lol this would help my brain has like 10 blown ports kinda unuseable for competition use
So the real question is: “How many teams would replace existing brains with new ones with antistatic upgrades in them?” I’d rather bite the bullet now and replace them. The current death by a thousand cuts (or 20 ports dying slowly) is far worse.
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I’d order ASAP, but with the anticipation that we wouldn’t get them shipped for a while since I don’t think the shortages have gotten much better.
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ideally I would be able to wait until all the unprotected brains have perished before replacing them with protected ones, but given how quickly components go out of stock these days I would probably buy protected ones as soon as they would be available, since by the time they actually arrive my unprotected brains will probably be all dead.
but given how many years it’s been since v5 launched, I don’t have any faith that this issue will be fixed, or that there is any intent whatsoever to fix it. And just saying, it does open up a market for anti-static products that would otherwise be unnecessary.
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Teams in places like the UK where static is not really that much of an issue (high humidity) might not replace
I would rather buy a new brain with protection to the transceiver chips than keep spending money on antistatic tiles, antistatic wheels (although rims with screw holes are very welcomed), what’s next antistatic shafts made out of special secret Chinese antistatic alloy at 5x the price? Last weekend at a qualifier our top team whitescreened (EP promised all fields had new antistatic tiles). Driver asked head ref if the match will be replayed, answer was a very abrupt “No”. Bunch of teams came to the rescue with the appropriate game rules in hand and the match was replayed. They whitescreened again. Event decided no more replays for them for the fear of running late. This team never ever had a whitescreen before (they did burn many ports though and this is their second and last brain this season, we’re out and VEX is out). Not making any point, just confirming facts.
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Not sure how this got missed in the announcements: VEX Avatar Assortment Pack - VEX Robotics
Every IQ robot needs a driver!
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Just a reminder that at least the Astronaut minifigure is on the legal parts list. This is a game changer.
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My favourite new product!
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Quick question about the new 4" Antistatic wheels:
For the old 4" omni wheels, the actual diameter of them was closer to 4.125". Is this the same for these, or do these have an actual diameter of 4"?
I would hope it is the same diameter as the old ones. Is the cad out for the new wheels?
Quick heads up to people wondering: I’ve gotten my hands on them, and it appears the traction that both of these new wheels offer is comparable to the traction of the old 3.25” wheels.
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So are you saying that these wheels have worse traction compared to the old 4" omnis? So is there truly any benifit from the old 4" omnis to these new ones?
The mounting holes seem really nice, and the anti-static sounds like it would be nice.
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yes, the traction is worse. However, they appear to be the same width as the old 3.25”s, meaning that building drivetrains within a 3 hole gap is now a lot easier with 4” wheels. The new 4”s also have nice mounting holes that you can screw gears into, which will help eliminate slop in your drivetrain.
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key word “sounds”
mmmm 
mounting holes
I’m trying to decide whether or not to buy these for next season. The way the spokes are on these looks a little flimsy. Do they feel flimsy at all? Not asking you to do any stress tests or anything fancy, just say if you think they feel flimsier than the old 4" ones. As someone who has broken a 4" wheel, I don’t want to buy them if they are any weaker than the old ones.
Thanks so much.
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I haven’t felt the new 4”s yet, only the new 3.25”s from the exp kits. but judging based on the pictures the new 4” are, as I said, basically larger versions of the new 3.25”s. the new 3.25”s that I was able to get my hands on did feel very rigid, and they look solid; the last of my concerns with these new wheels is them breaking. I know I want to use the new wheels very badly and will probably use them next season if they aren’t already being forced.
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sorry to necro, but has anyone heard anything on when these will arrive? My team and I have a large order of parts meant to be used for our worlds robots currently on hold due to these products, and I’m concerned they wont arrive with enough time for us to complete our robots using these parts.
I would recommend you call VEX. They will tell you an estimate on lead times and might be able to split up your order to have the in stock items ship now and the others ship later
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