I would check the legality of that in the Q&A. In the current context of the rules, it seems like it may be legal to remove the gearbox, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Q&A has ruled that it is legal.
Well, turn me over and call me Sally. Looks like I should have done a search.::rtm:: ::ouch::
So with the max power outputs of the motors and the weight of two motors and a battery, you could calculate the absolute maximum minibot speed. Anybody know how much the motors and battery weigh?
Two seconds up the pole is definitely feasible. 
Two seconds, from breaking the plane to hitting the trigger, that’s the challenge.
Make the weight work for you so increases traction
I expect that if you’re using any tetrix parts besides the bare motors, wheels, and battery, you’re not building the fastest minibot you could 
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that if you are using the Tetrix wheels you are not building the fastest minibot you could.
You’re probably right. Sheet aluminum or polycarbonate and latex tubing is looking pretty good.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the faster mini-bots using tetrix metal as well. The few pieces I played with were extremely light.
The real race will be deployment.
Can you deploy faster than 1 second?
I’m pretty sure that minibot didn’t have a battery pack onboard :rolleyes:
Our team has protoyped two minibots with good results, and I still think we are far behind. A reliable, fast, rugged deployment method is challenging. Do not underestimate it.
I second all the comments regarding using the required masses to improve wheel traction.
Our team will probably not be disguising our minibot in any way. Right now, it just kind of “feels wrong.”
If you have enough man-hours to devote to it, a sub-2-second climb is doable. We do not have enough man-hours.
I hear one FRC team in Phoenix is getting a whole other ex-FRC team (now FTC team) to develop their minibot. Yeah, it can take a lot of engineering effort to make an outstanding performer.
ditch the gearheads.
Under 2 seconds, huh? I’ll bet that if we see some under 2-second MINIBOTs, we’ll also see some batteries that are overcharged and leaking by the end of competitions.
universal smart charger $35
http://static.zoovy.com/img/zephyrsports/-/airsoft/batteries/smart_charger.jpg
it’s an essential piece of equipment for Airsoft. it saves you from destroying your batteries. i suggest you grab one of you are worried about overcharging
Jesse isn’t worried about overcharging per se.
They’re saying that to achieve sub-two second climbs, those minibots will be depending on an overcharged battery (to squeeze that extra little bit of performance from) to do so, and thus by the end of competitions, they’ll be damaged.
I believe the chargers we got for the FTC batteries are almost identical to this (without the branding/different color)
-Brando