| Friday, December 12, 2003 |
SOZ 2.7 at RSA Holiday Games SOZBOTS will be running a competition at RSA Holiday Games at Fort Mason, San Francisco.
| Tuesday, July 30, 2003 |
SOZ 2.6 Registration Open SOZBOTS will be running a competition at Steel Conflict 4 at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA.
| Monday, July 14, 2003 |
SOZ 2.5 Registration Open SOZBOTS will be running a competition at the San Francisco Robotics Society of America, RSA Summer Games and Expo. See Upcoming SOZBOTS Events at the top of this page.
| Monday, May 19, 2003 |
SOZ 2.4 Details announced! See event info for all the details of our first event in Santa Barbara.
| Monday, April 14, 2003 |
SOZ 2.3 radio channels announced! See event info for all the details. We have the following channels: 62, 64, 69, 86, 88 & 90.
| Thursday, April 10, 2003 |
SOZ 2.2 a wrap, now on to SOZ 2.3 at RC Expo! The results for SOZ 2.2 are posted, overall ranking not yet updated. Sign ups are now open for SOZ 2.3 at RC Expo, go to our registration system to sign up! Compete for cash prizes of up to $200. See event info.
| Thursday, March 27, 2003 |
3D CAD Solid Models added Many of the parts we have were recreated in 3D Solid Models. See Cad Files
| Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Registration closes March 28th If you haven't registered for SOZBOTS 2.2, go to Registration.
| Tuesday, February 25, 2003 |
"Gearheads" Book Hits the e-Shelves You can't tell the history of SOZBOTS without telling the history of robotic combat. Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports is now available and highly recommended reading. The book is available at http://www.amazon.com and http://www.bn.com. Should be in your local bookstore March 10th.
| Sunday, January 19, 2003 |
SOZBOTS in Radio Control Car Action Magazine! SOZBOTS is honored to have an article in the March 2003 Issue of Radio Control Car Action magazine. This issue is on the shelves now, so run down to your local hobby store and pick up a copy.
Monday, December 16, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.5 Is Done! Ok, the event went off very well. We had 31 robots competing and the winner was Shazbot driven by Jim Smentowski, congratulations. Event results and photos will be up soon.
Friday, December 13, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.5 Final Announcement Where: Fort Mason, San Francisco
When: This coming Sunday, Dec 15th from 10am - 6pm
DOORS OPEN 10:00 AM
CHECK IN TIME: 10AM - 12:00 NOON - Check in will include a weigh in, safety inspection and a photo.
What: SOZBOTS - Sixteen OZ Fighting Robots fight to the death starting at 12:00 noon.
Admission is $5.00, free for 17 and under.NOTE: IF YOUR ROBOT IS NOT IN THE APPROVED ROBOTS LIST IN OUR REGISTRATION SECTION, PLEASE CONTACT US
Monday, December 2, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.5 Prizes Announced The SFRSA has announced a $200 first place prize for the SOZBOTS 1.5 competition. Also, SOZBOTS will be providing gift certificates SOZBOTS 1.5 Prizes
1st Place: $200 Cash AND $50 SOZBOTS gift certificate
2nd Place: $25 SOZBOTS gift certificate
Monday, November 25, 2002
Website Updates We've changed the look of the store and from now on, all new parts will not be announced in this section. They will be announced in the store section.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
RFL - Robot Fighting League SOZBOTS is proud to be a charter member of the newly formed Robot Fighting League. Check out www.botleague.com for more info on the rule set we helped develop. New rules for all SOZBOTS competitions will be in effect in 2002. The SOZBOTS arena is classified as an A-001.
More New Parts added to store In the Motors and Drivetrain section, we added some flanged 3mm ball bearings.
Monday, November 18, 2002
Registration for SOZ 1.5 is Now Open. Sign up for our next event, in San Francisco on December 15th at Fort Mason, building C. It will be held at the San Francisco Robot Games and Expo. Check out http://www.sozbots.com/registration/LoginForm.asp for more info. Also, check out the SFRSA press release on the event.
Thursday, November 14, 2002
New Products added to store We've just added a thinner version of our popular carbon fiber panel. It is .030 thick and is half the weight of the thicker version. We've also added some great NiCd cells. These tiny cells are 500mAh and are known to source 15 amps for about 1.5 min. These are the same cells used by One Fierce Beer Coaster.
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Autonomous Antweight Challenge Steve Judd has announced a challenge for autonomous robots and teleoperated robots to compete for at least a $1000 cash prize purse. The challenge is scheduled for August 2002, so start building and programming your autonomous robot. For more info, check out http://tentacle.architeuthis-dux.com/
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.5 - More Details The SFRSA has told me the following information regarding their Fall Robot Games and Expo.
The games and expo are going to be at Fort Mason (San Francisco) on Sunday, December 15th, from 10 AM to 8 PM
Wednesday, October 3, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.5 We are finalizing our plans to have our next event at the Fall Robot Games and Expo, held by San Francisco Robot Society of America. The SFRSA has not yet finalized their plans, but as soon as they do, we will make the announcement here.
Monday, September 23, 2002
Ranking Updated Every robot who ever competed in our 4 events is now ranked! We also posted the tournament brackets for each event.
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Steel Conflict Announces Next Event in February And SOZBOTS will be there again with another antweight competition. The location will be at the FairPlex in Pomona on February 8 and 9, 2002.
More New Parts added to store In the electronics section, we added some high current cable to cable connector sets.
Friday, August 31, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.3 Brackets Published Check out the event brackets here.
New Parts added to store We've added a new N cell battery in the Battery section and some tiny Delrin Chain and Sprockets in the Motors and Drivetrain section.
Monday, August 26, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.3 at Steel Conflict is a wrap We had a great turnout, 30 robots competed and congratulations to Derek Zhan and Cup Cake for taking first place and Peter Abrahamson for taking second with Tsunami.
Check out Wild Hobbies website, they have posted information about the event in their news section with a great 2 min video of Saturday's fights. More to come.
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
4 Channel Radio with mixing added to store We are now offering a 4 channel 75MHz FM (Surface freq) radio that has built in mixing. These radios are an excellent value and are perfect for antweights. The built in mixing works great with our SOZDSC motor speed controllers. See the Electronics section.
Thursday, August 8, 2002
New items added to our store. Check out the electronics section, we added a new servo cable and a Novak synthesized FM radio receiver. Also drop by the motor and drivetrain section, we now have replacement motors for the GBD and GBS gearbox kits.
Friday, July 26, 2002
Video & Photos of our last event. Some great photos and spectacular video clips from our last event can be seen at sozbots.solarbotics.net. Also check out a nice shot of the winner, Incinerator, at www.mutantrobots.com in the news section.
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.2 Event Brackets are up! Special thanks to BashWare for providing their awesome software for our event. All their hard work has reduced our workload from event registrations, tournament management to final results postings. We are privileged to be able to use their software. See the event results here. Also a reminder to register for BotBash, registration closes 8/2.
Sunday, July 21, 2002
SOZBOTS 1.2 Event Wrap SOZBOTS 1.2 is a wrap! The event was lots of fun, 32 antweights competed, we unveiled our new arena. Congratulations to Donald Hutson for winning first place with Incinerator and Ted Shimoda with Vdd for winning second place. Soon the results will be posted here. For now, Nick Farrell (Zebes) has posted a few event photos on his website.
We are now preparing for Steel Conflict, so make sure you register soon. We will have limited space due to the time we have been given and you need to register in the next 10 days, before 7/31. Due to time constraints, we will be limiting the number of robot entries to at least 24. The event will be double elimination. In order to maximize the use of the time given, we will not be having rumbles at this event.
Friday, July 18, 2002
Event Info Update We have just a few spectator tickets left, first come/first serve. Email info@sozbots.com with "Burbank Event Tickets" in the subject. If you miss this event, be sure to check out Steel Conflict in Pomona, Aug 24-25. Tickets are on sale at http://www.steelconflict.com and should sell out shortly. The event will include 1 lb antweights and everything up to 120 lbs.
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Event Info Update If you have a laptop with an WiFi Certified IEEE 802.11b, bring it to the event and you will be able to check out the match scheduling, robot details, etc. at your pit table. We will have 1 or 2 computers setup to do this if you don't have a laptop. Please don't bring any non-laptop computers, there really won't be enough space for them. If you have a laptop, you can pick up a cheap PCMCIA/PC Card wireless setup at Fry's or PC Club for about $60.
Monday, July 15, 2002
Event Registration Database Lockdown A few last details for the upcoming event this Saturday. We need all competitors to complete the Registration Process by Midnight Thursday. This information will be used for the on-site registration. Even if you mailed in the forms, you need to complete the on-line registration. If you do not sign up before lockdown, it will make your life and our life difficult
Check in time starts at 12:00 Noon. Please do not show up earlier as we have limited setup time in the morning.
The event address is below, click here for a map.
Burbank American Legion Hall
940 West Olive Ave.
Burbank CA 91506We will be offering food and drink for sale at the event. Proceeds will be used to pay for the new arena and rental of the hall.
We have posted some lodging info here if you need it.
You will need to bring with you a power strip for power. Chairs will be provided. We ask that you try to minimize the amount of stuff you need to bring.
EVENT SPECTATOR INFO We have very limited spectator tickets available. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5.00 starting at 1pm. You must reserve tickets in advance by emailing info@sozbots.com and put in the subject: "Burbank Event Tickets". Let us know how many you want and we will reply with a confirmation.
Thursday, July 11, 2002
NERC Event Announced Posted by John Pagaon (Team Dragon) on the Delphi Antweight Forum July 10th, 8:56PM This is an official announcement! NERC will be hosting "House of NERC" August 17-18, 2002 at the Best Western Hotel Philadelphia Northeast. Here's a link to the hotel: http://www.bestwestern.com/prop.asp?PID=39077 The event will cover two days [Saturday and Sunday] and will consist of the Antweight [1#] , Beetle [3#] and 12# Classes. The number of bots has not yet been determined. The three classes will be mixed. All classes will be double elimination, and we will make sure there is time for grudge matches, extra rumbles, and whatever fun stuff you all can think up. This will be OUR event, run on OUR time table at OUR venue. Check-In's will commence at 10am Saturday morning. We will have full use of the room all day Saturday [until midnight] and all day Sunday [until 6ish pm]. We do not expect the formal comp to go that long, but we have the freedom to play until all the bots are dead! The other nice thing is that there will not be ANY frequency conflicts and there won't be any freaks in leather running around [unless Gileski comes...] The room consists of an 1,100 square foot hall with tables and chairs. If you were at the NERC meeting hosted at this hotel, it is the same room. Power will be ample, but extension cords and power strips are a must. This event will be open to competitors and pit crews ONLY. Due to the limited space, we cannot allow masses of friends or family into the competition to watch. Special passes will be granted on an "as needed" basis, giving minors in need of adult supervision precedent. Lastly, the location is perfect. There is a block of rooms reserved under "NERC" at a discounted rate. I will start a separate thread titled "HoN Hotel" on the NERC forum giving the details. It will be ultra convenient having the rooms in the same building as the comp, one less place to find. Within walking distance is: Bennigans, Chickie and Pete's [a cool bar], a crappy diner, a strip mall [with typical strip mall shops like Radio Shack, Shop Rite, a beer distributor, pizza, Chinese, etc] and IHOP. Can't get any better than that. And there is a giant mall and Home Depot 10 minutes away. Registration will open in a few days. Right now we need to know who is seriously interested in this event so we can finalize plans. Please post any questions or interest on the NERC forum.
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
New addition to Store We've added a new Carbon Fiber panel that's .050". This stuff is stiff and super-strong.
SOZBOTS AT STEEL CONFLICT EVENT UPDATE 1 lb robot Registration is being handled by Steel Conflict. Be sure to get your robot registered early. To register your 1 lb robots, please visit http://www.steelconflict.com/.
SOZBOTS AT BOTBASH EVENT UPDATE 1 lb robot Registration will be handled by BotBash shortly. They will be modifying their BashWare to handle another weight class. Registration is open now, please visit www.botbash.com.
Sunday, July 7, 2002
New addition to Store We've added a new aluminum panel that's .050" and made from 5052-H32, so you can cut it as desired and easily form it and bend it.
Reminder To Submit Entry Forms Entry forms are due July 8th so be sure to get them submitted. If you have any questions or need a little more time, please email eric@sozbots.com.
Wednesday, July 3, 2002
New additions to Store We've been busy. In the Motor section, we added a new 6V 30:1 gearhead motor that won't break your weight budget! We also added 12 items to the Battery Page.
FAQ page is finally up The site has been up for 2 months now and we finally have something in the FAQ page. Its a start for now, but as you keep asking questions, we will keep updating the information.
Tuesday, July 2, 2002
Video from SOZBOTS Event 1.1 Here is a short clip from our first event, just a bunch of quick highlights. Its about 24 MB and its being hosted at www.tmz.com to take advantage of its allowable bandwidth.
Monday, July 1, 2002
Rules Update We've updated the rules to show the new arena size and construction as we are building our new arena for our upcoming Burbank Event. We've increased the size of the arena to 5 ft x 5 ft. We are also making the floor out of fire-proof material, metal. Most likely Aluminum.
Steel Conflict Steel Conflict final details are announced! Visit http://www.steelconflict.com/ for latest info and go register your robot. They are going to be fighting 1 lb (organized by SOZBOTS), 12 lb, 30 lb, 60 lb and 120 lb robots. Should be the hottest thing happening this summer!
39 Entries for Burbank SOZBOTS 1.2 Event Ok, we are up to 39 robots! This may be the biggest antweight event to date! Entry forms are being emailed in the next 24 hours. If you wish to download a copy of the form, get it here. We also posted some lodging info here if you will be traveling to the event.
Monday, June 24, 2002
Aluminum Panel added to Chassis Page We've added another item to the web store, its a 7075-T5 Aluminum panel. 7075-T6 is one of the strongest aluminum grades you can get. Aluminum is an ideal material for antweights because if its low density and its easy to work with. See Chassis Panel-Aluminum.
Monday, June 24, 2002
Titanium Panel added to Chassis Page We've added a new part to the web store, its a Grade 5 Titanium (6Al4V) panel. They are great for a super strong chassis or cut it up for armor. See Chassis Panel-Titanium.
28 Confirmed Robots for July 20 SOZBOTS Event We have space for at least 32 robots for our July Event and 28 already confirmed! We will be sending out entry forms by the end of the week.
BotBash officially announces next event BotBash 2002 is to be held Sept 13-15, 2002 in Tempe, AZ. See www.botbash.com for more details. Tournament formally known as Fight Club announces next event Fight Club will be undergoing a name change, but the event is to be held August 24 - 25. Check out http://forums.delphiforums.com/Fight_Club/start for the latest info.
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Shaft Kit added to Chassis Page We've added a new part to the store, its a 3mm shaft kit. They fit directly with all the wheels we use and are compatible with the gearboxes. Event Regristration is Open Email info@sozbots.com to sign up for our upcoming event in Burbank, CA on July 20, 2002. Tell us your robot name, radio frequency and your name and next week we will be emailing out entry forms. We already have 20 robots confirmed! Preliminary info below: SOZBOTS EVENT 1.2 ANNOUNCEMENT SOZBOTS is having a second event on July 20 in Burbank, CA. We have a facility reserved and wish to invite all that are interested. Our first event was invitation only due to the size constraints of the location we used. We had 18 robots show up. This event will be open until we fill up. We know we can accept up at least 32 robots, but we may have to set the limit after that. The format of the event will be as follows. 12:00 PM - Doors Open for robot builders 12:00 to 1:30 - Registration and inspection 1:00 - Doors open for Audience 1:30 - Competition begins 7:00 - Competition ends Times subject to change slightly. We do have a time limit on the facility, so we are trying to squeeze the most fighting in the time that we have. The event will be Double Elimination. Prizes to be announced shortly. To cover the cost of the venue, the entry fee per robot will be $20. We will be allowing spectators, tickets will be $5. If you are interested and want to reserve a spot, please email info@sozbots.com with your robot's name and radio frequency. We will be sending out applications early next week.News Section Added to Website Sozbots has added a News Section to keep you up to date with developments in the world of antweights. Be sure to check back often for the latest news. If you have any news, please email news@sozbots.com.