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Update COTS USB Battery section (#234)
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* Update Power Distribution Page
* Additional updates to the COTS USB Battery Pack section
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texasdiaz authored Oct 23, 2023
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Expand Up @@ -267,6 +267,7 @@ considerations. All teams must ensure their COTS USB Battery Pack:
- Has unused ports covered.
- Is always charged properly.
- Does not show any signs of distress.
- Is never connected to the Robot power

The following sections are intended to help clarify the list above.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ Capacity Limits

The recurring theme in most discussions of COTS USB Battery Packs is safety.
The United States Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has strict
limitations on COTS USB Battery Packs on-board planes, and *FIRST* Tech
limitations on COTS USB Battery Packs aboard aircraft, and *FIRST* Tech
Challenge has adopted the capacity limit restriction. **Batteries are limited
to 100 Watt-Hours (Wh) or less**.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -323,13 +324,13 @@ but not limited to:
- Over-Temperature or Over-Heat Protection
- Over-Current Protection

You should perform a good-faith effort to determine if your Battery Pack
You should perform a good-faith effort to determine if your Battery Pack
contains these safety features. Often within the documentation provided with
your pack it will list the protections offered by the pack. Remember that the
Battery Pack contains Lithium-Ion or Lithium Polymer batteries often will
explode or catch fire when they fail, and these protections are vital to
ensuring that the batteries do not fail prematurely. It is not recommended
to use COTS USB Battery Packs without these protections.
Battery Pack likely contains Lithium-Ion or Lithium Polymer batteries that will
often explode or catch fire when they fail, and these protections are vital to
ensuring that the batteries do not fail prematurely. It is not recommended to
use COTS USB Battery Packs without these protections.

Securing the Battery Pack to the Robot
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -385,7 +386,7 @@ In addition, these are common best practices for charging your Batteries:
- Unless it's a solar power bank, NEVER leave your battery in the sun!
- Follow the manufacturer's guidelines on the time required to fully charge
your COTS USB Battery Pack.
- Avoid leaving your COTS USB Battery Pack on prolonged chage as this may
- Avoid leaving your COTS USB Battery Pack on prolonged charge as this may
cause it to overheat.
- If the COTS USB Battery Pack becomes excessively hot during charging or
discharging, unplug it from the power source or powered device immediately
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -413,4 +414,13 @@ Here are several tips for identifying a failing battery:
are suspected of being damaged - dispose of the battery per the manufacturer's
recommendations immediately.

Isolate COTS USB Battery Packs from the Robot Power
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great care must be take to NEVER allow the COTS USB Battery Pack to be connected
to the main (or any) power system in use by the robot. The COTS USB Battery Pack
and connected devices must be completely isolated from the robot electrical system,
with the exception of controlling signals provided by the Game Manual
(per rule ``<RE12>.d``). When using a COTS USB Battery Pack, controlling signals
for LEDs powered by the Pack should ONLY connect to compatible devices listed in
rule ``<RE12>.e``.

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