Update time:
I'm clear for Clash of the bots in July, I'll be packing two(maybe three) bots. Bots I'll bring are:
Short Stop: Work has halted, hopefully will order battery charger this week, final preparations for armor construction will be complete sometime this week, hopefully will get electrical system finished.
Gate Stop(Formally Cavity): All necessary parts have been acquired, final chassis mock-up has been created, construction will begin this week and will hopefully be finished sometime this week as well. Current mock-up in this (https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/35513PIC00135.JPG)
NEW BOT, Guest Stop: Picked up some clearance servos from Radio shack(for free none the less), Guest Stop is intended for filler, family members to drive around, or if Shorty goes out of commission either now or in the future. It will be super simple to control and easy to maintain. Essentially a chunk of steel driven around with speed hacked servos.
For easy viewing:Gate's matches AKA"Was this thing even finished?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylVPLDpGxz0&index=2&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVztN-tH6-wDafZ6iJYtWTc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylVPLDpGxz0&index=2&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVztN-tH6-wDafZ6iJYtWTc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sj2S_snRdk&index=5&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVztN-tH6-wDafZ6iJYtWTc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sj2S_snRdk&index=5&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVztN-tH6-wDafZ6iJYtWTc)
Damage: None to speak of, which shocks me the most
Shorty's matches AKA"I thought you were made of sterner stuff"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDZZk3enFYY&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p&index=2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDZZk3enFYY&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p&index=2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7huVEnDXCw&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p&index=7 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7huVEnDXCw&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p&index=7)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2H0jqJKTLE&index=19&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2H0jqJKTLE&index=19&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p)
Damage: Some broken solder joints, minor structural damage
Guest's matches AKA"Slow and steady loses the race"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKwFeq0g14E&index=2&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKwFeq0g14E&index=2&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7oG8RO1cVQ&index=10&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7oG8RO1cVQ&index=10&list=PLa4DDbMiSUTVu5RA2iuQGsffdsuuGkq3p)
Damage: Two broken zip-ties, a broken off wheel, some structural damage, a servo has gone wonky
My biggest surprise in all of this is how surprisingly little damage actually happened, Gate Stop came out unscathed and both Shorty and Guest can be easily be rebuilt, most notably is that despite how often Shorty's motors fell out and Guest's wheel came off, both came out almost completely undamaged. Guest's wheel is notable in that is was held on by literally one screw and not once did it break, while I had terrible luck in match ups I had incredible luck in them(You'll notice that Ting Tang hit the corner of Guest Stop, had it gone half an inch to the right it would have destroyed the servo. Had the wheels been more securely mounted, Guest Stop might have gone the whole match)
Even though I went 0-6 in COB, it was still quite awesome to just be there and compete, and gave me an appreciation of just what these builders do. My only regret is that Gate Stop never saw a match up with one of the fairy spinners(Invertigo and Unicorn), would have capped off the whole day seeing it explode.
OK, time to dust off this thread, as new parts are coming in from Fingertech, I bought myself a big ass cutting board for building material and
I wonder what this could be for?
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/27081PIC00152.JPG)
Also, yes, I am going to modify the blade to remove some teeth
Should be an interesting year.
Now that Mike has put the videos up, I can write some reports:
VS Klazo AKA "Thank goodness I learned to drive with one wheel"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKuvmYk5u3E
Yes, I got this thing again as my first ant match. The first hit screwed me over, the impact got the wedge caught up and would't come back down. Then I got flipped over. Then there was the heart attack moment(Twice), as Klazo could have easily caught the battery lead, and set my battery up in flames. For what its worth, Shorty held up the full three minutes, something that old version could never do, and was one of two bots(Exp being the other one, Algos technically did too, but not in their first fight) bots to last a full round with Klazo still in one piece, so I consider that a victory in small way.
VS Affluenza AKA "Robbed!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U6KpUyeANc# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U6KpUyeANc#)
Fun fact, we actually had to postpone the match a little bit because Affluenza had issues high centering it self.
Despite Shorties poor weight distribution, by sheer chance, Affluenza had the same problem, pretty much making the bots even.
This was Shorty as his best. For pretty much the entire match, Shorty had total control. Almost every time our wedges met, I would simply back up and let him launch up our wedge, with his getting stuck on my mounting screws. For once, Shorty seemed to had it all under its belt. Then came the judges decision...
This was the hardest lost so far, because by all rights, Shorty should have won(Even Affluenza's builder thought I should have won). The judges, however, thought otherwise, and gave the win to Affluenza. My guesses as to why are:
A: Affluenza is faster overall, meaning it looks aggressive to a judges eye, even if the slower bot keeps its wedge pointed straight and is as equally aggressive
B: Affluenza knife jacked Shortie's wedge a few times, which might have given it a few control points.
C: Most probably, Affluenza could push Shorty around, but Shorty struggled to push Affluenza at all. This most likely tipped the favor in Affluenza direction, what good is a pusher that can't push?
Oh well, for what its worth, Shorty held up, kicked ass, and I got show off some driving skill.
Rumble AKA "Wait, TWO drums!?!
~Insert rumble video here~
Man the rumble can get chaotic when there's five bots going all at once. This was meant to be a one on one grudge match with Gallade, as the builder(A pretty young kid)was disappointed that his bot didn't work as intended. Then Segway joined in. Then Affluenza. Then Orange Glow. And then Saifu decided that it wasn't done killing things that day, and joined in. Shorty took a huge hit from both drums during the match, one knocking the wedge up like Klazo did, the other knocked Shorty into the air a few times. Mercifully, Saifu ate its own spinner tooth and jammed(Not before giving me a good whack, though), and Gallade crapped out due to the match taking longer(Not before doing the most damage to Shorty that day, taking out a screw shaped chunk out of the rear bumper. I let him keep that part, he seemed to really like seeing what damage his bot did to mine). After that, it became a game of not doing much, out of not wanting my battery going up in flames, as Orange Glow was still in play. So, Shorty took a hit from every active ant spinner that day, minus Algos. Oh, and this was the only match that Shorty lost his eyes, which was pretty funny to be honest
And thats the end for Short Stop, next two ants will be an ultra fast power wedge(Hyper Speeder), and a big ass saw blade with a robot attached to it(Contriving Contraption).
What the hell is eating the other 113 grams?
Everything else.
Image for context:
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/8897PIC00098.JPG)
Drum is 1.5", wheels are One inch. I don't even know how I'm supposed to get an end cap in there.
Right now I'm designing Obsidian. I'm considering either a VS or a HS. Right now, the designs look like this:
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/85971obsidianhs.png)
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/64103obsidianvs.png)
No, I don't know how the wedges are attached either
I'm leaning more to the HS, but seeing how well the VS did at Moto in all weight classes, I'm thinking about going VS to counter wedges better.
Both designs share the same parts(Except the weapon belt), as it stands, the list looks like:
Drive: 50:1 Goldsparks(To be replaced with Sliver Sparks)
Wheels: 3" Snapwheels with Snaphubs
Drive ESC: Tiny ESC
Weapon motor: Turnigy D3536/5 1450KV
Weapon ESC: Turnigy Plush 60A(To be flashed with SimonK)
Battery: Turnigy nano-tech 1300mAh 4S 45~90C
Radio: Hobbyking 6CH
Power Switch: Fingertech mini switch
Weapon shaft is .375" hardened&tempered O1 Steel live shaft, runs on double shielded metal ball bearings from SDP/SI
Weapon is 7" effective diameter, 2" wide and .25" thick 4130 Steel, 2:1 ratio with weapon motor, striking edge hardened
Structure is .25" thick UHMW side panels, bottom plates are 1mm 4130 steel/Grade Five Titanium
Uses timing belts and pulleys from SDP/SI, timing belt is XL, .375" wide(Length will depend on application)
Weapon hub is a M-Type Shaftloc, or custom equivalent
Assembled with 6-32 screws on mini nutstrip
I'm also considering converting the Spark motors to brushless(Using 12mm inrunners and Afro escs), I'm just not sure how the gearbox will handle the extra RPM, if anybody has made the conversion and can give me some pointers, that would be appreciated.
Oh and uh, happy leap year.