www.robowars.org

RoboWars Australia Forum Index -> State Specific Information

Who's left in vic?
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

Post new topic   Reply to topic
  Author    Thread
Jaemus
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 01 Apr 2009
Posts: 2674
Location: NSW


 Reply with quote  

Angus speaks the wisdom
_________________
<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls

Post Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:50 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
miles&Jules
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD


 Reply with quote  

More wisdom..... just move to brissy......just kidding. Very Happy
_________________
Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au
www.wombokforest.com.au

-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

Post Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:51 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Spockie-Tech
Site Admin


Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 3160
Location: Melbourne, Australia


 Reply with quote  

quote:
Originally posted by shreddy:
We'll see, it takes time. I've been talking to friends I know that have had interest in the past and the main concern is not what to build, but where to get parts/costs. Hence why I am planning to not build a spinner myself 'yet' to avoid discouraging others.



Been there, done the same. When Gary and I started out, we had some incredibly high powered drum and overhead bar spinner (Hazard style) designs on the drawing board with some killer test platforms built. Gary being an Auto-Elec had a huge range of rare and very high powered (for the time) motors to play with. We deliberately shelved them and Victoria became known as the "Low energy (KJ wise) state" for Robot Combat for quite a time specifically because we ourselves didnt and did our best to encourage others to also avoid building high KE machines that would destroy newcomers before they finished their first event.

Why do you think I.G. ran a saw blade for so long before I eventually had to join the opponents in using a much more destructive bar instead of the fun and noisy, but only scratchy saw blade ? For the same reason, MiniMower had a deliberately slow-turning drum (more of a rotary lifter), because we found that it worked just as well in allowing Rob to control a fight and push opponents around easily without ripping huge chunks out of them... that way they could come back for another match rather than sweeping up the remnants into a body bag. It worked well enough that Minimower easily owned practically every other robot at the time even although it probably had the lowest powered weapon of any of them (an undervolted 100watt scooter motor friction driving the drum)

> For arena/location ideas, I'm kinda on my own here

Simple.. First question, Public or Private ? Private = someones backyard/garage. limited capacity, you have to be *very( careful who comes along.. Little johnny next doors dad might think its a great idea to let johnny watch until he comes come minus a finger or an eye because of an accident in the pits or arena, and you can bet Dad will forget all about being friendly and be reaching for his lawyers about then.. Big trouble for the poor sap whose place it is. Quite likely theyll lose their house or worse.

So forget about *ever* growing it beyond a carefully selected few who the house owner *hopes* wont sue him if something bad happens. Even inviting your sister or cuz along is asking a lot of extra risk for the venue owner to take on board since they are far less likely to have any appreciation of how *dangerous* combat robots can be when not treated carefully. Ive seen n00b's sticking their fingers in places on a powered up robot in the pits where a simple radio glitch would cause them to lose their hand without even realising how dumb they are being.

Public = Big $$. Insurance, staff, catering, toilets, parking, food, crowd control and managment, access via Public Transport. P.A. Systems, Chairs, Entertainment between rounds.. Sidetracked was Ideal, it had all of that covered for us.. you couldnt think of a better venue in my opinion. We had it made, which is why I get bitter sometimes that noone could be bothered taking advantage of all that stuff handed to them on a platter.

For a new smaller Arena, The Geodesign Dome design gives you maximum strength with minimum materials and weight (read up on them, theyre great), maximum viewing area, full overhead coverage and looks great compared to a plain box. The Sidetracked Arena was considered to be built that way, but at the time with the low KE bots, we didnt need a bulletproof roof, so the octagon shape was easier to make and required no cutting of the big polycarb panels as supplied (2400x1200). Now that you *do* need a full strength roof, Id seriously take another look at a dome design if I was you, and get the polycarb panels laser cut ( a lot chepaer these days !) to suit the dome panels..

> As far as the way bots are developing Brett, I personally really like it.
> Not only are the spinners/launchers/etc getting more powerful,

Sure, each to their own.. personally, simple power tools on wheels dont do it for me.. I prefer the bots to have at least some effort to give them a bit of personailty and character.. even if its just eyes painted on and some stripes and things to give them a slightly sentient look. Even R2D2 has more character than most of todays Combat Bots, and he was just a rubbish bin on wheels.. Up to you guys though.. if battling lawnmowers does it for you, enjoy.. but I wont be.

> (offtopic) about the medical problem, this person has regular major migraines

My mum suffered totally disabling (to the point where even light made her cry in pain) Migraines for around 10+ years of her life about once every few months on average. She would be bed ridden for days, and just suddenly they would vanish without reason... untill next time.. Medical science *still* doesnt know what causes them or how to cure them.. Search on "Cluster Headaches" for more information on that sort of thing if Migraines are the only symptom your friends suffers.

There are a few options that are reasonably well proven to help quite a bit, for migraine and cluster headache sufferers, but unfortunately, due to our current ridiculous prohibition laws and excessive influence of the regulations by the "Big Pharma (ceutical)" industries desire to profit from peoples misfortune, these options as you have noted are currently not legal. Very low non-psychedelic doses of Psilocybin (the active ingredient in Magic Mushrooms) have been well proven to significantly and often totally alleviate cluster headaches and Migraines without the user experiencing any mind altering effects. Regardless of the legality, many sufferers seek them out anyway, taking the legal risk, so debilitating can Migraines be. Might be worth looking into for your friend. Theyre not hard to find if you ask around.

Migraines were just *one* of a whole rash of symptoms that I started suffering, all developing within a few weeks and hammering me daily for a good 6-8 months while I had blood tests, saw several doctors, hospital visits, and so on trying to figure out what the hell it was without success. Like I said, it often affected my concentration causing regular "spaz outs" mid conversation that my friends just had to live with while I tried to remember what the hell I was just talking about, sudden intense crushing chest pains, reflux, depression/low energy, sudden extreme high blood pressure spikes (which got me rushed off to hospital for an overnight stay on a suspected heart attack when a doc saw my blood pressure suddenly go "higher than he had seen anyones ever go in person before", which thankfully Xrays, Blood Tests and ECG's all showed my heart to be fine), mucal coughing attacks, fairly frequent Diarrhea.

When H.Pylori gets its hooks into you and you go "Symptomatic", boy does it hammer you hard.. Interestingly, only about 20-30% of people who get infected with it actually become symptomatic.. for 2/3 of the population, it just lives in your stomach dormantly eating a few calories and doesnt cause any trouble. And apparently, its incidence rate is amazingly high - roughly equal to peoples age.. as in 20% of 20 year olds carry it unknowingly, 50% of 50 year olds, and 80% of 80 year olds.But when it arcs up for those that are carrying it and are one of the unlucky 20-odd% that become symptomatic, it can really screw you up..

Eventually (6 months later), a friend that I was whinging to who had suffered H.Pylori 10 years or so earlier asked if I had been tested for it (to which the answer was no), and so they did, and there it was. 80+% likely positive test result. So the docs started talking about the "Triple Antibiotic Therapy Treatment" which costs something hundred $ (I forget exactly, 300-600 maybe?), kills it in about 90% of cases, but will basically mean you are guaranteed to spend a 4-8 weeks feeling like utter crap *all the time*. Anyone who has done a course of antibiotics will know what they make you feel like. Well, to kill H.Pylori, they have to give *3* different extremely powerful antibiotics for 3-6 weeks at the same time to be reasonably sure of killing it.. it can survive in the stomach after all, so its a tough little bugger, laughing off stomach acid with ease.. So they needed to hit it *hard* with a triple whammy of different poisons simulataneously, so image antibiotic side effects (messed up digestion, skin problems, etc) times 3.. yumm.. sounded like I was in for a couple of months of expensive hell.. Oh, and by the way, after the treatment stops, theres no guarantee it wont come back again after a few months and we'll have to treat it all over again.. *Wonderful...*..

I demurred on starting the therapy for a bit while I did some research on my own, and within a week, had found out all about it, the little west australian doc who discovered it in the 80s, was opposed furiously by the Pharm industry, who thus deliberately infected (and cured) himself to force them to believe him (risking his life in the process),

*And* the big news that was upsetting the Pharma guys no end - the more recent discovery that Manuka Honey (but only the *UMF certified proven- bio-active* - which is regularly batch-tested tested and certified for its antibacterial properties by a NZ University team - not just labelled as being such which many fakes are) that had been made by bees majority feeding on Manuka bushes - not just bees living near a Manuka bush or two, which is all it takes for some Honey sellers to claim theirs is BioActive) had been proven to be just as effective as the Triple-Antibiotic-Treatment in killing H.Pylori dead with just a teaspoon a day on your toast, and *no* nasty side effects..

"Worth a try" thinks I, and hit the health food shop for some 15+ UMF Manuka Honey. Expensive stuff at $40 for a medium sized bottle, but better than the hundreds for the antibiotics. So I start having honey toast for brekky, and within a week Im feeling noticeably better, and its been *days* since I had a killer headache.. what relief ! Smile

Over the next month or so, all the symptoms continued to gradually get weaker and more infrequent and by about 3 months, were 95% gone. I kept it up for another month or so for good measure, and now only have the occasional teaspoon or two on toast every few weeks to make sure the bugger doesnt come back again.. (which it is known for doing).

So, Screw you Mr Big Pharma.. Further research revealed Honey has been known as a treatment for all sorts of ills practically forever (since Cleopatras days), and Manuka honey even more so for at least 10 or 20 years.. But not *1* doc of the 10+ I saw over 6 months ever mentioned it.. 1 that I went back to months later and told him what *I* had done to cure it couldnt believe it. He said he'd never heard of it. "And you guys wonder why people are turning to "Dr.Google" first before visiting you guys ?" I told him... Wisen up fellas, the days of you guys being the only source of medical information is rapidly dissapearing...

1 more little happy point we discovered.. sometime after all this hoohaa, Mel slipped and cut her face quite badly working with some tools on a home project. a pretty deep 3 or 4 cm long gash down her cheek.. "Thats gonna leave a nasty scar" she unhappily declared.. which is a big deal to a woman (and most men) who arent at all happy about the idea of wearing a facial scar for the rest of their lives. I suggested smearing some of the UMF Manuka Honey we had on the wound before putting a big bandage on it, since I during my research I had read it has pretty amazing skin healing properties as well thanks to its incredible anti-bacterial effects. Again, worth a try we decided.

Less than a week later, the bandage came off leaving the most unbelieveably tiny pink mark you wouldnt have believed was a 4cm long 3+mm deep gash just a week ago. 2 weeks go by, and you would never even know she was ever hurt. She was over the moon.. she thought she'd be scarred for life, and escaped without a mark..

Anyway, enough raving, or youll be thinking I bought the company or something and I need to hit the sack.

I cant say Manuka Honey will help your friend with Migraines, since its primarily an anti-bacterial treatment (H-Pylori is a bacterial infection) and Migraines on their own probably arent caused by Bateria. but to wrap up, the 9+ months of hell I went through starting just prior to the last RoboWars Event (6?) (which only a couple of the locals like Gary and Rick knew about) was cured by an ancient natural remedy that even tastes pretty good (not quite as nice as normal honey, Strong UMF Manuka Honey tastes a bit more "mediciney" than regular honey) and beats the hell out of poisoning your body with 3 different poisons and all the crap they cause.

So, Listen to your Docs when you need to, but dont think they know it all, because they sure as hell dont, and 90% of them these days are more interested in pushing profitable products you have to keep buying and eating forever rather than curing you using natural proven remedies. Do your own research, use your head and dont think that salvation from sickness has to come in a pill as so many seem to think these days.

Thanks for the well wishes Shreddy, I wasnt going to ramble on that much (curse of being able to type fast). I just wanted to let you know Im all better now, and how it all happened that I had to step away a bit more rapidly than you guys might have liked.

I hope your friend finds their solutions as well.. and the rest of you find a way to make your sport/hobby go where you want it to.. I try not to be grumpy and bitter, but as you all know, sometimes I am because we tried so long and hard to make it roll on its own momentum, only to watch it all fall apart the moment a few of us regulars had to deal with other pressing matters in life.

Oh well.. Good luck with finding some way to take Robot Combat wherever you want it to go. I'll do my bit by keeping the forums open and dispensing free advice wherever its wanted (and sometimes where its probably not Smile, but its up to you guys now... Sorry for the big off topic waffle.. Im off to bed..

Didn't mean to sideline the thread there but continue on with the bot discussion!... if there is anyone there[/quote]
_________________
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people

Post Fri Feb 01, 2013 1:49 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
Valen
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 4436
Location: Sydney


 Reply with quote  

just a quick +1 on the smaller robots
beetles feel like the optimum point for bang for buck at the moment, Shredder cost ~ $100 all up.

Ants seem to small to really go nuts with a design. Shredder in a feather would probably be around $1k
(i spose its 10x heavier so that's fair lol)

Angus what did our beetle arena cost?
I think with the lessons learnt we had building ours the next arena would be much better lol.
_________________
Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

Post Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:29 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number
dyrodium
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney


 Reply with quote  

About $800 for the main arena + whatever few hundred was spent making it actually work, polycarb was around half the original cost. Smile
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Post Fri Feb 01, 2013 5:28 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
Nick
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW


 Reply with quote  

My Ant arena cost a bit over $200, mostly due to the insane price of aluminium at Bunnings. If I built another one, it would be well under $200.

Post Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:25 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message
Spockie-Tech
Site Admin


Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 3160
Location: Melbourne, Australia


 Reply with quote  

Again, Off Topic Sorry, but just in case any of you guys are sceptical of my Anti-Big-Pharma ranting, check out this section from background "Talk" section the WikiPedia Page on H-Pylori http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Helicobacter_pylori (which isnt visible on the front page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori)


quote:
As for as I can tell, the external link to Honey Research Around the World leads to two relevant abstracts and this article: Causes of the antimicrobial activity of honey.

One of the two abstracts seems never to have led to a full publication. The other seems to have been followed up by: Osmotic effect of honey on growth and viability of Helicobacter pylori.

This is another reference for the action of honey on H. pylori: Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to the antibacterial activity of manuka honey.

It might be useful to have a section for research on non-antibiotic treatments for H. pylori. Unfortunately, this 2003 review indicates that no clinical trials for alternative therapies have shown positive results.

Removed the external link on honey research as they are all 5-10 years old (1994-1999) and recent treatment guidelines do not mention them. The lastest link from Helicobacter journal Aug 2004 - The Year in Helicobacter pylori 2004 in the chapter Therapy of Helicobacter pylori under Novel agents does include this "Bee glue propolis, has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects and in vitro studies have shown its effectiveness in inhibiting H. pylori." [1] Other novel agents are also listed in the journal article include ginger root and essential oils. Petersam 08:22, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Can you define the criterion that justifies the right to remove alternative content in light of the age of the research? Clearly a controlled agenda is at work here. —(UTC)


Important distinction, most alternative treatments including honey and gum are all in-vitro, which falls short of even Marshall's one man experiment. GraemeLeggett 11:32, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)


There is plenty of evidence out there of the Pharma industry doing its best to supress any information on cheap, natural treatments that threaten its business sales. Keep it in mind, whenever you are talking to "Health Professionals".. remember, Medicine is a *business*.. they are nearly all in it purely to make money, *not* to make you well. Use your head and do your own due diligigence.

If this turns into a bit more of an off-topic discussion, Ill split it into the OT area is its bothering anyone.. I just wanted to share what I personally learned with you guys and warn you about the Med industries behaviour.
_________________
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people

Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:03 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
dyrodium
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney


 Reply with quote  

mmm, I know all too well about the best interests of the pharmaceutics industry after supporting my girlfriend get off SSRI's, promised to have 'no withdrawal effects' at the time of subscription. Probably best if we split the discussion from the robot stuff though. Smile
_________________
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Post Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:12 pm 
 View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger
Philip
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 3842
Location: Queensland near Brisbane


 Reply with quote  

More off topic; Pharmaceutics is derived from a Greek word that was translated witchcraft a couple of thousand years ago. φαρμακεία pharmakeia Just thought that was funny given the above discussion.

My doctor told me my cholesterol was going up last year. He said that I would probably need to go on a higher dose of drug, but first asked me to try taking fish oil. The fish oil worked and I am on the same level of anti cholesterol drug as I have been for the last twenty years.

I have a hereditary defect where my body produces bad cholesterol irrespective of diet. My forebears reached breading age before they died of heart attack so natural selection didn't remove the fault from the gene pool.
_________________
So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems

Post Wed Feb 06, 2013 4:08 am 
 View user's profile Send private message
seanet1310



Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Posts: 1265
Location: Adelaide


 Reply with quote  

Sorry, I will try to catch up with this thread and I know it died off topic a week ago but I have very limited Internet access and naturally this forum is blocked at work.

Shame the Ant arena costs so much due to polycarbonate. Ants worked to revive the QLD events. Maybe they could for Vic as well.

Shreddy, I can fund a nick style (with Nicks lessons learnt) ant arena or partly fund a beetle arena if you (or another builder) have the time to build it and maintain it, It is likely I will only be in Vic for six months only so someone else would have to take responsibility of things like the arena.

All my bot parts are in storage at the moment so I can not build for a little while longer.
_________________
Remember to trust me, I am an Engineer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp8hvyjZWHs

Post Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:25 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
marto
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 5459
Location: Brisbane, QLD


 Reply with quote  

I can send you how I got the sheet cut up for our arena. It was like $240 for all the polycarb.

Steve
_________________
Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:55 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
shreddy



Joined: 09 Jan 2009
Posts: 518
Location: Wantirna, Melbourne


 Reply with quote  

Antweights do sound more economical and easier to start up, how big would the arena be folded up? much bigger than a folded up table tennis table? (of which said table could be used to make the arena?)

In any case, I could build/store/maintain/put in money for an ant arena.
I would like beetles but I guess ants will be best for now until interest picks up I guess.
_________________
http://au.youtube.com/user/crustydemonsully

The day I stop giving 100%, is the day I stop competing

Post Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:24 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
miles&Jules
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD


 Reply with quote  

its about the size of a card table cubed. Very Happy fits in a station wagon.legs detach etc
_________________
Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au
www.wombokforest.com.au

-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015

Post Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:21 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
seanet1310



Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Posts: 1265
Location: Adelaide


 Reply with quote  

A table tennis table is lot bigger then any ant (UK) arena I have seen. Even in half is quite large.
Steve or Nick, Do you guys have rough dimensions of your arenas handy?

As each ant is about hand size if not smaller in some cases, the videos on this thread give you an idea. http://www.robowars.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1835&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30
_________________
Remember to trust me, I am an Engineer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp8hvyjZWHs

Post Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:17 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
marto
Experienced Roboteer


Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 5459
Location: Brisbane, QLD


 Reply with quote  

I think like 1200x1200x400 maybe slightly larger but would have to check.

Steve
_________________
Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Post Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:29 am 
 View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
  Display posts from previous:      

Forum Jump:
Jump to:  

Post new topic   Reply to topic
Page 3 of 5

Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

Forum Rules:
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

 

Last Thread | Next Thread  >
Powered by phpBB: © 2001 phpBB Group
millenniumFalcon Template By Vereor.