Rule 4.4 Remote Kill (Advisory Only)

[the__kraken]

Thanks.

[babeth]

People should always remember this little tidbit of knowledge: the moment the removable link is in your robot it becomes a hazard.

Having a remote switch on/off just adds a little extra information to deal with: when you approach the switched off robot in order to remove the link and it stands still... be careful, and when it twitches... be veeeery careful. If it is not switched off but doesnt respond... oops - be extra careful. That is the added safety bit.

Mind you, it always comes down to the same old warning: never trust a robot with the link in ! (We cant warn people often enough.) Even when you add LEDs to show whether its on or off you must always be wary. But in the end I would still prefer the remote switch and warning lights. It is extra feedback that you might need one day.

It is a dangerous hobby after all, and although we are sensible people with a good and strong common sense, in the heat of the fray I always see common sense getting kicked aside by enthousiasm and the need for speed.

[kane]

The main advantage of the remote kill is to prevent you operating your robot by knocking a stick on the transmitter.

It is a good safety device... But never expect your robot to be safe when the link is in!

[m2xt]

I find the main advantage of the remote kill is that when I place the link in and then turn on the gas, the batteries remain electrically isolated from the speedos and solenoids. However, I still assume the worst when arming just in case but the probability of the bot suddenly driving or the flipper operating whilst arming are significantly reduced.

Paul

[fluppet]

Strictly speaking, Pauls advocating a remote activate - which is also a commendable feature. The nonreversible features which Id be happier seeing in a remote kill (fuse blowing, wire cutting, etc.) dont help with the starting up case. Of course, a remote activate shouldnt have quite such the same problem of the robot being in an arbitrarily wrecked state when its asked to work, so Id be happy with a solid state (or at least, relay based) one of those.

Just to make the minor distinction and state the obvious...

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Fluppet