I have a slightly oddball question for you. So, our cortex may eventually become covered by components, essentially making the lights near-impossible to see.
My teammates and I threw out an idea, and I was wondering if it would even be close to legal.
I have some old plastic fiber optic strands (same material as acrylic, just in tube form), and I was wondering if we could, in fact, use those to re-direct the lights of the cortex elsewhere.
In my mind, this really doesn’t seem to be legal but hey, there isn’t any harm in asking!
I don’t think you could get away with the fibre optic cable, as it isn’t on the approved parts list, however if you were to take a piece of approved plastic, cut it and bend it and polish the edges, it might work well enough to serve a similar function.
Of course that would just mean that “the light” would be visible, not “the lights”. The rules seem to refer to being able to see the actual lights.
You could consider polishing a piece of VEX metal or aluminum to a highly reflective finish and using it as a mirror to allow the lights to be visible. I’d put that to the Q&A before counting on it… in fact, if you had the home-make fibre optic material working well, I’d ask about that, too… but I’d accept the argument that “visible” does not specifically require that the light path be direct, merely that it be continuous, unless Q&A rules differently.
Don’t forget the on/off switch needs to be easily acessible, too…
In regard to our power switch, it’s very easy to access. Just the lights themselves could become obstructed. But thanks for clearing up that light pipes are not allowed! I’ll probably just steer clear of anything that blocks visibility of the Cortex lights and call it good.