Gems of Wisdom
- Start early.
- Make lots of laserCAMM reservations.
- Design mechanical parts with tolerances.
- Go with simple designs.
- Prototype and test early and often.
- Spider couplers might not be as reliable as you think. Be on the watch for them.
- Debug module by module. Try to isolate mechanical, circuitry and code problems.
- Prototype circuits on breadboards before soldering them.
- Good soldering practices go a long way.
- Keep good battery management. Have a board dedicated to power and ground management.
- Use fuses for batteries. It's much better to switch out fuses than to have smoke coming out of circuits.
- Color code and label the wires. Bundle them into groups for easy debugging.
- Stay organized and keep track of all your parts. It saves time!
- Pair up to work on different parts so that different people can switch on and off if need be and work on multiple areas.
- Make the most out of this learning experience and try working on things you might not be as good at to develop those skills as well.
- Get some sleep and take breaks every once in a while. It helps.