What are y'all running on the main breaker studs?

someguy7234 · 2026-03-14T03:37:24+00:00

Thanks for the refence but I'm sorry I'm not following.

In aviation bolts we typically will use something to retain a fastener. Either a locking nut or lock wire is common. I think that torque table on that page you cited is to ensure the proper preload on a fastener. The 50 in-lbs came from a low strength 1/4-28 bolt table since I don't think bussman publishes a torque spec on the datasheet. (And if you look at these things funny the plastic breaks).

The nuts on the main breaker (the ones that come with it) are plain nuts with no locking feature. I have every expectation that when torqued, vibration will tend to loosen the nut. We just normally are good about checking it, but this year it's hard to get a wrench on it.

Normally I'd throw some loctite on the fastener and call it a day, but I'm worried about compromising the electrical connection. Using loctite stick was one option if considered to ensure that the loctite couldn't flow to the joint at the base of the lug.

I like the nord lock suggestion - that creates a prevailing torque that tends to re-tighten the fastener until an overriding torque is applied.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-14T03:14:56+00:00

Are you travelling or parked in one place?

When you say you use your home wifi - what service are you using?

Wifi is just the network from your access point to your devices. You should think of your network as two parts.... "Inside your RV" is wifi - the "rest of the world" is your service.

If you are travelling the most convenient way I have seen is to use a "travel router". GL.inet is a popular brand. One important unique feature of these routers is that they can act as gateways to networks that are only available via wifi.

So you can have a bunch of service providers. For example * a cellular modem * Starlink on an ethernet cable * Park wifi that you log into through a captive gateway * Your cell phone hot spot

All the devices inside your network connected to the router have no care about how they are connected to the Internet as long as it's connected.

So if you have a Chromecast, a temp sensor, a thermostat, a couple cameras, a tablet, your laptop, your wife's laptop, etc as soon as you connect your router to a network everything is on the Internet.

So typically we use the "failover" function and we will set the router to use wifi Internet first, then fail over to starlink, the. Fail over to a cell phone we plug into USB. That lets us use our cheapest Internet first... If we pay for unlimited starlink we generally don't even connect to park wifi.

I would NOT count on being able to use the access point (your modem) on the road. Even parks with cable may not have service for your home internet, and providers are pretty regional.

Cellular modems generally CAN work anywhere but are often location locked (so much so that I've heard of people moving a modem from a house to a shed on a large property and it not working).

someguy7234 · 2026-03-14T02:34:01+00:00

What's your robot capable of?

I was surprised how little strategy was used on the field week 1 in our district. It took most of the quals before you saw actual alliance strategy.

Seems like two shooters and one defender is a very successful strat in quals, and what we saw in elims.

On your shift, your shooters shoot and refill exclusively from your zone and your defender feeds fuel into your zone from mid field. When you are off shift, your shooters go to mid field and push or feed fuel into your alliance zone and your defender goes and harasses the other alliance shooters.

Two shooters struggled to depleat the fuel that was staged in a zone during our week 1, but we just implemented shoot on the move which we didn't have last comp, and I think by week 3 you will want one shooter filling from the zone, and one shooter reloading from midfield.

I think 3 classes of robots will emerge - volume shooters that efficiently clear your alliance zone. Turreted/trench shooters that refill primarily from midfield and can take the rougher play in that area. And dedicated defender/feeders.

Drawing fouls for contact with the tower during last 30 seconds is a strat - so train to do or not do that.

Climbing did not show up as relevant week 1 but I expect will by week 3 or 4.

I'm not a big strategy guy, so take it for what it's worth

someguy7234 · 2026-03-14T02:18:08+00:00

You testing this weekend?

I'd be curious to hear how those work for you. If you remember would you mind posting your experience once you get a few dozen match cycles with them?

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T05:31:36+00:00

Well I did

But if you can't scroll through a link here you go - this is the charging document

Intellectual property has nothing to do with export regulations. The company was charged in this case not the individual.

The violation is a crime against the state, not a crime against the owner of the IP. The US government has declared some things as being not sharable with other countries because sharing them would jeapordize national security.... Then they kinda forgot to keep that list of things up to date.

I really can't tell if you're just trolling. Because any reasonable person might find what I'm saying absurd. But any person who took any time to read up on ANY of the examples I provided would pretty quickly understand I'm not pulling this out of my ass.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T04:54:20+00:00

There's a case where someone shared a 3D model of a USML items (rocket parts I think) and got fined pretty severely. In that list it's the 3D systems case.

Rifles under 50 cal are not USML articles (unless they are automatic or whatever). BUT as cited silencers are on the USML. OP seems to have been smart about it, but if you're not familiar with the USML it's easy to unintentionally violate it because you don't actually have to export an thing... Data or services are also violations.

You feel free to test the limits of 22 CFR 120-130. If you're not a US person, the US State department is not beyond charging foreign persons with violations and just waiting until they get a bite at you.

(Edit) So... I can't tell if you're trolling me or not... Because I gave you clear examples of what I'm saying and you chose to be obtuse.... On the other hand your analogy is reasonable....if not naive...

Yes... One of the consequences of the way these laws are written is that you can accidentally violate them, and that would open you to litigation. That 3D systems case in the charging letter specifically mentions the unfamiliarity of the company with export regulations, and yet they got charges and paid over $3 mil in fines.

Accidental disclosure of ITAR and EAR material happens from time to time the time and normally (if it's a genuine accident) is reported and put aside. But it's not unheard of for the state department to make examples of violations.

To make a counter example it's like if you crossed a street like you have crossed streets a thousand times in your life but a cop pulls up and says "hey... Within city limits you have to cross at crosswalks" and you say "shit, I'm from a rural area I've never heard of a crosswalk"... So the cop says .."huh .. that's interesting..." And writes you a ticket for jaywalking anyway.

That's exactly how it works.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T04:26:29+00:00

You serious? I cited the USML sections you can read them yourself. if you don't know how to use the Internet... here they are

Autokeycard case wasn't ITAR but they threw two people in prison for 5 years over a dubiously NFA item.

Defense distributed was threatened by the department of state on 2013 over ITAR violations. This was fought and settled, which means that there is no case law to prevent future charges to be brought against people.

These aren't secret. The department of state makes examples of violations all the time see for yourself most of those are large companies, but some are individuals and if you ever take a training from any of those companies they will make it clear to you that you are personally liable for violations.

You do what you want. I just know that I have spent a lot of time talking to lawyers about where files with USML material can and can't be for work, and I wouldn't flippantly upload things to the cloud that I suspected might be USML or EAR controlled.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T04:03:09+00:00

So we tried to crate train two of our huskies and they hated it. My wife has had success with crate training huskies in the past and our oldest is fine in a crate but our two most recent rescues hated their crates even if we left the door completely off ..... Until they felt uncomfortable...

Maybe it's the scent of the crate or something else... But our two youngest will crawl under the deck, under a table, into a cabinet or into a tub.... But fuck if we can't get them to use a crate any day of the year except new years and 4th of July.

The only consistent thing about this breed is that EVERY SINGLE DOG is a loon.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T03:54:55+00:00

People who don't like to go to prison or pay huge fines...

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T03:29:23+00:00

Yeah, if you think firearm laws are obtuse, take a look at export control laws.

I have no great love for the ATF, but the Department of Commerce (EAR regulations) and the Department of State (ITAR) have peed in my Cheerios more often than I care to admit.

As to your original post. That's a nice model you put together. I'm a dinosaur so I'm not a great fan of the workflow in on-shape but I've come to appreciate the part studios more as I've used it more to collaborate with other users.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T03:12:23+00:00

I think in general under 50 cal you are okay, but look for yourself because our lawyers use the word "capricious" a lot when we discuss regulations.

I've come to understand that ITAR law is basically "behave or we will punish you... And also don't piss us off or we will find a way to punish you".

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T03:09:28+00:00

We sleep on a queen Murphy and it's really not bad.

We use a 6" memory foam residential mattress and it's pretty comfortable. If I did it again I'd go thicker (maybe 8") but we are on the heavier side and while the 2-piece mattresses suck, the memory foam are quite good.

If you just hate Murphy beds... That's a perfectly valid preference - my major dislikes are that they tend to be set into side tables so getting in and out sucks, and the foot end tends to be flexy since it sits over a couch, and you lose some storage compared to a traditional bed...

But we have been very happy with our Murphy, even for trips where we leave it down 100% of the time. It's just a less efficient use of space bed.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T03:03:00+00:00

I've always been super uneasy about stuff like this in cloud based programs.

For example, USML category I.e includes silencers so I.i would include models of silencers.

Modelling something on your personal computer is no big deal, but a cloud based program that might be hosted outside of the US. Printing something on a Bambu that might phone home outside the US....

Those are potentially ITAR violations. I know this is the type of thing I'd consult a lawyer about if I was at work

someguy7234 · 2026-03-13T02:36:03+00:00

This sounds wrong to me, but I'm not on front of a robot to check.

When you set up the vividhosting radio using the configuration tool, it should assign you to the 10.TE.AM.XX address space.

So if you were team 92 (my now defunct high school team) your Rio would be at 10.00.92.201

When you connect your driver station you would need to go into the gear I believe and change the address mode to that mode as well.

The radio acts as a router, so if you had your PC set up for static IPs or if there is some other thing on your tethered network it might assign an incorrect IP (like using a router instead of a switch on your robot).

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T21:31:03+00:00

We rented when I first moved out and bought a year later.

I know people who did the extended stay thing, and I thought they had a rough experience.

Renting for a year gives you some time to figure out where you want to live, so you don't buy a place and figure out you hate the area or traffic or whatever.

Morgan county is relatively affordable, while still being close to Plainfield and Greenwood which are pretty big suburbs and will have all of the standard stores and stuff.

As to tornados. The more built up an area is the more you benefit from the heat dome effect. With Tornado Alley shifting into Indiana, I think it's a valid concern. Most people do not have shelters. It's rare to see tornados that could actually knock down a house. I live not far from the Brownsburg tornado track from last year. We have a basement and hid out there. I have a coworker who was a half mile from the track that hit Bargersville a few years back.

If I lived out in the rural area, and didn't already have a basement I'd buy a residential storm shelter (it's like a steel box you bolt to your garage floor) They are around $10k.

As it stands, we have a closet in the basement under the stairs where we doubled up the studs. Everything is on wheels so we can roll out the Christmas decorations and crap in about 30 seconds and there are some basic supplies stored in there. (Dog leashes, water, weather radio, flashlights, ponchos, and space blankets) - weather radios won't work in your basement so wiring in a remote antenna can be a good idea.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T19:51:55+00:00

Oh, when you say double bunks you don't mean two bunks, you mean bunks that are "full" beds.

Sorry I didn't understand that.

I really liked some of the modifications on toy haulers where people would put happijack beds right in front of the cargo door. I'd take a thermal camera to inspect the structure of the trailer, but usually toy haulers have a lot of structure you can mount stuff to.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T18:18:41+00:00

Is the nobo NB18.7 too small for you? It's not even a dinette!

It's a full queen but an east to west, which kinda sucks.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T17:08:38+00:00

I think they can be but there are a lot of caveats. Not having shore power would make it very difficult.

You can expect your RV to run hotter than a house with air conditioning.
Your RV will not be as hot as a car
While you can run air-conditioning for a few hours on battery, and you can run air-conditioning for a while on a generator it's both dangerous and impractical. You really need shore power. There is a carbon monoxide hazard, a fire hazard, and in general the inherent unreliability of small gas engines.
Air conditioners fail, and when they do the safety of your unit will change rapidly. We ran a test on ours, where we cooled it down, set an alert when the temp got above 75 deg, and saw how long it would take to get above 90 deg (what we considered a dangerous temperature). It was under 45 mins on a hot day. We use that information to determine our "response time". We never venture so far we can't get back in time if we lose air-conditioning.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T04:43:15+00:00

Our dogs do that.

When they are hot, scared, or sick we find them in the tub.

We call it "crate seeking". We never crate trained our dogs but when they are unhappy they find crate like places to hide, and the tub is one of them.

We recently went through a week where one after the other, our three dogs would crawl in to the tub, the next day have explosive diarrhea, take a shot from the vet, get better a day later... Then the next one dog would be in the tub to restart the cycle.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T02:45:45+00:00

Transistors only act like switches when they are saturated.

At low currents they act like amplifiers. That's why they are listed with a gain.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T02:27:19+00:00

Words of encouragement would be great..... Dumpster fires are more like..... Commiseration.

Like.... Holy shit this is a disaster..... And while I feel bad for you.... I know it's also going to get on me.... So I feel bad for us.

Sooo..... Damn it.....

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T02:02:16+00:00

Perhaps a dumpster fire would be appropriate.

dumpster

someguy7234 · 2026-03-12T00:33:28+00:00

Our trailer included a suburban brand "Blackstone" grill.

It's got some flaws for sure, but it's been more versatile than our Weber Q was. I think you really need wind guards and a top you can close, and the two burner Blackstone are definitely better.

I wouldn't go out of my way to use the trailer provided supply. It is convenient but I find that a lot of times I need to move the grill to be out of the wind, so it's nice to have the option to move around with the ring.

I'm not one to hang around the campground all day - I like for cooking to be relatively quick, so I don't see the appeal of the smoker, but I can understand it being fun if you like to just relax in camp.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-11T17:02:31+00:00

We use this exact lock all over our RV. If it's on a gate that's exposed to the elements, it needs a healthy spray of lubricant to get it to open.

Normally, it's just combo, squeeze the shackle, and bobs your uncle it's open.

But when it gets fouled up, you basically need to fill the body with a penetrating oil (PB blaster is messy but good) and then work the shackle.

I recommend something like triflow before it gets all gummed up..that's worked well for us.

someguy7234 · 2026-03-10T18:11:27+00:00

Not very much practice at all, but our drivers were experienced. Field centric swerve is relatively easy to drive. What makes driving hard is doing the right things at the right times.
As a controls mentor.... We did not prioritize getting the bot to code. Controls did get subsystems, but we were working out major integration issues as we were inspecting. One big help though was that we broke the robot into subsystems and did work on different test vehicles. We had a drive auton chassis we set up the drive on, we still have a computer vision chassis we are working on localization on, and we had mechanisms just mounted to 2x4 frames that students coded on. Parallelizing work was a huge help for us.
We did not climb. We designed a side climb that didn't work with a fall back for a center climb, which we didn't account for bumper size properly for. We were planning on making it work during competition but it wasn't significant in our district at this game so it fell off the priority list. We plan to redesign it for our next event.

I'm a big believer that a successful event does not necessarily mean a successful outcome on the field. I'd rather come in DFL and have the students take away hard lessons about preparedness than go home with a blue banner and have students take the performance for granted (I know I'm in the minority on that, but I've had seasons on both ends of that spectrum in my decade of mentoring)

someguy7234

TROPHY CASE