VEX V5 Start up questions

VEX V5 General Discussion
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Dear Forum,
I have been assigned the dubious task of forming a VEX V5 competition team for my HS.
Any advise I could get here would truly helpful.
I have a 7K budget and want to make sure my initial order will allow students to compete in as many competitions as possible. There is no guarantee of future $$$, so this is where I would ask for guidance.
We will only have 4-6 team members.

I am thinking of ordering 1 of each these kits to start.

1 V5 Classroom Super Kit
$1300

1 Competition Super Kit for Advanced Competition Teams
VEX V5 Competition Super Kit - VEX Robotics $1650

1 Cortex Classroom and Competition Super Kit $1100

Will these 3 kits give us to have the most options available for VEX competitions with my budget of 7K?

What others costs, besides membership and entrance fees will we be incurring. I am sure there are many.
My goal is to get the best sampling of what the best of VEX is. Then, if I need more $$$ I can go back and ask.
Thanks in advance for your help!
I am sorry if there was a prior post covering this. New posters are only allowed 2 links, So I deleted the link to V5 Classroom Super Kit.
Jack

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if this is for a VRC competition team, i would not recommend buying any cortex gear. it’s all outdated, and if you have that large of a budget (7k is a lot) i’d invest in the essentials as well as a couple machines (bandsaw, drill press, belt sander, etc) to help.

i’d recommend u get a change up competition field, v5 motors, brain, battery, etc
aluminum channels (you’ll use these for everything), get shafts, gears, bearings, the set screw shaft collars (don’t use the rubber ones unless you like friction), and tools

i’d also recommend getting a sheet or 2 or 12” x 24” plastic (check robosource) and make sure it’s a legal size/material)
as well as the robosource shoulder screw packs)
get a ton of locknuts (or keps nuts if thats your preference) too

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I would get the v5 Competition Kits and if you want 1 - 3 teams then your gonna have to get 1 - 3 packs of this ( each has a controller and a brain ) I would save some money for extra parts that would be needed as some materials are more useful in this game than others. The Cortex Classroom and Competition Super kit contains Cortex materials which make everything much more complicated. Also you should invest money in some machinery such as a bandsaw or a sander. This is the one we have in our classroom, https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200660083_200660083. This is very affordable and fits your budget very well. I would also recommend getting a Dremel for sanding and custom cuts. This is pretty general.

EDIT : Also in regards to programming, it really depends on what level your students are at. If the student really wants to learn more about programming I would reccomend vex v5 pro which is completely C++ based programming. If your students are more interested in just driving and having fun then using VexCode v5 would be better, as it enables them to use blocks and see the C++ or python programming.

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@Micah_7157X

(emphasis added)

I would get 1-3 v5 competition kits. The competition super kit would probably be good to build and program and you could then work from there.

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definitely don’t buy anything with cortex gear. I’d get all the v5 electronics, as well as an excess of gears, sprockets, wheels, chain, and plenty of c channels. I would invest in torx screws as well.

also a good assortment of tools will be essential to making quality robots, as well as a field.

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Get a V5 Competition Super Kit, a bunch of alternate motor cartridges, some lexan, some nice tools, and some additional Aluminum C-channel.

Oh, and also a field + game elements.

That all should run you no more than 4K. Save some money for later in the season, because you’ll probably need it.

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Welcome to the forum!

If you’re only purchasing kits for competition use, I’d recommend skipping the V5 Classroom Super Kit, and the Cortex C&C Kit for now. These are both great kits in their own rights, but if this is indeed your only use case, they’re not as applicable.

We typically recommend 2-4 students per kit, so you’d probably be best purchasing (2) of the V5 Competition Super Kits, so you can evenly split the team members between the kits. (This will leave you with around $4.000)

After that, take a look through the “Shop All V5 Products Page” and pick out what you’d like. For starters, you’ll definitely want to pick up some additional motors & gear cartridges, batteries & chargers, aluminum, tools, and an extra controller or two if you want multiple drivers for your competition robot(s).

As mentioned above, you’ll probably also want to purchase a VRC Change Up Full Field & Game Element Kit to practice. You can also purchase a field perimeter and tiles if you’d like, but you may get better use of your budget with a DIY Field for now.

As far as other costs go, it will cost $150 to register your competition team (done at robotevents.com) , and an additional $100 for every team after that. Event registration fees will vary per event, but usually cost anywhere from $25-$75 per team. You can find a list of all your local events here. Note that due to COVID, there may not be as many competitions in your area as there would be in a “normal” year.

Be sure to read the VRC Game Manual. Once you’ve done that, read it again. There’s nothing worse than building a robot or coming up with a “game-breaking” strategy, only to find out that it’s already illegal. The REC Foundation also has put together a good starting guide on what to expect when starting a team.

Finally, one thing that I always tell new teams is “Expect to go to your first competition, and get your butt kicked.” Learn from it. Grow from it. It’ll only prepare you better for future competitions. Ask questions about other team’s robots. More than likely, they’d be happy to share tips and tricks with you.

Hopefully this has been helpful! If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask them here, or shoot me a PM.

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Wow guys! Thanks so much for your quick and insightful responses!!!

I will definitely cross Cortex off my list!

Additional questions.
#1 Do the V5 Classroom Super Kits allow students to use both block code and C++?
I am thinking of making 2 groups 9-10th grade will use block on one of the V5 Kits
11-12th group will use C++ on the other V5 Kit.

#2 Is the VEX website the only place to order the major supplies? Not nuts and bolts, but C channels, Steel Plates & Bars? I seems everyone says you go through a lot of this?

Thanks again folks. Very much appreciated your help!
Jack

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  • The v5 Classroom Super Kits are just the materials, the software is universal.
  • You can order other materials from websites such as idesign and robosource.
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Yes, all V5 kits contain the same brain, which can be programmed both in scratch (using VEXcode V5) and c++ (using VEXcode Pro V5). But as people above have pointed out you’re probably better off with the Competition super kit with your budget and goals.

Depending on where you’re located there may be one or more official resellers that can ship to you.

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Will I need to purchase any software such as EDR???

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The VEXcode software is free to download from this page.

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Well that was fast holbrook!!!
Thanks folks. You have helped me a ton.

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