Please keep in mind, this is team blast for Week #9. There was not a team blast for Week #8. (Have you missed a FTC-Iowa Team Blast? An archive of these messages are located on our blog: http://ftc-iowa.blogspot.com/)
1. Monthly Reports - Thank you!
2. FTC-Iowa Championship Registration
3. Samantha - Things to think about with the Samantha Wi-Fi Module
4. Contact List of Coaches
5. RobotC Resource from Carnegie Mellon
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1. Monthly Reports - Thank you!
To the teams who submitted a status report for October -- thank you! We'll be analyzing them early next week and contact the teams who need help. If you haven't submitted it for October, please take a few minutes and complete it at: https://spreadsheets.google.
It will be closed later tonight. (Friday, Nov. 12)
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2. FTC-Iowa Championship Registration
Space is limited for the FTC-Iowa Championship. It is official, we have more teams in Iowa than space at our tournament. If you haven't already done so, please register for the championship at: https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowacoaches/project-definition/ftc-iowa-championship Click on the link at the top. At the beginning of January, any remaining spots will be open to teams from out of Iowa.
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3. Samantha - Things to think about with the Samantha Wi-Fi Module
Over the past few weeks, we've been able to see Samantha in action. Lets just say, it works like a charm, especially compared to the previous years' wireless communication methods. (For the rookie teams, the Samantha is the little black box which allows your robot to communicate with the computer during a competition.) For teams, a few things to keep in mind: when you are designing your robot, please put the mounting bracket in a "safe" place - a place where it will not be bumped or damaged (directly or indirectly) from contact by other robots. Also, there has been several instances of USB connection cables becoming damaged during a match. Please make sure the connection cable between the NXT and Samantha is secure and not stressed. If the connection cable becomes stressed during a match, then Samantha will lose connection to the Field Control System and your robot will not work. FIRST is in the process of developing a guide to the proper mounting of Samantha.
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4. Contact List of FTC-Iowa Coaches
As mentioned in our previous Team Blast, communication between teams helps everyone succeed -- it is part of mantra of Gracious Professionalism. Attached is a listing of the current teams, the coaches and their e-mail addresses. Please seek out communication with each other. If there is something you'd like to have posted on the FTC-Iowa Coaches Website (https://sites.google.com/site/ftciowacoaches/home) please send it to this address and we'll post it.
- For the rookie teams, do not hesitate to contact a coach of a returning team. They've been through this process and may be able to help you.
- For the returning teams, take action to be an on-line mentor for a rookie team.
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5. RobotC Resource from Carnegie Mellon
The below message is from Ken Johnson's blog (http://firsttechchallenge.blogspot.com/):
"Carnegie Mellon continues to provide FTC teams with resources to make the build season better. If you have not checked them out you should.
Carnegie Mellon University has posted the whole ROBOTC for TETRIX and MINDSTORMS curriculum for FTC teams only! http://www.cmuroboticsacademy.com/solt/lessons/trctetrix/content/index.php
And… their most recent webinar is on Continuous Rotation Servos http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/fire/competitions/ftc/#webinars
Good Stuff!"
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need help.
Thank you all, and keep up the good work!
Rebecca Whitaker & FTC-Iowa team
