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Another point came to mind about ramps. Where will top of the 1/4" diameter stick be when the car is on the ramp with the tip of the egg at the start line? Most likely over the start line. We considered ramps for just a couple minutes before deciding against them.

What launch methods were people considering?

JimY wrote:Another point came to mind about ramps. Where will top of the 1/4" diameter stick be when the car is on the ramp with the tip of the egg at the start line? Most likely over the start line. We considered ramps for just a couple minutes before deciding against them.

simple fix to this whole problem. Make it so the front portion of the car is on some sort of hinge joint and have the front start on the ground, but i do agree ramps are illegal.

jacobxc wrote:

JimY wrote:Another point came to mind about ramps. Where will top of the 1/4" diameter stick be when the car is on the ramp with the tip of the egg at the start line? Most likely over the start line. We considered ramps for just a couple minutes before deciding against them.

simple fix to this whole problem. Make it so the front portion of the car is on some sort of hinge joint and have the front start on the ground, but i do agree ramps are illegal.

Ramps are definitely not illegal, its just that every judge may see them as violating the rules in a different regard (ex: the tip off the egg, if you use a ramp, may not be exactly at the starting line).

Cheese_Muffin_Man wrote:What launch methods were people considering?

At Texas' first invitational 1/2 of the people used ramps, 1/4 used push rods, 1/8 used hammer like devices, 1/8 was other, for example just a car and nothing else or mine which was a pulley system.

Also is anyone else doing a pulley system because I didn't see any others with this setup.

You had the pulley system? :O nice, I saw that one when you were running it in my going around trying to do a thousand things.

Cheese_Muffin_Man wrote:

jacobxc wrote:

JimY wrote:Another point came to mind about ramps. Where will top of the 1/4" diameter stick be when the car is on the ramp with the tip of the egg at the start line? Most likely over the start line. We considered ramps for just a couple minutes before deciding against them.

simple fix to this whole problem. Make it so the front portion of the car is on some sort of hinge joint and have the front start on the ground, but i do agree ramps are illegal.

Ramps are definitely not illegal, its just that every judge may see them as violating the rules in a different regard (ex: the tip off the egg, if you use a ramp, may not be exactly at the starting line).

Has it been clarified? Because the rules don't say no ramps, and my statement fixes the rules it is breaking. Again I think ramps are illegal but I can see how you could justify it.

jacobxc wrote: Has it been clarified? Because the rules don't say no ramps, and my statement fixes the rules it is breaking. Again I think ramps are illegal but I can see how you could justify it.

I'm sure this question will be definitively answered on the soinc.org website FAQ in the near future and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a legal option.

I bet that for those that used a ramp at the Texas invite that the judge missed where the top of the dowel was. For those of you that think a ramp won't get you put in a lower tier, why take the chance at your regional or state competition? If the tip of the egg is at the start line with nothing over it, I agree it would be ok. But I think this leaves you with a low sloping ramp that won't give you much speed. One exception that I can think of is to have the 5 cm x 5 cm x 1/2" block, egg, and dowels on a hinge and balance system (first class lever) such that the 20 cm dowel is essentially vertical on the ramp and with the egg pointing toward the target. I haven't checked if this idea messes with any of the other rules though.

Really? There's absolutely no need to try and point out hoe you think other people have misread the rules, it can come across as insulting. And for the record, yes, a large number of ramps were second tierd, and those that weren't (mainly those that had the egg at the starting line, I believe) were shown the rules that were in question and told that they should get clarification and watch out in future contests. That decision was made after consultation with various coaches, very through readings of the rules, and the input of tournament officials.