Log #26

These past few days has been quite the week for Team Big Rhonda.  The beginning of the week marked the  official beginning of construction to build Big Rhonda's working claw capable of obtaining soil samples. Admittedly, we ran into MANY problems during the process. We had a request for help in to the VEX nerd kingdom but their advice was unfortunately a language of nerd so much so that my partner and I were not able to decipher their actual advice. Once we realized we were on our own, we set to work attempting anything we could think of. We began working on the arm which, in no way, shape or form, can be considered an easy task. From working the gears to managing weight to attempting to decide between a servo module and a 2-wire 269 motor, the process took quite a bit of time and was fabulous at creating frustration. After several attempts we finally thought we were clear on the arm. We then began to work on the claw. This was even more confusing seeing as none of the pictures we looked at online had pictures from the angle we needed. Like all MAST students have whom have become certified experts in the art of bs-ing, my partner and I proceeded to attempt several makeshift ideas. We are still in the process of modifying said claw, because weight and maneuverability still seem to be a weak point, but we are on the right track. We feel better knowing that we are at least headed in the right direction.