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Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 10:00 am
by andrew lorino
Since the score able tasks all have threads, its only logical that the timer "tasks" have threads too. So here's a place to discuss ideas on how to make, set, and measure non-chemical clocks.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 11:12 am
by ScottMaurer19
andrew lorino wrote:Since the score able tasks all have threads, its only logical that the timer "tasks" have threads too. So here's a place to discuss ideas on how to make, set, and measure non-chemical clocks.
Probably the easiest thing to do would be to unravel a string with a falling weight and change the length of the string to change the time.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: October 5th, 2017, 10:46 pm
by cuber
2 years back in div b I used sand falling onto a lever, with an adjustable counter weight, which worked exceptionally well.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: November 20th, 2017, 11:10 am
by tinyperson
Same. Sand works very well.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: January 30th, 2018, 9:23 am
by NilaiVemula
We are using a pump to pour water to complete the "water closes circuit" task. If we somehow adjust the speed of the pump to take 30 sec to pump the water, would this be acceptable? or would this violate the 10-sec electrical rule?

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: January 30th, 2018, 9:26 am
by ScottMaurer19
NilaiVemula wrote:We are using a pump to pour water to complete the "water closes circuit" task. If we somehow adjust the speed of the pump to take 30 sec to pump the water, would this be acceptable? or would this violate the 10-sec electrical rule?
This would most likely be seen as a violation. To compare, the motors used in the pulley actions must take less than 10 seconds as well.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: February 11th, 2018, 6:30 pm
by qwerty12345
Is the clock going on at the same time as the rest of the device or does the clock get triggered by the device and then trigger something else?

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: February 11th, 2018, 6:51 pm
by dmis
qwerty12345 wrote:Is the clock going on at the same time as the rest of the device or does the clock get triggered by the device and then trigger something else?
"the clock gets triggered by the device and then triggers something else"

The clock is a timer or a delay - otherwise it would not be allowed as it would be a parallel task.

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: February 17th, 2018, 5:52 am
by terence.tan
for states you have to explain how you would adjust your timer. for example changing the counterweight on a lever. But what if you dont have time to test it and dont adjust it on the day of competition. Will that be fine?

Re: Non-Chemical Clocks

Posted: March 27th, 2018, 6:31 am
by Tesel
Our mission is primarily electrical, with most of our tasks serving as bridges between electrical systems. I am wondering how a mechanical timer would play with the rule that the timer cannot end with an electrical sensor. Let's take the idea of a counterweighted lever as an example. If I were to take such a lever and use it to trigger a microswitch, would that be considered as an electrical sensor? Or would that technically be a transfer to a mechanical switch, not a sensor? If you think such a task would be illegal, what else would you suggest?