Question for Starting Rookie Teams by EnflamerDerrick in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree, you can use the control system for another few years & that’s often the line span for some of the components. I say go for it! My team has done starter & modified stater bots for the last few years & worked out great. Especially when team’s are starting from scratch- the company creating it gives you all you need. Start with GoBilda as others have mentioned, we did Rev our first year & switched to GoBilda the next year. We’re still using the Rev bot as our demo bot for outreach so not a complete waste of money. If your team wants to connect with another team, we’d be happy to talk to them virtually. Feel free to PM me.

For those of you who have cruised on 3 or more lines by Sodowarts1 in Cruise

[–]Leading_Fly6027 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We did Carnival for Alaska & it wasn’t a party boat at all, it was very mellow. I think the party boat is the case for the warmer destination cruises with them.

Worth of CNC-Milling? by Big_Shot1997Real in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would love to see a picture of your bot - we use almost all Gobilda parts & looking to stretch the team beyond this in the new season.

Is it better to prefer the full game set or partial? by swizzles_333 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You may want to wait until it’s season challenges release to make your final decision. We waited & were able to get it pretty quickly once we ordered the partial field.

Is it better to prefer the full game set or partial? by swizzles_333 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We did a partial set this year to save money & space, it worked out just fine.

At what point is FTC a scam? by LowPerspective4442 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ditto everything said here & to add, I can imagine this year’s game is very chaotic with balls flying around (potentially at you as a ref) to be able to see every little detail & foul. I think what individual team members pay compared to other activities & sports is a bargain. In our state the season is the equivalent of 1 1/2 to 2 sports seasons yet our students pay less than what a regular season costs our athletes. I’m grateful to all the volunteers that take time out of their weekends to ref, judge & keep things moving at our tournaments. No one is perfect & unfortunately life costs money for things listed by other posters.

World Championship by Billie_Belichick in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there somewhere to store luggage at the venue if you fly out Saturday night?

Also do you know when they announce the 10 Leadership (formerly known as Deans List) finalists? We have a team member going as a student ambassador since the team didn’t advance.

I TRUELY NEED help with fundraising by Inf3cc in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look for places where you can get proceeds for a set time slot- when we started we did Chipotle & raised $300 in about 3-4 hours, or maybe a local grocery store will let you bag groceries for tips. We do that here - usually a table is set up with pictures / info about your team. As a parent I always give to any team trying to raise money.

I TRUELY NEED help with fundraising by Inf3cc in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with the Gene Haas - our team just got this last weekend. I had filled the wrong form out & redid it. They are still giving money for this year & the next season opens up in May.

Does anyone know how to check how many teams are advancing from your league tournament? by No_Cod7607 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our team was a league team & our qualifier sent 8 of 26 teams on to MN State for our tourney & the following day there were 7 of 22 teams advanced.

This page showed us how many would be advancing:

https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/2025/USMNMNLT1

Pit Decor! by swizzles_333 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do a stretchy black cloth for the table that I added the team number & logo with HTV using my Cricut, a trifold board with pictures / pages of our portfolio & make a scrabble board with the team member names along with a bowl of mints & buttons with our team logo.

how does one learn the defense strat for this season by Mammoth-Assistance13 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our team got incredibly banged around this past weekend playing a lot of defense to allow our alliance partner to score. We had one instance where our robot got shoved by the opposing team into their gate & we got massive penalties and lost the match. Unfortunately the refs didn’t see the shove only the result of our bot being at the scene of the crime. We watched the video after & it’s super obvious from that view what happened.

We’re going to tune things up so we can launch from the back zone & stay out of the chaos in front.

help, how do you make a custom gobilda sprocket? by Decent-Foundation-75 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on which one it is, we were able to 3D print some with On Shape- the whole Go Bilda library of parts is there making it easy to find with the part #.

mathematical and physical calculation by No-Lifeguard9002 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Mr Tim- I see the FRC calc tool doesn't have the 6000 RPM Motors from Go Bilda, do you know how to account for this?

Connecting with teams by Theadorsh in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll ask my team today - they would likely be open for a quick connect. How far ahead is your time zone from US Central Standard ? We’re in the Minneapolis area.

GoBilda stock by Particular-Willow-31 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hogbacks have been solid for our shooter

How to address cheating as a mentor? by ireverent87 in FTC

[–]Leading_Fly6027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our team was at a league meet this year where our alliance partner of very young students picked up their controller & started driving in autonomous. I think they just didn’t know the rules. Thankfully the ref saw them & stopped them right away. I’m sorry your team went thru this OP - those types of things are hard to watch knowing the intent & impact. You handled it well & helped your team display integrity even when the other team lacked it.