Rule 6.3 The Link

[team_ireland]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Guys can anybody answer my question or does it matter?

Regards
Ian Mc Donald

[Guest]

Rule 6.3 The Link

I dont think it makes a lot of difference. If the link is in a sensible place then it wont matter if the weapon fires the moment you put that link in, and if you are turning it on in a proper activation pen then there wont be any danger if the drive runs the moment you put that link in.

When testing at home, ALWAYS do a first-time power-up with the robot on its cradle, on a solid surface (not a workbench). The cradle must be capable of keeping the wheels, tracks or legs off the ground, and must itself have no wheels so it wont accidentally go anywhere while there is a robot on it! That way, if the drive goes crazy the moment you power it up then you wont be in danger. Similarly, if the weapon fires when you power it up, then there is no danger of the machine falling off a bench.

Once it is powered up, check your failsafes. To do this, run the drive and turn off the tx. If the drive runs for more than a couple of seconds, then the failsafes are not working.

[typhoon_driver]

Rule 6.3 The Link

hey yall i thought i would venture into here and i found this little thread

Our link i will admit is placed in a difficult place but then there is no other easier place to put it on a FBS. Mentorn have always been happy that our robots conform to their rules and we have asked them on numourous occasions to check if something is allowed by the rules and we have always acted accordingly.

Personnally i wouldnt want to even attempt to get at the link if any of the typhoon family went beserk, even the 12kg cdt could take your foot off. we have had a few occasions where things havent gone to plan and the link in the top has proved invaluable.

[robjones]

Rule 6.3 The Link

I havent bothered to follow up on my thread since babeths rather unhelpful remarks but Im glad that Gary has commented.
The reason I brought the issue up was the flipping OOTA of Vader in S7 heats filming and unlucky subsequent failure of a weapon relay which kept the vertical flywheel full on even in failsafe. Not so disasterous in Vaders case as I think that a member of the technical team (Derek Foxwell?) pulled the link to stop the disk. If the OOTA robot had been a powerful out of control FBS then what?
Kim - We had this discussion when series 7 was being filmed and came to the conclusion that it would be most unlikely that Typhoon would get flipped out of the arena.
We would also ask the team of any flipper that was about to fight typhoon not to do so, but if they were losing the battle then they were free to do as they pleased.
Another rule change!!! FBS cant get flipped OOTA!! Damn I wish Id known that before building CHIP

[babeth]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Ian, I always thought that you should keep the activation of your weapon to the last in an activation sequence. First put in the other links and see if there are no mishaps, then activate your weapon (either by link, gas bottle or switch).

Rob, I only remarked what I heard from Mentorn crew members and from what I read on other discussions, if you found my remarks unhelpful you should have written so and I would have stood humbly rebuked.
Every robot is dangerous. Full body spinners are no exeption on this, nor are they the most dangerous in my point of view, since I regard every robot with suspicion. No system is foolproof. Having a spinner OOTA and out of control ? That is what fences and polycarbonate screens are for. If not, evacuate the audience and wait for the batteries to run out of power. These are basic and standard rules for any robotic event. By the way... the Dutch roboteers have always hated and ridiculed me for telling the audience over and over again to pay attention and keep away from the fences during a live fight on the Dutch events, I wish they would all have come to the Worthing event and seen what I saw there: if the audience had stood at the fence they would have been hit by Tornado accidentely going OOTA. Believe me, you dont want Tornado going beserk OOTA. Really not. I dont know if it has ever happened but it is one of my many nightmare scenarios.
EVERY robot is dangerous. And removable links should always always always be within easy reach of the hapless fellow who has to remove it in case of emergency.

[panicuk]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Rob -
I never said that FBS cant get flipped OOTA just that it was very unlikely to happen to typhoon.
What rule change are you referring to ???????

[spinnerboy]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Whys it unlikely to happen to typhoon they got some kind of alien devic what allows then to freeze time and move out the way of a flip...

[big_nipper]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Kim, Remember Qualifying. Typhoon got flipped over!!! If it can get flipped over then why can it not be pushed to the wall and flipped over!

I would not have expected someone of your expertise to have said that about one specific robot. We are all at risk. The only way you could be sure its less likely is if other teams were not allowed to flip it out in which case it should have been too dangerous for it to have run in the current arena in the first place.

[Guest]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Chris - flippertime, nice idea!

[jamesb]

Rule 6.3 The Link

We are focusing on Typhoon here, but remember, Tantrum was a problem too, and hes only a featherweight!

Prior to robot wars 7 featherweights required no link and no failsafes as Killalot will squash them if they are naughty

I show up to RW7 with tantrum (12kg robot with spinning bar that encloses the whole robot diameter), and I need a different link to the 2 I have, I need to remove half of the teeth, I need an FS1 heavyweight failsafe in addition ti the failsafes I had, and in the end this all meant I missed my fight.

If it had gone mad, Killalot could have sat on it, I told them this, if it had gone OOTA it would failsafe the weapon when I switched off, if it was upsideown OOTA you couldnt pull any link anyway.

I think the rule is, if on the day they think bloomin eck, I dont like that! then its not legal, no matter what. It has to be this way and Im fine with it. This is true of FBS but will become more worrying for thether robots someday.

just my thoughts

[spinnerboy]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Like i say when it suits..

[typhoon_driver]

Rule 6.3 The Link

chris i wish we did!

[panicuk]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Mark
If typhoon was spinning then it is very unlikely that it would get flipped, this applies to most FBS with a very low ground clearance. If you watched any of typhoons fights then you already know that.Any robot trying to get under would simply be pushed aside.
The problem with any FBS is if they get flipped OOTA when they are not spinning. The landing could damage something in the robot and then we have a major problem.
Our biggest worry with typhoon was it smashing the polycarb barrier hence it could leave the arena while spinning.
I think 21 robots were flipped OOTA in series 7 with no problems. As the robots get more dangerious then i think mentorn should reconsider its arena design to allow them to battle safely.
James is right that if a robot looks like it might harm anyone trying to activate or deactivate they would be given a chance to rectify the problem. No fix then no enter. I must say that very few robots had to make changes in series 7.

[Guest]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Typhoon is not unique in being problematical. NO robot can have its safety link safely removed if it is spinning wildly, or madly flapping or running its weapon, whatever the design of machine. Ive seen Dantomkia jammed in a spin, and the only way to deal with it was to wait until the batteries had nearly died then pin it with another heavyweight.

For Robot Wars, the primary objective of the safety link would appear to be to guarantee safety during normal activation and deactivation. It has a secondary use during clear-up after a robot has been sent OOTA, dumped in the pit, wedged under the angle grinders or been severely damaged, which is to enable the tech crew to guarantee that an immobile robot is permanently and securely immobile, and allow them to quickly, efficiently and safely remove it within filming schedules. If the machine fails to immobilise, then it should not be approached and the safety link should not be used, regardless of the nuisance this causes filming. The safety link simply cant be treated the same as the emergency kill switches on industrial machinery.

The issue of whether the outer arena wall is capable of resisting damage caused by a flipped FBS is separate to the issue of link placement. If the FBS fails to penetrate the wall when flipped then the likelihood is that the outer body will be wedged and the inner body will spin. I really dont see an OOTA Typhoon running around over the camera tracks, madly battering against the outer wall in an attempt to attack the audience.

On the issue of arena strength: It is Mentorns duty to ensure that no robot goes into the arena that could conceivably leave it through the outer curtain, or could send another through the outer curtain. I suspect that the series 5 arena which was used for series 7 was only barely up to the job, and it is perhaps conceivable that the curtain could have failed to retain Typhoon. In my estimation it could have been flipped while spinning by a powerful, low wedge flipper such as Gravity. Extremely unlikely, but possible. Furthermore, as robot design progresses, the risks worsen.

[robjones]

Rule 6.3 The Link

Well said Richard. The main safety issue really is whether the outer curtain can hold everything back in an OOTA situation, within a few minutes batteries/fuel will run out. Perhaps a 5 foot empty moat below floor level would mean the audience was safe.