Enjoying your summer? Just updating to say that July Highway clean-up is tomorrow, July 30th at 8AM behind the High School. All members are encouraged to attend.

All team members are expected to be at our DDR fundraiser tomorrow at 4:30PM. Any and all team members that can bring in baked goods, please do.

Our June Highway Cleanup is Schedualed for Saturday, Jun 18th. We will be having some form of social activity immediately following cleanup, specifics are yet to be determined.

Congratulations to D.Stephenson for recieving the 2005 Robotics Booster Club Scholarship. The Booster club page will be updated as soon as more information becomes availible.

Just a reminder: Our DDR Tournament will be held ONE WEEK from today, on Thursday, June 9th.
There is a meeting Wednesday which ALL MEMBERS MUST ATTEND! WE will be presenting Paper Plate Awards.

We have been bumped again it seems. The DDR tournament now has found a permanent home on Wednesday, June 1st from 6-9. We will feature a light mode tournament from 6-7, standard from 7-8, and heavy from 8-9.

Highway Cleanup for the month of May is schedualed for THIS SATURDAY, May 21st. Team members are to meet in the back of the school, cleanup will begin at 8AM. Afterwards we are planning on going out to lunch. This will only be changed in case of heavy rain.

That's about it. Keep an eye on the forums.

I know it seems like I am just bumping Mr.B, but I have a few things to add.

First: We have a meeting tomorrow, May 5th after school in room 153. According to Denise, this meeting will be about our upcoming DDR tournament which brings me to my next item.

OUR DDR TOURNAMENT WILL BE HELD WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH. The original date had to be changed a number of times due to conflicts with vacation and other events. The date is now finalized. Prices will be: $5 for only the tournament; $5 for only freestyle play; $8 for both tournament and freestyle; $3 for observers; $1 for driving the robot for 2-3 minutes. If your are able to cap a tetra within your driving time your $1 will be refunded. It will be from 6pm to 9pm, and we will be selling refreshments. This will be a great night and everyone is encouraged to bring guests. Formal invitations are being sent to other Long Island teams.

Congratulations to all teams who competed at the FIRST Nationals on behalf of all of our team. We did not attend this year, but if you have checked the forums lately you will see that we are planning to attend BattleCry at WPI 6. Team members WILL have to pay their own way and Juniors and Seniors WILL take priority.

One last note: I am happy to say that the trip to I-CON was a success. A friend of mine from Babylon told me of students from the high school talking about Impusle's appearence there.

So I hope everyone reads Mr.B's post as well, and I am sorry for waiting so long since the last update (AP Exams in our midsts). I am looking foward to seeing everyone at the meeting tomorrow!

Hi Team. It has been a long while since I've had time to post a message, but there are a few items of importance to point out.

The most important piece of news is about the Scholarship from the West Islip Robotics Booster Club. Any high school senior team members interested in applying can download the application and submit it to one of the Technology Teachers. Juniors should take a look at the application as well. There will be a lot more of you competing for it next year.

The team also has another "Adopt-a-Highway" cleanup to do this month. Please post some dates in the forum. Denise suggested that right before Memorial Day would be a good idea. This time the cleanup should be more of a maintenance cleanup, but the more people that attend the quicker it is.

Keep your ears open for a meeting announcement.

I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while but it has been very busy on my end. THis update was necessary for three reasons:

SBPLI LONG ISLAND REGIONAL QUALIFYING DAY 1:
Today was an... interesting day to say the least. We won our fair share of matches and developed a near perfect autonomous program, but we lost a few matches due to some odd little problems including an arm quirk, getting stuck to a tetra, being stuck in autonomous, and having the camera barely unplugged. The West Islip High School Marching Band came to play for the opening ceremonies like last year and saw us in all our glory as we won our first match of the day (match 3 of qualifying). We also won a business award, a great achievement for a business subteam that has only been around this year. Everyone should either come see us or watch us tomorrow because we are pumped to win and should be capable as well!
All that can should visit us at Hofstra tommorrow and/or Saturday or catch the live feed (available at Soap 108.com). Come and show your support!

SBPLI LONG ISLAND REGIONAL PIT DAY:
Today was pit day at the regional here on Long Island so it was off to Hofstra for Team 871! After we arrived, we quickly unpacked the robot and flawlessly converted our ship crate into the greatest pit area we as a team have ever had. We efficiently filled out recon sheets on every robot at the competition and gave out our information in exchange. Although the programmers did not get to use the robot for testing as much as they would have liked, we managed to make all but one of our practice matches, each time with a new set of drivers. To top off all of that, we gave away a transmission to a team who desperately needed one. The only downside to today was initially not making weight, but we made quick work of that problem and now we are all set for compeating in the tournament tommorrow and Saturday!
All that can should visit us at Hofstra tommorrow and/or Saturday or catch the live feed (available at Soap 108.com). Come and show your support!

I know it has been a long time without an update, but I really wanted to track down Werner's week 6 pictures before I posted again, a difficult task with the sparce amount of meetings between shipping and competition. Unfortunately, I still have not recieved the pictures for week six (although I did talk to Werner and should I be getting them soon), but that does not mean there isn't a media update. Somewhat ironically, I have managed to obtain pictures taken AFTER week 6... those taken on ship day by Mr.B. The new gallery is in the media section. There is also the winter newsletter in the documents section (or just click here).

But just because I missed the saturday meeting for week 6 and ship day, doesn't mean I don't know what went on. On Saturday the ship crate was stained and the team did more drive testing on Impulse. The programmers even made turbo triggers on the joysticks to double maximum speed when needed! On ship day the lexan was added and the electrical boards were re-arranged to maximize safety and efficientcy. One of our potentiometers broke, but we quickly uptained a new one and fixed our last minute problems before shipping off our robot.

Just because the robot was shipped, however, doesn't mean we were finished. Since ship day, snow has cancelled or highway clean-up plans twice but we FINALLY got our team pictures taken (which I will upload when I get them from Werner)! We have also re-organized all of our tools, built replacement arms, worked on our Chairman's presentaion, tested a duplicate control system on the East Islip 2004 robot, made recon sheets, and printed buttons and stickers! Even now our work still isn't finished as we prepare for competion at Hofstra on Thursday. Unless otherwise stated there is a meeting on Wednesday after school in room 153 which all team members MUST attend.

The polished side-skirts are now on the robot! Today was a day of tweaking, and many things were replaced with more stable duplicates (both mechanicly and electricly). Two angled braces were also added between the mast and chasis.

THE SHIRTS ARE IN! Team members will recieve their shirts during Saturday's meeting, when the previously postponed team picture will take place. If you can not attend Saturday's meeting, see Mr.B.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to update for the last few meetings of build season because I will be on vacation. If anything magor occurs that you need to know about, Mr.B will post an update. You can also check the forums for new news. But being that I am leaving, I have updated the media section with the week five pictures and a whole bunch of video files, including some from this week. Week six pictures will be put up in a little over a week (after I return).

I haven't heard anything about a meeting after school tomorrow, but everyone should see Mr.B, Mr.K, or Mr.Z during any free period during the day in order to continue working.

I would like to wish everyone good luck on finishing the robot, and that goes for other teams as well. Ship day is Tuesday and I am sure everyone will be happy to finally complete their bot.

Today, not unlike yesterday, was a day of testing. Programming worked on their autonomous code and the wheels of the robot were re-arranged for turning purposes. The four drive wheels are now in the back of the robot with a caster in the front. We also learned about the sheer torque of our arm today by having the robot lift the goal and carry it around like a normal tetra. Although we are now testing and tying up loose ends, everyone should still attend the meetings, including the one tomorrow. We are close but we are still not finished yet!

There was no update nor meeting yesterday due to Valentine's day.

Today the electrical system was finished and mounted on the robot, as was the arm. That is right, the robot was fully-functional and running today! The arm works beautifully, and we had very few problems with it, other than its tendency to sway which is currently being corrected. Due to the much larger weight on the tires than previously existed,turning became near impossible. Mechanical is switching out the pneumatic tires for the hard plastic "wheelchair tires", which will hopefully solve that problem. As soon as everything is working efficiently, we can hand the robot over to the programmers so they can code.

And a special thanks to the band for the pizza today!

Although the robot was NOT finished today as we intended, many things were accomplished:

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT A MEETING TOMORROW.

Today both the Electrical and Mechanical teams worked on correcting potential design flaws in the robot involving the speed controller-drivetrain board, the mast of the robot, the robot-tetra interface, and the newly mounted motor. "Nonspillable Battery" was burned into two out of the four sides of the crate that need to be labled due to FIRST regulations. The tem logo was also burned into the 2005 controller board (just to clear something up, when I say "controller board", I mean the board containing the joysticks, push buttons, and potentiometers, not the electrical board that contains the onboard robot contoller). Next meeting is Saturday and EFFICIENCY IS A MUST. We need the robot done so we can let the programmers code, and so we can test it out before it ships. IT SHIPS THE WEEK AFTER THE APPROACHING TUESDAY. TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

During today's meeting, Mechanical mounted an additional motor to the robot in order to control the verticle motion of the arm and continued to work on the entire arm subsystem. Electrical milled out the lexan for the push buttons and potentiometers, and laid out the main breaker on the primary electrical board. The robot should be up and running again by Saturday, with full power to the arm. That would give us a full week to test and program so we should stay on track with that goal.

Today Mechanical learned how to weld, a very useful piece of knowledge when there is a weight criteria on your robot. Electrical worked on the 2005 controller board, primarilly on the push buttons and potentiometers. Denise also burned the logo on to the crate today, and it looks very impressive. Business diligently worked on revising the chairman's submission for this year as well. And last off, the 2005 Robotechs stickers were created today and are ready for print.

Today Mechanical continued to work at their usual pace, creating new brackets, arm componnents, ect. Electrical FINISHED the pneumatics box as well as creating 2 of the three main board components of this year's electrical board system (all of the speed controllers were put on their boards and mounted on the robot). Although it is in multiple boards, this electrical system seems like it won't create any problems and we are all looking foward to seeing it finished.

Other things that went on today include (but are not limited to):

Many things were accomplished today. First, our programmers assisted Deer Park (Team 270) who were having some problems with this year's code. Next, the pneumatics box (which we are no longer using on our robot, but are completing anyway) was worked on along with the 2005 controller board. Most importantly, however, is that we now have a functional arm! Although it is not yet attached to the robot, it is fully motorized and seems to work perfectly :).

A special thanks to Anil's parents who paid for our lunch today.

The team picture has been postponed to a later date, which I will announce as soon as I am informed.

Tomorrow is the NYC FLL regional. Good luck to our Udall FLL team who will be attending. I am almost certain that Beach will not be there, but if I am mistaken, good luck to them too.

First, the week 3 gallery is up in the media section. Go check it out.

Today was mostly Mechanical work (and Electrical involving Mechanical). The upper robot frame is complete and attatched to the drivetrain. On top of that, the mast of the arm is attatched and the arm itself has been built but is not yet hooked up to motors. Although there is limited space for the board this year, a feasible solution was discovered today involving the arm's mast.

No meeting tomorrow, Saturday's meeting is at 9 as per usual. Everyone wear their blue team shirts from past years because we are taking the team pictures. Veterans are encouraged to bring any extra shirts so that the rookies may wear them as well. Also, don't forget $14 for shirts due tomorrow and $45 for any jackets.

It has been decided that $14 is mandatory for shirts. Everyone must purchase both the blue and the black. Jackets are still optional at $45 per jacket. NO ONE IS EXEMPT FROM THE $14 SHIRT FEE DUE FRIDAY!

Mechanical is still busy machining the robot, and the Electrical Team had a meeting over board size and location in the robot (I should know the decision by tomorrow, assuming one was made).

On a different note, Mike and Mr.Z are hard at work on the shipping crate which is astonishing. Keep up the good work guys.

Eveyone keep on task, it is already the middle of week four. The robot needs to be finished soon, but don't worry too much either. As long as everyone continues to work productively, it will get done.

Mechanical continued to work today, giving the arm a more arm-like feel and working on its base for connection purposes. Electrical also began to design new boards based upon the amount of space on the robot they will be given.

Pricing information was acquired today on both T-shits and jackets. Jackets are $45 and T-shirts are $7 each. All money is due Friday.

Just a reminder: Team pictures are this Saturday. Do not miss them!

Today Mechanical worked on the upper portion of the robot and the arm (both made of bosch). It is really starting to gain some form.

IMPORTANT: Our team pictures are THIS SATURDAY. Wear your shirt and DO NOT MISS IT. These pictures will be in the yearbook over the two pages we acquired this year.

I would like to begin today's newspost with a little tidbit of information on the SBPLI FLL Regional competition that was held today. Several members of our Robotics team were there to volunteer and view the competition. Although Udall did not attend, Beach was there in full force and mannaged to snatch a very important award. Equivilent to the Chairman's award in the FIRST Robotics Competition, The Beach Street Robotechs took home the coveted Director's award. Congratulations on a job well done Beach!

Yesterday the electrical team virtually completed their pneumatics box (all that remains is attatchment to the electrical board via green connectors) and mounted it to the plate Alex created to attatch it to the robot with. Mechanical began work on the arm of the robot, which sould be compleated by next Saturday's meeting.

Thanks once again to Shane's mom for donating lunch to the team.

Next meeting is tomorrow, see everyone there!

Today's meeting was somewhat short due to a number of things including midterms. Basically mechanical worked on a new battery brace for the robot, electrical worked on new battery connectors and the pneumatics box, and the rest of the team worked on new fundraising ideas.

There is no meeting tomorrow, not even during the day between tests. Do not show up looking for robotics tomorrow. Next meeting is Saturday along with our Open House. Everyone should bring either money or food for breakfast, but if you choose to bring in food, tell Denise what you are planning on bringing first!

Today the pneumatics board was continued by Electrical and the proto-bot was made structurally sound so that it not only turns without falling apart, it makes practically no noise at all while turning and nothing shakes. We also tested the robots pushing power discovering that it could not only move at a rapid rate, but it could push the weight of a person as well.

Denise has decided that rather than collecting money for Saturday's breakfast, individual team members will be responsible for bringing a specific item in. See Denise to be assigned an item.

A big thanks to Shane's mom for donating lunch this Saturday to the team.

And finally, what everyone has been waiting for. Take a look in the media section because two new galleries are up. Sorry it took so long but apparently Werner and the computer got in a fight over burning the images to CD and Werner lost. :)

The pneumatics box work contnued today, and it was decided that the box will incorporate all parts of the old pneumatics board. The prototype bot was tested and better stabilized with the introduction of wooden plates on the front and back.

After the meeting, some team members stayed for the 8th grade orientation. The prototype and the last two robots were all running for this activity.

All team members are reminded to bring in $5 for food this week. Get the money to Denise ASAP.

Today's meeting featured the birth of a new project for Electrical and a continuation of an ongoing project for Mechanical. The Electrical team began work today on a pneumatics box to contain cylinders of compressed air that in past years had only been held together by zip-ties. Mechanical continued to work on the bosch chasis which is coming out beautifully.

As far as meetings are concerned for this week, because of midterms meetings will be on-going except when the teachers are proctoring. There is a schedual posted on the door of room 153 (Mr.B's room) for reference purposes. Meetings will STILL be held at normal times this week as well as during the testing period. Everyone should come whenever they can.

I would like to open by saying that today we learned two very important things:

Okay, first thing is the media. You may notice that it is not updated. This is because Werner, promising me I would recieve it today, did not deliver on his promise. We will thusly not have it up until Saturday now (because we don't have Friday meetings).

Besides that little mishap, things are going great for the team. The chasis was in full working order about half-way through today's meeting thanks to a constant effort by Mechanical. The electrical board was already finished so we therefore had a fully working basic robot to practice programming with. The programmers mannaged to get the color tracking down to an art, which was put to the test by our robot out in the hall. Our robot can now stalk team members with the color camera :). Our display case was also greatly improved and is now very impressive.

Next meeting is Saturday at 9:00 as usual. Everyone be ready to work because we need to keep this kind of progress up!

First I actually have to correct some things. Apparently lunch this week has been donated by Alex's mom (thank you :) ) so no one bring in money this week. Also, electrical completed the 2005 board yesterday, so it was ready for the programmers to use today.

Today the display case was filled with picures of our alumni as well as the team photo from Nationals last year. Everyone should go check it out.

Mechanical continued to work (in the ice cold autoshop) on perfecting the drivetrain and our other machined parts. The programmers configured the camera to the official colors of Triple Play and also learned what a longshort is through the creation of some humerous theoretical values. The Electrical Team continued their organization and were at hand to monitor the 2005 board in use by the Programmers.

I am sorry but I did not recieve the media update for week 1 yet, but Werner gaurenteed I would have it tomorrow. From now on, media for each week will be available the Monday immediately following the week.

And Finally, on the off-chance that school is cancelled tomorrow due to the snow, we will not be having a meeting (although we would like to anyway >:) ). If school is on then so are we.

Today's meeting was rather simple, nothing amazing was accomplished. Programming got the camera to be able to track a color, electrical continued work on the 2005 electrical board and organized themselves, and mechanical worked on the C and C machine as well as converting the drivetrain to four drive wheels.

I should be recieving the new media tomorrow, so I should have it updated tomorrow night.

Everyone don't forget to bring in pizza money before Friday for Saturday's lunch!

The first Saturday build meeting, let the insanity begin :).

During today's meeting the Programming Team worked on the color camera fro the robot as well as the 2005 controllers. The Electrical Team nearly completed the 2005 electrical board and by the looks of things, should be finished next week. Mechanical first changed the angle of all of the robots tires by 30 degrees, increasing stability and lowering the center of gravity. They also worked on making the current drivetrain 4 wheel drive.

Due to collecting money in advance and all the new rules, lunch ran more smoothly than it ever had in past years. It was much easier to just make a call when everyone was hungry rather than having to collect money and send out the seniors with orders. Unlike all of the other years, lunch didn't take more than an hour out of normal build time.

Keep an eye on the display case outside of Mr.B's room (153) because this year it belongs to us, and work is already underway to redo it in our image.

No meeting Monday because the school is closed; the next meeting is Tuesday after school. And as far as pictures and video are concerned, when I get them (probably early next week) so will you.

Just a reminder: be at the school ready to work on Saturday at 9:00. There are never schedualed Friday meetings during build season.

Today two magor things were accomplished. First we discussed in detail every aspect of every possible design and voted in order to finalize our design for this season. Everything but tetra grabing mechanisms were nearly unanimous votes. After this, we got the FIRST chasis up and running with an older electrical board and controllers. It literally MELTED the carpet we practiced on because of the sheer torque and acceleration the drivetrain posessed! Pictures (and possibly video) are coming soon.

Enjoy your day off everyone because come Saturday we build.

First order of business: All team members who wish to have pizza on Saturday are to bring in $5 by Friday afternoon. This year we will not be permitting members to leave and get lunch during Saturday meetings because it is too chaotic that way. Either pay for pizza, bring lunch, or have someone bring it to you. Otherwise you will not have lunch at the meeting.

Secondly, today's meeting fetured alot of acomplishments:

Today's meeting was about robotic mechanisms needed in order to complete our goals, but there was not an immense ammount of different ideas. Despite this fact, there were a few very innovative theories for our robot design that the team seemed to take a real interest to. After that, the mechanical team worked on the chasis given in the kit of parts and the color-sensing camera was also tested. Tomorrow we will prototype full robot designs in the woodshop and then vote on them. As always, the presence of all team members is requested.

Today's meeting was all about strategy and what we wanted our robot to be able to do. There was valuable imput from all subteams and every possible method of gameplay was addressed. Tomorrow we will develop ideas on what mechanisms we can build to accomplish each part of the game, including the drivetrain and subsystems. Finalized Robot Design should be completed by the end of Thursday's meeting so building will more than likely commense on Saturday.

The Game is Out!

This year's game is known as Triple Play and it features 6 robots on the playing field at once! Basically, the idea of the game is to relocate small trinangluar pyramids called tetras either on top of the many large, tetra-shaped goals or within them. Points are rewarded for each relocated tetra, as well as for any rows where the top tetra on each goal is the same color. You may also obtain points by having all 3 alliance members back in the starting area at the end of the match. Human players may bring a tetra to their robot at designated parts of the playing field, but when leaving the default position while brining over the tetras, the team's robot will be deactivated. Autonomous should be a big part of a match this year, because FIRST has given every team the code and mechanisms needed to track any designated color (which operates with special tetras) and also code that allows a robot to correct its position in a dead-reckoning style of auton.

Everyone be sure to read the 2005 rule book and check usfirst.org frequently for any updates.

From now on, meetings (as well as updates) will be every Monday-Thursday and Saturday. These meetings will run from the end of school until about 7:00PM and will begin in room 153, later breaking off into the other technology rooms.

And now more than ever the forums are an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT means of communication for everyone on the team. So register, read, and post!

Sorry for the late update, but I had a very busy day yesterday. Not much new happened this week on the team because of the vacation that was approaching, but on behalf of all of us here on Team 871 I would like to say "Merry Christmas". No more updates until the year 2005!

Now for our weekly update:

First I would like to thank everyone who participated in our Segway Give Away, including the team members who distributed tickets as well as all who donated. We couldn't have done it without all of you, and it is because of your efforts that the Give Away was such a success.

Congratulations once again to Mr. Goldstein, our winner. I hope you enjoy your brand-new Segway Human Transporter!

On Thursday, 12.16.04, we had our monthly Board of Robotics meeting. There was a great turnout of both students and parents. At this meeting our team leader, D.Stephenson, passed out our first ever Team 871 Robotechs-Newsletter. This booklet thouroughly addresses everything the team has done so far this year. Copies are available to all interested in room 153 of the High School, or through Mr. Buonomo.

Attention All Team Members: Don't forget to bring in a toy or game for our drive. We need them all before Wednesday. Good suggestions are puzzles, a book of crossword puzzles, playing cards, ect. Remember to make sure it is something an adult would enjoy. Also, don't forget to bring in a non-perishible food item for our on-going food drive. There is a new drive every month so we need new donations as often as possible.

That is all for now, next update will come in a week (unless Mr. B decides to make an update before then). Keep an eye on the forums.

It is our pleasure to announce the winner of the West Islip Robotics Booster Club Segway Give Away is Ticket number 871158, Manny Goldstein. Congratulations to Manny and thank you to everyone who helped support our team!

Now for the weekly update...

The Fist Lego League section has been updated by both the Beach and Udall teams. Updates for this section are added as they are recieved form the middle schools. Also, the media section has been updated with the photos of this year's preseason so far.

Our Segway Give Away is still going on until Thursday 12.16.04. Make sure you get your tickets while you still can. A special thanks to Team 514 for giving us table space at their "Breakfast with Santa" fundraiser in order to distribute Segway Tickets. We greatly appreciate it. The Segway will also be at the West islip High School Winter Concert this Wednesday. Come enjoy the show and get a couple of Segway tickets for you or your loved ones.

And instead of ending with a link to the forums as I always do, I would like to say "Happy Hanukkah" to all celebrating this week. (Oh look, I did both :).)

Our Programming Workshop on December 1st was a huge success. Hosted by J.Grabowski, Programming Team Leader of Team 871, it combined a powerpoint presentation explaining the code with a hands-on experience using the EDU robots. It was attended by both Rookie and Veteran Teams, as well as 871 Rookie members, all of whom had the option of brining their own EDU robots or using a few that we had prepared. Everyone left with a cd containing all of the information taught at the workshop as well as a team 871 Programming workshop Pin.

All Team Members: Keep distributing your Segway Give Away tickets. Do not wait until the last minute to so! Also: bring in non-perishable food items fo our on-going food drive.
The Give Away has also been expanded to the Chief Delphi Forums. Want a Segway but don't have $5000? Here is your chance to get your hands on one.

At our 12.01.04 meeting we decided to get pit day T-shirts in black with yellow text. The mechanical team also sorted and arranged all parts previously deemed misc. And it was also asked that all Team Leaders prepare team wishlists for the 2005 season by 12.09.04.

Now go join our Forums.

Well I bet it is obvious that the entire site has been completely revamped, so much so that rather than listing all of the web updates here I am just going to recommend you explore it yourself.

But in other news, on October 30th we attended an anual Pumpkin Fling competition here on Long Island. We used a classical-style trebuchet and were able to have four team members use it to fling a small pumpkin somewhere in the neighborhood of 247ft. This instantly crushed the previous record in this division (around 130ft), but unfortunately not enough to secure a victory. Another trebuchet, from Islip, used garage springs effectively to hurl a pumpkin around 350 ft. We came home with the silver.

On November 17th we hosted a Control System Workshop at the High School, and it was highly successful. Both Veteran and Rookie Teams attended. Everyone left with a further understanding of the electrical and pneumatic systems, as well as how the robots function.

Our Programming Workshop is December 1st. Anyone interested in attending please contact Mr.Buonomo via the forums. Let our programming team teach you the basics of C programming.

Enjoy the massive update, and I know I say it alot,but Join the Forums!

This will be a short post because I am in a hurry, but click here for some new media. (I will add it to the media section as soon as possible.)

Also, I would like to add that the website is currently being revamped to become better than ever (and easier to read) so come back often to see what has changed. And visit the Forums. Trust me, it won't be a mistake.

Welcome back everyone.

I am currently hard at work revamping our website for the new season. Although the site may still change throughout the year, this is what it is going to look like for now.
So... any links that are currently broken will hopefully be fixed soon (some of the pages still aren't quite created ^^; ), photos and video are now merged into media (the video will be moved into the section very shortly, I promise.), and any and all .pdf files that we upload will be located in media as well.
I hope the new design appeals to everyone, but I will never know unless everyone registers and posts in the Forums.
So everyone register! It is fast, simple, and painless, and it is the only way to know EVERYTHING that is going on in Team 871 and the West Islip Lego League teams.

Edit: Everything except the WI First Lego League site is now up.

Welcome to the 2005 Season!

I'm well aware that the web site as not been updated in a while, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy.

We are now recruting new students, working on a new web site layout, and actively pursuing new sponsors.

Last week we had our first Board of Robotics meeting and laid out the framework for this years team and some of our major goals. Board Meeting information can be found in the team discussion forum (see link at left of screen).

This past weekend, we had a very successful demonstration at the West Islip Fair, and we have made a new partnership with Segway of Long Island. They we able to provide us with a Segway for the day to help draw attention to the team and the robots, and from what we all saw it worked. In fact, the day was so successful Segway of Long Island has commited to supporting us at all public events. So get the word out, if someone wants info on a Segway, have them call LI Segway and make sure they mention that West Islip Robotics - Team 871 sent them.


The 2005 Team Kick-off is Thursday October 28th, 2004. Letters will be sent home to parents and sponsors, all are welcome to attend and find out about the 2005 Season!