Introduction and a few questions!

[Ocracoke]

Hey there Lew, welcome to the forum!

I’d like to really do a vertical spinner, but I’m worried this is going to drastically reduce my availability to attend local matches, in particular (Hampshire south UK).

Is this a Robots Live! event or something else? As far as I am aware, the only two events that can handle spinners of any description are Extreme Robots and RoboDojo in Leeds. There is also the element of safety in testing as I am sure you can imagine where I wouldn't typically recommend doing a spinner as a first robot, just surviving the first three minutes in an arena is an achievement in of itself :P

My other option I’m working on is hydraulic this is really my comfort zone as I was a hydraulic and mechanical engineer at JCB for many years, this option would allow me to attend more matches because of the arena limitations I’ve observed so far, I’ve not yet got a concept of by how much so it’s hard to quantify its impact.

Hydraulics in the FW class are somewhat rare but not impossible. Robots like Pressure Point are hydraulic and yes, as you mention, they are typically able to go to more events than spinners.

Looking forwards to seeing your creations!