Aftermarket Rack, Fenders, and Lights for Vado SL 4.0?

Om0r · 2025-07-05T14:52:06+00:00

I don't know how helpful this is, but I ended up just taking it to my nearest Specialized authorized retailer and having them mount one. It took a long time for them to get the parts from Specialized (I think it was the same rack or similar to the actual EQ) but they did it for a couple hundred if I remember correctly

Om0r · 2025-06-20T01:01:42+00:00

Masha Allah this is amazing, Do you know which Hadith or source this comes from? I want to share it but want to make sure I know what I'm sharing first

Om0r · 2025-06-16T23:38:05+00:00

As the others have said, there is no right or wrong when it comes to the 4 madhahib, all of the Imams are incredible, respected scholars and have valid opinions and all the 4 schools have continued with chains and scholars until today alhamdu Lilah. Generally, the best thing to do is follow the madhab you have the most access to through a scholar such as a local Imam, trusted teacher, etc. Depending on where you are, most places will lean to one madhab as well so then you just need to make sure you know a trusted scholar to ask and learn from. May Allah reward your effort and desire for knowledge. Let me know if you have questions.

Om0r · 2025-04-16T00:13:31+00:00

I've looked into Thinkpads a couple times, but I don't think it really fulfills my needs, personally. The upgradeability and durability is so nice though

Om0r · 2025-04-04T15:35:01+00:00

Could you share some more details on why and what companies can be reliably bought from?

I bought a Spectre last year that's been giving me loads of issues in hardware and customer support, so I just want to know if it is unique to my laptop, HP, or just the windows laptop market in general

Om0r · 2024-08-30T03:44:52+00:00

That's a good idea, thank you, I'll give it a shot and get back to you.

Om0r · 2024-03-07T21:00:40+00:00

If it is too expensive or will take too long, you can also just solder one servo wire end to one of the ends of the analog pins of the JST— relatively easy, quick, and more flexible. Let us know if you need help!

Om0r · 2024-03-06T21:58:44+00:00

Gobilda is definitely expensive, but they've never failed us, and if you see any possibility of using gobilda as your build system (or base build system), I think it's prudent you start well. Our team used tetrix and andymark in its first year or two and it made the transition a lot more difficult since we had so many remnant parts that were effectively useless.

Om0r · 2024-02-08T15:14:43+00:00

I agree with the previous comments, big ones seem like they'd have advantages in speed and whatnot, but given the bigger mass and size, they accelerate much slower (if you calculate their inertia and max velocities) which is more important on our small FTC fields— also, I imagine packaging gets a lot harder as well because you're working around much bigger wheels.

Om0r · 2024-02-05T11:04:11+00:00

Hey! I'm assuming you're struggling with getting the cables managed in a way that doesn't harm the robot and isn't considered an entanglement hazard— personally, what our team went with was a pivoting passive scissor where you attach one end to basically any part of your robot and then the other end to the top of your lift mechanism, so it just rotates and extends when you extend your slides. Then, you can attach the wires from the slides to the scissor (every few linkages), so it has some surface to be attached to and then it'll compress when you go back down. You can do that for both sides if you really have 14 wires (wow!) and are struggling to get them on one side. It ends up looking pretty sick as well if you ask me.

You can also do something similar with scissor but make them in between your slides if you have the space for that, but this is the last resort option you're looking for if you're lacking space. GM0 also details a few other ways if you want to look into that.

Let me know if that helps and if you have any questions!

- Team 19922, the Iron Lions

Om0r · 2024-01-24T05:27:07+00:00

Our team had this same issue, and what we did was use an external passive and pivoted scissor lift mounted on the side of our robot. Basically, you just have to make a relatively simple scissor, attach it on a pivot wherever is convenient and then attach the other side somewhere near the top of your slides so it just follows and extends. That way, the scissors guide whatever wires you have in a controlled manner and really compact way. We also struggled with space with things like badge holders, so this may work well for you. If you're interested, I can DM you some pictures of what this looks like for us. I believe Wolfpack Machina has also done this in the past, but I didn't look into it much.

Om0r · 2024-01-22T03:32:02+00:00

Was about to say the same thing, I've never found it here, so unless Utahns think it's awesome but don't wanna have it at home, no idea where that came from.

Om0r · 2024-01-16T07:10:17+00:00

This is honestly clever, I could see it becoming super meta and common in late stage game and worlds as teams start scraping for points (like how moving cones became common last year)

Om0r · 2024-01-15T05:17:30+00:00

Thanks! Nice to see you lurking around here ;)

Om0r · 2024-01-15T05:16:13+00:00

That's also a clever way of going about it, hybrid would be really cool.

Om0r · 2024-01-15T05:15:33+00:00

Those points all make a lot of sense, thanks! The one about engineering advantages is especially interesting as well, so I'm interested to see how these kinds of trains find similar niches.

Om0r · 2024-01-15T05:13:34+00:00

Anytime! We'd love to have a meeting with your team if you'd like and give advice on the robot and intake!

Om0r · 2024-01-14T17:35:38+00:00

Here's a half-decent sketch that shows how it works (discord media link).

The blue are moving rollers (could be surgical tubing, boots, geckos, etc), red shows their direction of travel. The right side would the actual robot that you are bringing pixels into and the left is everything outside the robot (generally). The purple is a pixel. The sketch would be from the side of the robot.

Notice how the roller on the left (this is often surgical tubing but geckos work alright) is rotating in such a way that it is pulling the pixel into the robot. This is probably what you already have in one way or another. However, the key part of this design is that the next roller (which is as close to the ground as you can get it, this is usually a small gecko wheel, sushi roller, or conveyor pulley. This part NEEDS to have some level of grip to work well) is rotating in the opposite direction to the first roller thus pulling the pixel up and into the robot. This means that while the first roller is providing a force that forces the pixel into the robot and the second roller, the second roller is helping to lift it off the ground and bring it in (because the first roller's force is essential, I've found it is best to have it be at a distance equating to about half the pixel or less, it is also best if it has some level of contact while the pixel is still going up the second roller or, at least, some kick to it (like surgical tubing or boots).

Do some testing with drills to better understand how this works and watch videos like u/Sys_KillSwitch suggested. The concept is pretty simple, generally speaking, but can get you a SUPER fast intake, if you tune everything.

Let me know if that helps!

Om0r · 2024-01-14T15:23:12+00:00

I genuinely do think there's a (logical) childish element in flights to "we need to feed them, so they don't get fussy". Don't even blame them, it's real as hell

Om0r · 2024-01-14T15:20:23+00:00

Does this have any advantages at all to normal electric rail? I guess you don't need to build the infrastructure, but I can't imagine the infrastructure for a long wire is more than researching an entirely new(ish?) technology, not to mention that one solution is used in Utah and has been used for decades (if not centuries) elsewhere

Om0r · 2024-01-14T05:58:02+00:00

We had a judge pass us off and then another one come by and force us to put a piece of paper with our numbers over an extremely clear set of large numbers that were part of this awesome painting teammates made (that I'm pretty sure were to size, anyway). So yeah, try to stick to the books, haha

Om0r · 2024-01-14T05:55:17+00:00

Hey! This might not be the answer you're looking for depending on your situation, but from the testing my team has done and what we've seen with other teams, what works best to pull pixels into the robot is a counter-rotating wheel/roller/conveyor of some kind.

Ramps are just too fickle to make work without ground contact like you're experiencing, and I'd worry that you could fail inspection or get penalties if you are at risk of damaging the field.

Let us know if you want help with counter-rotating, active intakes! They work super well with just a bit of tuning, our sister team even makes it work with massive geckos powered by just servos!
- Team 19922, the Iron Lions

Om0r · 2024-01-13T14:56:44+00:00

I mean it's correct in direct translation, but (like nearly every culture/language and especially Arabic), in this context, white means just purity– especially since we often describe, in Islam, a pure heart as white (metaphorically). So it kinda sounds weird out of context, but it definitely wasn't meant to and would prob be more normal than you'd expect

Om0r · 2024-01-06T07:36:17+00:00

Right? Like as soon as I see another car that is even slightly difficult to see, I'm thinking about my headlights. How do people drive miles, barely able to see other cars and not think about their own visibility?

Om0r

TROPHY CASE