POST FOR THE ADMINS - STICKY THREADS

Could we have some sticky threads at the top of the weight class build forums? They can then be filled with a lot of the basic start information that everyone needs to know to get started out (gradually filled up over time).

Having new guys in the sport is awesome but it gets tiresome answer the same questions over and over and over about speed controllers, materials etc etc in numerous new threads.

I just want to re-iterate this is by no means a dig at the new guys to the sport! We all gotta start somewhere.

I sent a pm to the forum admin a few days ago about this and haven't had a reply yet... Many other forums have this setup, such as car owners forums etc

There was talk a while back of a wiki type page being set up with all the beginner stuff in it but nothing's come of it, which is a shame as it could save a lot of time and, as you've said, a lot of people repeating themselves when it comes to newbie questions.

But having sticky threads in each weight forum is a good option if the drive to create a wiki has been lost. Some sort of moderation would probably be required to stop/clean up any idle chatter that might crop up. Having to sift through five or more pages of threads to find a few posts worth of useful information can get tiresome after a while.

I like the idea of having sticky threads, also could we have a beetleweight/kilobot sub-forum as quite a lot of beetleweight/kilobot questions are being asked and I think they would have a good potential

snap

Any advise on building a robot then !
Sorry.
:D
Someone had to do it :!:

I was thinking about this the other day.

Some sort of starter guide, read here first kind of thing. I'm not the person to make it (no time, and still new round here!)
But I do have the advantage of having gone through being new recently, so I know what it's like!

My suggestions to include would be;

Welcome
Search the forum
Commonly asked questions (quick FAQ)
Prompt to start a build thread and put questions there.
Useful links, like commonly used components (websites to get stuff, techonobots, electronize etc...), basic list of things you'll need to build a robot, EO sites, Build rules, the RioBotz tutorial, Rex's Robots tutorial (I think Jamie has them all scanned on his Photoucket.), YouTube channels of fights, the Aussie's forum. etc..
Google is your friend! As it eBay.

Links to KE, resistance, wheel size etc calculators would be useful to everyone!
As would links to certain online stores for components and anything robot related. We all find little gems online, but then these get lost in amongst the many threads.
Quick data sheets, like commonly used materials and the properties that are relevant to robot builders. Like density, strength, impact toughness. These don't have to be accurate numbers but things like, Ti is half the weight of steel but 4 times the strength, difficult to work with. etc...

This may be too much, but would be perfect for a Wiki. As for a Intro sticky thread though I'm sure this could be edited down to answer all the questions (even questions you didn't know to ask!) when you first think Hey! I could build a robot!

I was thinking in each weight catagory you should have a sticky topic for the main areas of discussion so any questions related to said topic can go in there and maybe a fe pearls of wisdom to start off with, plus they have a fixed reference point to go back to (through that threads pages):

Motors, wheels and drive systems
Batteries
Electronics and wiring
Materials and construction
Radio Control electronics

Pretty much sums up the basics wouldn't you say ?

That would be a really good idea. Giving people the basics let's them see what they need. But a actual beetleweight section would be great since their isn't really anywere to ask question about beetleweight right now

The Wiki should have been up in November.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3640

Any thread can be stickied. If you email which thread(s) I can sticky them :)