Pennbots Downtown Dogfight 2014 Event Report

The Downtown Dogfight went incredibly well. We managed to cobble Nocturne together in time (Thanks for the rush order Titan Tech!) and brought both bots down to Harrisburg, PA for this weekend's competition. We met up with Alex, who had my pulley together and we assembled the thing, got both bots through safety and were ready to battle.

Match 1: Nocturne vs Junkyard

My first match of the day was a beetleweight fight against Junkyard, a last-minute entry with a 3D printed chassis, Lexan armor and duct tape wedges. My 1000RPM gearmotor jammed up again so I only had 1WD for this match. I spun up Nocturne and tried to move out to hit him, and I tore off some duct tape, but really didn't scratch the Lexan at all. Eventually he got under me and shoved me down the pit.

Match 2: FireArrow vs Don't Get Pushy

Don't Get Pushy was a 4WD box made out of carbon fiber that came third at its first event and was driven by a nice young kid. When the match started I got under him and after some driving managed to pull off an impressive slam into the pit. FireArrow was moving on.

Bonus Match: D-12 vs Mondo Bizarro

While I was waiting for my next match Brandon asked me to drive his Biohazard toy, D-12, against his drumbot Mondo Bizarro, as he didn't have a second driver. I agreed to it and popped it into the arena. I have to say I wasn't expecting to win at all, but I have to say I did fairly well. I pushed him around for a while before he popped me onto my back and then shoved me into the pit.

Match 4: FireArrow vs CrocBot

The only antweight with an active weapon was my next opponent. CrocBot has a massive servo lifter on it that it used to flip its previous opponent into the pit. In our fight, it managed to flip me, but when I self-righted I hit Crocbot in a way that made it stop responding to its driver, so from there I was able to shove it into the pit. FireArrow gains its first knockout in 9 matches.

Match 5: Nocturne vs USS Monitor

Nocturne's loser's bracket match was against USS Monitor, a very heavily-armored box with a cool articulated drive system. The gearmotor was working again but I still wasn't used to driving Nocturne, so I was having a hard time. Nocturne got some good hits in, causing sparks and dealing damage, but one big hit knocked me into the pit, sadly. Nocturne goes out with a 0-2 record.

Match 6: Nocturne vs Dumb Post Motorama Idea #1

Since someone needed time to fix their robot, Alex took all comers with his derp wedge thing. I accepted his challenge. The first match I got shoved into the pit, same with the second, though I was causing damage. On the third match, I wanted to take out the wheels, but he drove himself onto the edge of the pit and I shoved him in. Nocturne won a fight!

A side effect of this fight was that the motor mount bent and the weapon motor was at a 45 degree angle. However, the irony with this is that the weapon now completely cleared the pulley (beforehand it very slightly clipped the bottom of the pulley), but the gearmotor was jammed again and I didn't feel like fixing it again.

Match 7: FireArrow vs Dave Graham's Robot

I have no clue whether Dave Graham's Robot is named after the robot builder or the rock climber, but either way it was an interesting robot using what appeared to be a BattleBots toy system and an Erector set plow. It was driven by a promising young driver. My first ram actually flipped it, and it couldn't self-right, so I shoved it down the pit. Onto the final!

Match 8: FireArrow vs Little Wedge

Antweight final! Little Wedge was built by the same fellow that made Weed Whacker, who I fought at Bot Blast, as well as USS Monitor, the beetleweight I lost to earlier. Its wedge hooks seemed potent and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get under its low ground clearance. However, once the match started I outmaneuvered him, got under the side, and went for the simple pit maneuver! Team Ignition wins its first championship!

Match 9: Antweight Rumble

And now it was time for the rumbles! FireArrow was still in top condition so I tossed it in, so we had all six present antweights there and ready to fight. Once the rumble started I pitted Crocbot, but it got put back in the ring, so after some maneuvering I got both it and Don't Get Pushy down the pit, but then drove in myself! I had no regrets though, it was a fun rumble. At the end only Team Runaround's Baboon Butt was left standing (Excellent name by the way).

Match 10: Beetleweight Rumble

The biggest and in my opinion the most entertaining fight of the day was the beetleweight rumble. Pretty much every single beetleweight from the event was in it, and I threw in Nocturne for fodder (We had decided to rebuild it from the ground up at that point so why not?) with only one wheel turning. I survived much longer than I thought I would, keeping the weapon spinning and damaging a few robots, including 2 Taps, a nasty vertical spinner who I really wanted to damage at some point, but eventually Mondo Bizarro took off my wheelguard and the other wheel stopped turning, leaving me with no drive but a working weapon hanging on the edge of the pit. The last hit from Mondo Bizarro actually bent the weapon bar, and we ended up face-first in the massive pile of robots that was the pit. Purple Boxer ended up winning, so congrats to him.

I also got a cool poker-chip esque win pog that serves as a nice little souvenir, as well as a piece of paper commemorating my first place victory.

I also learned some things about battery C ratings and why buying Nocturne as a whole was a pretty bad idea :P

Congratulations to everyone that competed and I'm looking forward to Bot Blast!

Official Results (so I don't forget them later)

Fleaweights:

Champion: Flea Wee

2nd: Flea Catcher

3rd Place Tie: Bar Buster and Little Red Riding Hood

Antweights:

Champion: FireArrow

2nd: Little Wedge

3rd: Dave Graham's Robot

Rumble: Baboon Butt

Beetleweights:

Champion: Mondo Bizarro

2nd Place: Demonator

3rd Place: 2 Taps
Rumble: Purple Boxer

Long Distance Award: Team Adventure Bots (Don't Get Pushy and Linus, a line-following robot, came all the way from Ohio)

Damage Award (or something of the sort, I wasn't paying attention at the time): Junkyard (They managed to get duct tape stuck on the ceiling of the arena, definitely something I haven't seen before)

My photos from the event are here: http://imgur.com/a/64RmO

Pre-Pennbots Update

So several things have happened in the past few months or so since I last posted. First of all, all the parts for Nocturne came in, but once we wired the thing up...

Nocturne pre-catastrophic failure.

First things first, we had a weapon test. The bar spun up fine, but the pulley (which had been drilled out wider than it was supposed to) snapped almost instantly under the force and left us without a weapon and needing a larger pulley and belt to get it running at top condition.

Also, after realizing why I should never trust cheap mixers from RobotMarketPlace (hint: they're cheap), we tried to get the motors running with dual stick. We screwed up something wiring wise (Thinking something to do with BECs, but we don't know) and both TinyESCs we were running got fried. I made a decision to not have that happen again and go with Vex controllers for next time around, but without motor controllers, a belt or pulley around in time for Pennbots we had to pull our new beetle out. A major shame, as the beetleweight competition looks like it has some major competitors this time around.

FireArrow went together without a single hitch (well maybe one). We didn't have weight to make the thing self-right with our new steel wedge, and we also didn't have weight for any form of wheel guards, but we were able to do some nice chassis milling, and also have some motor protection/self-righting mechanism in back:

Dat booty

That's 4130 steel, a lot stronger than the aluminum we were using earlier, and a lot heavier too. After learning that FireArrow couldn't self-right no matter what material wedge we used my dad crafted this bar as a very nice solution. Wheelies a little now but that can't be helped.

And now, the finished photo (minus paint):

Ta daaaaa!

Not sure if we'll have time to paint it in the upcoming days, but FireArrow is all set for Saturday. Hope a few more ants show up, if not it'll be fairly boring. But hey, at least my beetle envy will get me through the day :P

See you guys at Pennbots!

Moto 2014 Predictions

Just because I'm not going doesn't mean I can't make predictions!

Fairyweight
Everyone's gonna be hard-pressed to beat Demise again, but to be honest I don't think anyone in this field can do it. Maybe Itsy Bitsy Spider? I can see Bar Buster coming a distant third unless Sean can make Gyroscope a competent fairy this time around.

1st: Demise
2nd: Itsy Bitsy Spider
3rd: Bar Buster

Antweight
Lots and lots of tough spinners this time around, and in all varieties too. Last year's champ Low Blow is gonna be hard to beat, but wedged spinners like Algos and Four Minute Warning might have what it takes. Also, Slim Pickens has been constantly improving with each tournament and could be a shocker. However, I wouldn't count out the several drum bots either. Klazo, despite never really doing well, is always a threat, and Gyroscopic, Poco Tambor and Maelstrom are all very potent as well. Another dark horse is Ferocious, who could bring back the 4WD ant scene.

1st: Algos
2nd: Low Blow/Vile Ant
3rd: Slim Pickens

Beetleweight
A very diverse Beetle field as per usual. The Robojackets fleet looks potent, as does Franklin champion Grande Tambor. Mondo Bizarro is going to be hunting for revenge, and bar spinners like Maniac Kathy and Scrambles round out the spinners. Trilobite and Thunder Child are also mixed in there, as well as Revenge of Dr. Super Brain. There's also Wedge of Destruction, one of my favorite beetles in ages, as well as Dragon Con runnerup Slim Margins. Slopapotamus and The Hammer are also back to go for another shot, and both of them are extremely potent spinners as well. Then there's Big Data, whose builder made a full-body brushless motor last year, and Cyberkitty Salad, Charles' latest crazy contraption. All in all it's anyone's game and I probably won't be surprised no matter what happens.

1st: Grande Tambor
2nd: Trilobite
3rd: Misdirected Aggression

Hobbyweight
As usual, the hobbyweights are the least-populated class at Motorama. However, there's some nice variety here. Pneumatic flipper Jumbonator is back, and the giant Trilobite named Isotelus Rex looks ready to lay the smackdown on some spinners. The only question is if Cataclysm will go quietly... I don't think so. There's also Fiasco's successor, Vortex. If it can live up to its predecessor it will be tough to beat as well. Jeremy's Warlock and Attrition are gonna have to try hard to beat such a tough field, and Enigmasaur is the wildcard. If its builder can learn from its mistakes at Franklin, it could also be a factor.

1st: Isotelus Rex
2nd: Cataclysm
3rd: Vortex

Sportsman
And the Sportsman class, as usual, gives us some fantastic variety as well as some great action. Upheaval's looking for revenge on Jack Reacher, or at least its successor Magneato. Team Solo's back in the action too, after a 4 year retirement, with Knuckle Buster back in action. I'm looking forward to seeing the builder of Rim Tin Tin fight again. Mike's two sportsmen, Nyx and his new build Spanky, could also take the class by storm. Piston Wax also looks fearsome, its 6lb counterpart came third at Bot Blast and proved its potency. There's also Sinister Scorpion, another bossing design from Jeremy that could do well. Rounding out the class is Uberclocker, back for another shot at the crown. However, only one robot can stand atop the wackiness that is the Sportsman class. (Hint: It won't be Creebot :P)

1st: Nyx
2nd: Upheaval
3rd: Knuckle Buster

Featherweight
Finally we arrive at the biggest class at Moto, and the one with the least amount of fitting preview images. Tetanus is back for one more shot, as is Shaka. Alex's new drumbot ReEnforcer also looks vicious. If Atomic Bumble actually finishes in time this time around, it could be a tough contender as well. I'm also eyeing both Jamo's new 30 and Hardcore Robotics' entry, Suitcase Nuke. If it's anything like Last Rites it could be a vicious competitor. Charles also returns to the featherweight scene with... whatever his preview image suggests... The Magnificent Poncho also takes my vote for favorite name in the class, in a class with a literal truckload of hilarious names.

1st: Suitcase Nuke
2nd: Tetanus
3rd: ReEnforcer

December 2013 Update: Registered for Pennbots!

Team Ignition is all signed up and ready to go for Pennbots' Downtown Dog Fight on March 22, 2014. I have pretty much all the parts I need for FireArrow v2, so now it comes down to finishing Nocturne up. I still need about 100% of the electronics for it, but that's about it really. So, since I don't want this to be some boring "oh hey i signed up for something bye" sort of thing, I'm gonna talk about Pennbots a little.

Pennbots is probably a lot different from Bot Blast. For instance, it's a smaller event that draws in a smaller crowd, and most of the competitors (at least from what i've seen of past years) are young kids who are doing it for fun. This is evidenced by last year's BW runner-up Demonator, a  4WD toy with some plastic on it. Another difference is that the arena has *le gasp* pits. Two of them to be exact. I keep fearing I'm going to accidentally drive into one and lose out on an easy win. Also a problem is a lot of the machines are designed to take advantage of this, so I'm pretty nervous that Nocturne's gonna go out early. Especially if Mondo Bizarro comes back and wrecks face.

In other news, Motorama registration closes tomorrow, so I'll probably post predictions then (yes, even though I'm not going).

Late Fall Update - No Fall Fling?

Apparently Fall Fling isn't happening. Shame really. Still really no updates on either robot, as it looks like now my next competition won't be till next year's Bot Blast. Still gonna try to get the electronics for Nocturne together before winter falls, I really wanna test that weapon.

Good luck to everyone working on bots for Moto, hopefully you won't have too many issues :3

Might post predictions once registration closes...

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...