discount relationship to FIRST cause a negative impact on their normal business relationships.
While I’m typing this I just went back and looked at their price sheet and it does say “FIRST” pricing just for the modules. So my theory may be wrong.
What the heck do I know ?
The prices on modules appear to have tripled since this spring. I’m wondering why they have changed as well, even though we weren’t fast enough to get a cRIO.
I think this is probably what our team will do. It will save us a couple hundred at the very least. Although, it would be nice if we could have multiple robots to drive at the same time.
If it weren’t for the hiked module prices, then I’d say this would be an epic first choice inclusion.
Or is it epic… IIRC one of the ideas was that you could leave your digital sidecar(s), analog/solenoid breakout(s), and cRIO in an old robot and move over the modules to a new robot with minimal issues. Keep in mind that the modules store no robot specific code and only have two easy to install/remove connectors (one to the cRIO base, one to the sidecar/breakout).
The only things the extra modules really do is act as spares in case of a module failure and to allow the usage of two robots simultaneously. Both are very valid uses and are important… but when you have limited $$$, its good to keep in mind.
Yeah, the 4 slot unit has better specs and saves space, but don’t kid yourself, the 8 slot for many things is sufficient. At the very least, it never hurts to have a spare. For 9 credits, its a heck of a bargain to say the least.
I Just received notification from NI about an update to the FRC cRio page, and the FIRST prices have been revised back to what I saw back in September.
(Maybe not the exact price as before, but it makes sense.)
780405-02 For FIRST Only - cRIO FRC II Controller and I/O Kit $ 525.00
780406-02 For FIRST Only - FRC II Controller Only $ 285.00
780407-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9472 25 Pin DSUB 8 Ch 24V DO $ 152.00
780408-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9403 w/DSUB 32Ch DIO $ 174.00
780409-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9201 25 Pin Dsub 8Ch AI $ 152.00
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-19103/diff?secondVersionNumber=21&sideBySide=false
But the price on the 9472 went up quite a bit - how strange. According to Chris Rake, that should have stayed at $89.
And it’s still only $99 here.
What I’m wondering is, if that’s just an error on the page.
Price updated again today.
780405-02 For FIRST Only - cRIO FRC II Controller and I/O Kit $ 525.00
780406-02 For FIRST Only - FRC II Controller Only $ 285.00
780407-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9472 25 Pin DSUB 8 Ch 24V DO $ 89.10
780408-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9403 w/DSUB 32Ch DIO $ 174.50
780409-01 For FIRST Only - NI 9201 25 Pin Dsub 8Ch AI $ 151.60
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-19103/diff?secondVersionNumber=22&sideBySide=false
These new prices look right. I just want to verify an assumption. Does “I/O Kit” in the first item (780405-02) mean that you get one each of the three modules (9472, 9403, and 9201)?
These prices are a great discount compared to the retail equivalent items, so they’re all great deals (thanks, NI!).