Hello,
Our team is in a bit of a trouble, we have a competition on Saturday but we dont have the 9V battery holder (We’re a rookie team, and knowing that a 9V battery is required never really concerned us about the input for it). I was just wondering about if we can just get a 9V from radioshack and map the connection. Would that be accepted?
Thanks!
Just ask someone at the competition if they have a spare. We have 4 or 5 now for our 3 teams because I can never find them all when we’re ordering our first batch of parts for the year. I’m betting there’s a team out there that has an extra.
If you were coming to a tournament in BC, I’d say don’t worry about it.
When teams, particularly rookie teams, show up at an event without a backup battery, I make sure they understand what a backup battery is, why it is useful and that the risk of a communications failure when they compete without one is entirely their own.
I can’t think of many cases where the lack of a backup battery has actually caused a communication loss, but the risk definitely exists.
The key idea is that not having a backup battery does not present a risk to the volunteers or playing field, and does not provide an advantage to your robot. The rule exists ONLY to assist teams.
Personally, I’d rather see teams play, enjoy the tournament, and come back better for their next tournament than see them turned away (and maybe never see them back again.)
Now… that said… anyone showing up at the BC World Championship Qualifying tournament, or the “A” Division tournament at BCIT had best be prepared to meet every little rule TO THE LETTER. Anyone who has qualified for that level of tournament has no excuse. Rookies… well, that’s where the term ‘rookie mistake’ comes from, and it is a bit more forgivable.
So if you are absolutely stuck, do your best to solve the problem and then contact the tech inspection booth or tournament organizer at your earliest opportunity. Explain to them what has happened and I expect they will go out of their way to assist you… either by helping you find a backup battery and holder, or by accepting your promise to be better prepared for the next event.
I can’t promise that, of course… the rules are the rules and the inspectors have every right to enforce them at the strictest level… but at the end of the day the goal of volunteers at most events is to see everyone have a safe and fair playing experience.
Good luck. Hopefully you’ll find a replacement, but show up for the event even if you don’t.
Jason
P.S. I’d actually rather have you compete without the backup battery than using a jury-rigged one. Bring the ‘DIY’ connection anyway… your inspectors might feel differently.
Backup battery connectors can be borrowed from other trams who are at the event when they are not playing a match. Like flags they are easy to share.
For the most part, yeah you could do that. I know in VA when I inspect teams for our local events I just warn teams about what not having a backup battery could result in and let them learn.
A 9V battery from anywhere would just about do it. As long as the connection is good you should be fine.