Power/failsafe LED

[shredderteam]

Guys.

Id have to take advice on that one from the FRA antweight rep Craig Danby.
At present theyre not required, though we will look into it if theres concerns that need addressing.

Sam

[fwsorg]

Its fairly obvious whether or not ants are on- they twitch!

[jamesb]

sqeeky voice

so lets take out our ear-pieces man......

antweights, the Ant and Dec of the robot world.

[fwsorg]

I will resist the urge to draw any conclusions based on your viewing habits james

[ewan]

I am now selling fully-made LED units for use in robots. This is just an easy was of fitting the new rules from the FRA.
The units are contained within light grey ABS boxes (50mm x 17mm x 35mm).
You can purchase any of these three versions:

1. 10mm Red LED, 5.00
2. 10mm Green LED, 5.00
3. 5mm Blue LED, 7.00 (blue LEDs cost much more than the other standard colours)

All of the above have a 50p p&p charge to anywhere within Europe.

All three versions are packed with the following features:

- All units will run of any voltage from 5-36v (40v peak)
- All units have reverse polarity protection
- All units are virtually immune to electrical noise
- All have easy mounting via two 4mm bolts (included)
-A manual with full installing instructions is included

There is a picture on my profile of the unit.
Can all orders be sent to led@micro-maul.co.uk, please state the colour of LED you wish to have, and Ill send you an address to send cheque/cash/postal-order to.

Cheers, Ewan

[typhoon_driver]

i know i may spark up the whole debate about LEDs again but......

In our case i think an LED would actually be a hazard. As most of you know, our robots have the removable link at the end of the flag inserted into the robot. Now I was wondering if an LED would actually be worse for us personnally as if there is anything sticking out the central shaft then the robot is considered live and therefore approached with extreme caution. Whereas the LED could malfunction etc and go out when the flag is in. At that point we would still treat the robot as live and not go near it with caution. We will of course comply with any rules necessary however i was just wondering what peoples thoughts were.

[jim]

This has been argued to death now. The general consensus seems to be that you shouldnt approach with any less caution just because the LED is off.

As long as you interpret it as:
- LED on means the robot is live
- LED off means nothing, so you must rely on other indications (e.g. the link) to determine the robots status.

Then it doesnt do any harm and can avert some situations where you thought your robot was disabled but wasnt.

[grant_ploughbot]

As long as you interpret it as:
- LED on means the robot is live
- LED off means nothing, so you must rely on other indications (e.g. the link) to determine the robots status.

Wouldnt this just mean that there is no point in having an LED?
And yes Gary, I can see ALOT of people starting to rely in the LED especially when they are tense and in a rush, Im sure that many people wil start to become just a little bit too complacent.
I sure hope not though for their own sake!
Grant

[mute]

Grant,

I have been to loads of live events and I have never once seen anyone rely on an LED to determin if the machine is safe or not. The LED is not a Its Safe indicator, it just shows if the main power is on.

If the link aint in your hand then you should assume the bot is still live. The instant you stop respecting your machine it will almost certainly injure you.

As Mike said somewhere above, the LEDs help let the EOs know which bots to disarm first.

[jim]

No, there definitely is a point in having a warning light... it helps in any situation where you thought the robot was inactive, but wasnt. Disarming robots after a fight is just one example people keep mentioning, there are plenty of other situations where it could help.