For those interested in following my path into the robotics world...

I briefly mentioned in my Bot Blast post that Titan Tech Industries has put together a neat little fighting-robot kit. It's probably the cheapest on the market right now (at only about $215 for everything, as opposed to Kitbots, which is closer to 600 for its cheapest kit, and Fingertech which basically needs an entirely new frame to be competitive), and it comes with some of the best parts out there. However, some assembly is required (the frame needs a 5/64'' hex wrench to put together, and the UHMW/Garolite need to be cut, but honestly it can be done with a good pair of scissors and a steady hand), but there's no soldering needed and it shouldn't need too many repairs (IIRC all it needed at Bot Blast were a few tweaks after it got battered by Ripto). They're also working at getting some weapon kits out that should be modular with the basic kit, and they should be relatively cheap.

Link is here: http://titantechindustries.com/kits.html

 After helping me reach third place at Bot Blast, it's the least I can do to advertise their stuff ; )

Nocturne plus FireArrow Rebuild

Not a lot of news recently, things have been slow in the robot world as I return to school for the year. My next planned competition is the Pennbots Fall Fling, usually held in late November. FireArrow is currently in pieces and is awaiting a rebuild. However, that's not the only robot I'm planning on bringing...

In early August, the chassis from a robot previously known as Tainted Black went up on eBay, and I got my mom to buy it (Using my money of course :P). It came about a week later, and so far we haven't done anything with it. My planned name for it is Nocturne. Mainly for the League of Legends character, but also from the Calvin and Hobbes comic "A Nauseous Nocturne". I love those things :3

Secondly, we are rebuilding FireArrow from the ground up. Most of the electronics will stay the same, but we are experimenting with a chassis milled out of a solid block of 7075 aluminum. My dad already has the block and most of the main shape milled out, but we have a long way to go before it's finished. Also on the menu for upgrades are wheelguards made out of UHMW and a sloped back end, so spinners can't bite it as well (as we learned against Guildenstern this is important).

Hopefully we'll have both robots ready for Fall Fling. Still about a month and a half to go...