First Robotics

[CompTrex]

After last year's exciting defensive slug-fest, this game will be like watching an Amazon warehouse web-cam.

Yeah, seems like a pretty boring challenge this year. No defense, and no alliance collaboration. Appears they moved backwards from the team assist paradigm. I wonder why...

 

[CompTrex]

I was on a FIRST team in high school (11-12 years ago) - so much fun.
I'd like to mentor a team, but with my hour commute I don't know where I'd find the time.

I'm in the same boat with the commute. I don't know how much time most teams spend. We only work two evenings a week and then all day Saturday. This will be my first year as an official mentor. Last two years were basically dropping my son off and noodling around things. We'll see if I can keep up the schedule. Robotics until 10 then off to work by 5 the next day will get tiresome.

 

[Charlie G]

I'm in the same boat with the commute. I don't know how much time most teams spend. We only work two evenings a week and then all day Saturday. This will be my first year as an official mentor. Last two years were basically dropping my son off and noodling around things. We'll see if I can keep up the schedule. Robotics until 10 then off to work by 5 the next day will get tiresome.

Maybe things are different now, but my team showed up at like 6AM daily, worked before school, then stayed after till like 6PM or something, then Saturdays too.

Weekends I could probably manage

 

[electroken]

We do 7PM-10PM each weekday, 9AM to around 6PM Saturday, 10AM to around 5PM Sunday.
It's exhausting.

 

[CompTrex]

Wow. You guys put in some serious time! I'm actually surprised at how well we do with what we have. Our facility is the corn crib of an old barn. No heat. Little lighting. Blowing fuses all the time. But we won our regional last year and did fair in the championship, so I give 'em credit.

 

[Charlie G]

Our facility is the corn crib of an old barn. No heat. Little lighting. Blowing fuses all the time.

We used the high school's old paint shop that hadn't been used in ages - which we stripped and re-painted ourselves. Definitely better than what you described, but not exactly state-of-the-art.

 

[Charlie G]

It's funny though, all these years later my hobbies still include programming, soldering, etc.
I actually built a small CNC mill in my basement :-)

 

[CompTrex]

It's funny though, all these years later my hobbies still include programming, soldering, etc.
I actually built a small CNC mill in my basement

Nice. Teaches life lessons, I guess. My son is going to study Mech Eng. Probably due to his experience with FIRST

 

[electroken]

Wow. You guys put in some serious time! I'm actually surprised at how well we do with what we have. Our facility is the corn crib of an old barn. No heat. Little lighting. Blowing fuses all the time. But we won our regional last year and did fair in the championship, so I give 'em credit.

Wow! At least we have heat...

 

[CompTrex]

Wow! At least we have heat...

Man! It gets cold out there! Tough to solder with your hands shaking!