:-) Thank you, Ian, but Im only the world number 24 at tiddlywinks - Id like to do better with a combat robot (I know, thats fighting talk!) Besides, winks isnt a spectator sport, so the public acclaim is always going to be a bit limited.

Dont worry, Im expecting to make the same blood sacrifice on sharp edges as everyone else, and if I didnt have a death wish I wouldnt be so keen on doing my own thing with the electronics, rather than using nice standard parts. Id just like to make the machine as safe as I can from my own point of view - being the first death on the circuit would be an extremely embarrassing way to autodarwinate, and not good for the community! (Er, from a press point of view; peoples opinion of me as part of the community may vary...) Isnt the theory that your machine is only likely to be competitive if it scares you witless?

My theory is that the more modes of failure I can compensate for, the less likely my robot is to lose (or kill me). Ill count my paranoia as healthy until such time as I decide I cant bear to be in an arena!

Meanwhile, back on the ranch... using relays for the primary cut-out: isnt there a bouncing issue under severe impact? Id always been biased towards solid-state, but Im prepared to be told this has never been a problem.

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Fluppet