Rick Roller
Robot Facts
| Builder | Jonah |
| Driver | Jonah |
| Weight Class | 3lb |
| Body Material | UHMW/Aluminum/TPU |
| Weapon | Fingertech beater bar w/ Custom Ar500 Teeth |
| Weapon Drive | (TBA) |
| Drive | 2WD that is good about 43% of the time.
*When our driver runs it into Chonkii during a rumble, then 0 wheel drive, 100% of the time...but what a glorious way to lose both wheels! |
| Power | 3S.....and wishes |
Not the prettiest bot but never gonna give up and always looking to drive around, do some damage, and put on a good show! Built with some light 3D printing but mostly hacked together in the basement with common tools and modeled after some other designs. Our 12 year old captain who is a massive fan of the sport and knows every bot and match along with a dad who's technical expertise is just enough to get by and not blow anything up...yet (Thank You Youtube Creators!!). Trying our best and loving every minute. Grateful for the NHRL community and hopeful to see the sport continue to grow. Rick Roller build log can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB7ACr7pUuE
March 2023:
Our first effort in Combat Robots. Never soldered anything...ever! First time picking up a soldering iron, sooooo (new skill..woohoo!). Totally new to mini-switches so that meant we had probably the heaviest power switch (an embarrassingly large toggle from amazon) in the history of combat robots. After an unlucky draw, a forfeit by our qualifier opponent, we were bumped into the bracket untested. In that first round we went up against the more seasoned Scrambled Team from NH. A couple hits and our motors severed the ESC wires. Oops! we learned that you need to protect the electronics from those out spinning runners. Despite the KO, it was a great experience and we got to meet an awesome team from Scrambled who offered some very sage advice.
May 2023:
Can't stay away. This event we added some 3D printed guards to cover what had been our biggest nemesis to date....(our own drive motors). AND a fingertech mini switch...Progress! We also printed a PLA inner chassis (admittedly not the best material...which will be a factor) and added PLA wheel guards. First qualifier was against Sinister from the talented students of talented teacher, Drew Davis. Our first match against a team with a mini-bot...hmmm maybe there's something to these things (a little foreshadowing here). Our wheel guards, which we called the "one hit wonders" (staying on brand), were immediately ripped off but at least saved a couple direct hits to the wheels. The match went the distance but the judges decision didn't go our way. The PLA frame cracked and made some things get pretty loose. Still a good opportunity to really drive the bot, which we hadn't had much of to date.
During our repair window we had a hub stuck in one of our wheels. Luckily our pit neighbors (and next opponents), Deep Cut, helped with some shop guidance. Much appreciated and it got us both up to speed for the Last Chance match. This may also be the greatest attribute of NHRL, the people. Despite being a competition, everyone is quick to help each other for the good of the show. It's truly an amazing atmosphere. During our match we were able to dislodge a wheel on our opponent and pick up the KO. While this one happened to go our way, the Deep Cut team builds some nice looking and hard hitting bots. We look forward to seeing them some more.
Our first round bracket matchup was against Wormhole. A young veteran with a very impressive undercutter and super nice team. Rick Roller managed to step to the side in the box rush and deal a quick side hit, but after some strong hits from Wormhole, the PLA front plate holding the weapon motor loosened and the belt wouldn't spin the weapon. We knew PLA is not the best material for combat robotics, but we've never printed with anything else so it's been small steps through the design. We also had some drive issues but luckily found that our opponent also lost their weapon belt and had an impacted drive. The match went the distance as both bots shuffled and "chased" each other around the cage with busted drives like the waning moments of a state fair demolition derby. Judges decision to Wormhole in a fun match against a team we will continue to root for!
June 2023:
Guess who's back, back again! (c'mon, never gonna say goodbye, seemed too "on the nose"). Came back with some more minor changes. We switched up the front plate to aluminum and added some TPU wheel guards that just curved around the back of the wheels. Yes, we tried printing with TPU. It wasn't pretty and it also wasn't effective! One wheel guard got caught under our own wheel driving to the corner...yikes! Since our first opponent was Count Forkula, our Captain made the excellent decision to tape plastic spoons to our wheel guards since spoons are the Fork's natural enemy. In the end, we probably should have gone with Sporks because this control bot got under us and prevented us from doing much the whole match. Easy judges decision for them and a good rookie bot! Count Forkula is seriously going to be a threat for years to come.
Last chance match-up was against an absolute top notch Jackrabbit Flex. Got a good early hit on the mini-bot and a couple strong pins. Speed has not been an issue for the Rick Roller but control has been. Thankfully we also learned about Exponential Control after this match and will be able to throttle down in the future. Experience grows. The match went the distance but we suspect our miniswitch screw was not fully turned at the start and came loose. We lost power at the very end of the match, thus failing the drive/weapon test. Nevertheless an honor to share the box with another top competitor and got some valuable advice afterward.
The Rick Roller captain will forever be a fan first and competitor second, so the chance to compete in a rumble was a must...but first a couple more matchups.
On Sunday, faced off against the tough drum spinner, Golddust. Titanium is no joke. Good fight but couldn't do a whole lot and took it to a judges decision that didn't go our way. Still really cool to face off against our first opponents from overseas.
Over the past two events we've had the good luck to be pit neighbors with Money Shot and watch the evolution of that bot. It may be one of the coolest designs and the detail is awesome from the dollar sign weapon to the custom wheel hubs...check it out up close the next time you're in Norwalk. Money Shot was also kind enough to stick around for a grudge match at the request of our captain. Money Shot had, up until this point, dealt with some unfortunate weapon belt and motor issues. However, upon the start of the match we quickly realized that things were going to stop being polite and start getting real (any MTV Real World fans reading this?). When Money Shot's weapon spun up, it sounded like a 747 was about to make a Norwalk to Fort Lauderdale run. The Rick Roller was knocked into its own VH1 Behind the Music. It forced our first ever Tap Out because there was a rumble happening and we needed a mostly functioning bot. Nevertheless, we're rooting for Money Shot to bring some pain and hopefully qualify for the Championships.
Ultimate Rumble time. Just being in the same arena as the drivers of Crashfest, Pawsatively Hissterical, Spartan, Disinformation, Wormhole etc....was an honor. After zipping around for a while and dealing a few hits, Rick Roller's captain in his own words decided to "just send it into Chonkiii". In a magnificent impact, both wheels were blown off with a shaft sticking out of one. Our captain immediately proclaimed it "the best day of his life".
August 2023:
For this one we swapped some of the UHMW for an AluPoly material and added some Aluminum wheel guards. Hold on, that sounds like a lot of weight? It was actually only about 2.3oz over but this time we added...a Mini Bot! We didn't want to just throw and RC car in there, so our captain designed and printed a wedge out of PLA+ and added an aluminum/lexan top. It was an ugly little bot, but it was a start and only 12 oz!
First matchup was against Team Shreddit member, Patient 0. Really tough bot and we learned early that the AluPoly was worth trying but not a good enough material to hold things together. Our back plate got ripped off and forced a tap out before any exposed electronics got appropriately shredded!
Nevertheless, we managed to repair everything and were ready to rock for the last chance before an unfortunate forfeit by our opponent.
Bracket time and our wheel of fate landed on the icon, Calvin Iba and Mixtape. An assist from our friends with some Aluminum tape and we were ready to go. Mixtape could not have been a cooler opponent...well, he could have been cooler in temperature and that would have helped a lot! First time in the main arena area and you know you're in trouble when your opponent's highlights are playing on the screens before the match. Got a good hit in early and avoided the flame a bit to make it 2.5 minutes into the match. Ultimately rubber wheels + fire is not a good combination...unless of course you're controlling the fire. With some sweet green wheel streaks on the floor and bits of rubber stuck to the walls, the Rick Roller was knocked out. Nevertheless, to get roasted by a Champion and a fan favorite bot, was a young career highlight by the 12 year old captain of Rick Roller...and new "best day of my life", something that NHRL has had a special knack for creating.
We may not be the most technically savvy but we look forward to continue with little tweaks and just want to put on a good show. Incredibly grateful for NHRL, all the competitors that make us this unrivaled community, and the fans who come out to CT's best hidden gem for entertainment.
September 30th:
Ever been working on a project and feel good about it but then right at the deadline realize you overlooked something kinda important? But then you're like it's still pretty good and it'll be fine...but IT IS NOT FINE and your own wheel guards disable your wheels. We rolled into this one with some new material, a slightly new design, and custom beater teeth (designed by our Captain). Super excited to test out some new materials and see how the teeth performed. Minibot was also back because even though we dropped weight shifting to some Nylon/CF parts, the AR500 teeth put us slightly over by 1.6oz.
First matchup was against Stratus from the veteran Bad Crew squad (a really nice local group of students and mentors who we've enjoyed getting to know over the past couple of events). Testing with the new teeth, we realized that we were draining battery and probably needed to run conservative or maybe reduce a little weight? Our driver/captain has an amazing grasp of the English language but seemingly does not understand the phrase "throttle down your weapon". He spins the beater bar like Keanu Reeves trying to keep a bus from exploding (raise your hand if you get that reference). We decided to just bolt the teeth in with 4 of the screws..we know, bad idea! Match started with some big hits by the Rick Roller, tossing Stratus up against the wall. However, on the second hit, the teeth bent at the middle screws (mistake 1). After taking a hit from our opponent, one of the wheel guards also came loose and our fastening screw lodged into the rear wheel and prevented any movement. Rick Roller was out with a KO...but two important lessons learned and future design changes that may finally get us over the hurdle. Happy with the way the teeth performed otherwise. If you've been following along on our journey, you know that wheel guards have been a recurring problem. Rest assured that prior to the next Rick Roller appearance we will be making an offering to Gjorfenskik the Scandinavian god of wheel guards, who I'm sure we've angered at some point along the way.
Second match was against Scotties Scrambler, another Fingertech Beater Bar, but this one was running the Athenas Teeth. We opted to go without teeth this time and just work on taking it the distance. Scotties Scrambler was another very nice team and a well driven bot that just stayed relentless throughout the match. It went the distance but was an easy judges decision for our opponent.
Wrapped up the day with a rumble. Had a chance to get in the area with a couple of the Brazilian bots and couldn't pass up the chance. Also joined by ER Stingray, a local horizontal, so a bit of a CT vs. Brazil match. Got in a couple hits and avoided any significant damage. Even managed to push all 3 bots at once into the house bot at one point, which was a fun demonstration of the pushing potential of the Rick Roller. The rumbles are always a lot of fun and hopefully entertaining for the crowd.
Learned a ton this season, had an absolute blast, and made a lot of friends. NHRL is hands down one of the best communities and we look forward to see this sport continue to grow. Our Captain has been busy since the summer designing a new bot for January and we look forward to testing out a new design and introducing Gh-Astley to the Team Rick Roller stable!
March 2024:
Did you get a load of that Gh-Astley bot in January? We're never going to give it up, but it did let us down a bit...In all seriousness, good to be back with Rick Roller but the development and experimentation with Gh-Astley AND Rick Roller is a lot of fun. This event will feature a new mini-bot design. Our captain asked for steel plates for Christmas (like any normal 13 year old?) and managed to get a couple....I guess it's better than coal. So the mini-bot is now a box with some decent looking steel forks. Probably not the most effective design, but for a kid still learning Fusion 360 and trying new things, we're excited to check this out! Since we've been watching Parks & Rec, the mini is affectionately called Mouserat.
It's an incredible thing when you are prepping for an event and the bot just kind of comes together. No more late night troubleshooting and cramming. Finally an almost final Rick Roller version...now for one last test and...why's it driving like that? Ok, so it came together easily but wow was that drive a mess. We tried tuning things through the transmitter but alas it has the back and forth movement of Droopy but with wheels and without the devastating hits!
First match was Stag Beetle Bot...they have merch for sale in the store! They're a veteran team and so nice! Really what makes this sport so accessible and so great for young competitors is the kindness and equality. Teams like Stag Beetle Bot do a lot to help foster that environment while remaining a dangerous opponent. It's competitive but supportive at the same time. Our mini-bot has really become an asset for our opponents so it was a non-factor....actually "non-factor" is not a bad name for it. So a bit of a back and forth for the match and an easy Judges Decision for SBB.
Ok, 0-1 so with the new format, we need to win the next 2 to get into the tournament. Let's run around and hurt some bots! Next up is Botterfly, a pretty cool vert that runs a wedge mini. In between matches, we tried some additional mixing, but it looks like this event will be a test of overcoming drive issues. For the kids getting into this sport or anyone really, part of it is figuring out how to overcome issues and adapt! Hey, if our driver can improve with a messed-up drive, maybe it will help when things are fixed. Immediately to start the match, the mini-bots locked each other up and the new design is working well. Steel forks and slightly more pushing power lets us control that interaction. Despite the drive challenges, the Rick Roller was able to get a couple hits and lightly flip Botterfly over. Nothing devastating, but the occasional pop for aggression points. The biggest hit coming on our own mini-bot...yet again....good thing we cut a few extra of those steel forks! Victory for the Rick Roller via Judges Decision!
Next up was Buster! We thought it was an overhead horizontal but it turned out to be a beater. The fork design on the mini worked well in this one. We were able to lock up the mini on Buster and get hooked under their forks with our barb. While not able to push them around with the mini-bot, it hindered their movement while the Rick Roller shuffled to a couple bumps. Ultimately, something must have gotten knocked a little loose and Buster lost mobility for the KO win for Rick Roller...onto the Tourney!
First match-up was the awesome Tron themed SSP bot, MCB (also awesome name for the style and theme!). We were fighting through a couple drive issues but knew if we could lock up, we had the torque to push pretty well. Which was good because our beater probably wouldn't be able to grab into such a low profile bot. Great match with some back and forth. The mini-bots kind of neutralized each other and Rick Roller managed to get some decent pins. At one point during a late pin, some "magic smoke" started to rise from our opponent, perhaps the weight and power of our motors was paying off? The match went the distance and the judges ruled in our favor to advance. But just another amazing competitor in MCB. So nice and really great to compete against and talk to before/after the match. Also another local CT team, so we're sure we'll see them around a lot more...and hope to!
Statistics
Info
- Rank: #408 in 3lb.
- Last 5 fights: LWLWL
- Current streak: L1 (0 KOs/KO'd)
- Longest winning streak: 3 (1 KOs)
- Longest losing streak: 8 (3 KO'd)
- Avg fight time (seconds): 146.0
Record
| Year | Events | Fights | W | L | % | KOs | KO'd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | |||||||
| 2020 | |||||||
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | |||||||
| 2023 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0.100 | 1 | 4 |
| 2024 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0.556 | 2 | 1 |
| All-Time | 7 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 0.316 | 3 | 5 |
Events
| Date | Fought as | Reached | Place | Fights | W | L | KOs | KO'd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 18, 2023 | Rick Roller | Round 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| May 6, 2023 | Rick Roller | Round 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| June 24, 2023 | Rick Roller | Round 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| August 12, 2023 | Rick Roller | Bracket Round 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| September 30, 2023 | Rick Roller | Qualifier Round 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| March 2, 2024 | Rick Roller | Round of 32 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| June 22, 2024 | Rick Roller | Opening Round | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Opponents
| Opponent | Fights | W | L | KOs | KO'd | Last Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Cut | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | May 6, 2023 |
| MCB - Master Control Bot | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | March 2, 2024 |
| Botterfly | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | March 2, 2024 |
| Buster | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | March 2, 2024 |
| Stress Concentration | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | June 22, 2024 |
| Project Tucker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | June 22, 2024 |
| Stratos | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | September 30, 2023 |
| Scrambled | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | March 18, 2023 |
| Jelly Baby | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | June 22, 2024 |
| Patient 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | August 12, 2023 |
| Mixtape | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | August 12, 2023 |
| Scottie's Scrambler | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | September 30, 2023 |
| Sinister (II) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | May 6, 2023 |
| Wormhole | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | May 6, 2023 |
| Stag beetle bot | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | March 2, 2024 |
| Crush | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | March 2, 2024 |
| Jack Rabbit FleX | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | June 24, 2023 |
| Count Forkula | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | June 24, 2023 |
| Little Bob | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | June 22, 2024 |
Click "Expand" to see this table.
Full Fight History
* Forfeits before the 2024 season are not counted in a bot's W-L record. Forfeits from 2024 and on are counted in a bot's W-L record.
For more information on how points are calculated for rankings, click here.
Click "Expand" to see this table.
Select Fights
Video links Coming Soon!
Gallery
Images coming soon!
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