Assuming you are using a C-rio based control system, the signal light is just an extension of the Green Digital Sidecar LED (all states and patterns are identical), however it was designed to be a safety feature to alert people to.
the robot is on and
who is actually controlling it.
For practice purposes, you can probably do without it, but do what you think is best here.
First of all, congrats on completing a practice robot before your rookie season in FRC.
As Conor and Mark pointed out, they are expensive and if the robot will never see competition carpet…floor, then it might not be worth the resources in purchasing one. If we receive one in this year’s kit, you could use it temporarily too.
Welcome to FRC and we look forward to seeing you in Duluth.
The RSL is one of those parts that veteran teams have a lot of…this would be a good opportunity for you to find the nearest veteran team, and ask them for help?
It is basically a 12 LED light. Any number of panel lights would work. We don’t use the blink mode. The current draw of the AB light is 80 Ma. I would be careful going much over that though.