ok, here it goes. I was over at a friends house and he setup all his old model motoring track. It's a nice 4 lane layout and he and a couple other get together on Friday nights. Now I went over there and was bitten but the slot car bug. I just bought the tomy international raceway and am going to build out a track. Now the big question is really for both of us. How exactly do you wire up a computer infrared lap counter? I have been all over the internet and have not found one that works. I went to gregbraun's site and it was a good start but when I tried to wire it up it doenst work. I have the emitter and detectors but need the wiring diagram to make it all work.. Can anyone send a file that explains how to create this? Thanks, Bob

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Thanks, I was really looking to build it instead of buying it..The pics there are vague so you buy the product I need to know what and where to wire on the circut board

Here is the diagram for the receivers for the lap counter...
It even has thr Radio Shack part number for the receivers... (276-145)
The pin numbers refer to the position of the pins on the computer plug.
Also be careful of the long and short legs of the receiver...
The longer leg is connected to the common pin #7

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/image/DB-25.gif

Any bright light can be used for the emitter...
The second place there can be a problem is the placement of the receiver on the track.
You need the top of the receiver to be level with the track surface.
Higher and the cars can hit the receiver. Too low and the track can limit the light the receiver gets causing it not to work.
Build this thing on your work bench first and get it to work with a couple of spare sections of track.
Then move the working unit over to your track when the bugs are worked out...

Ok here is what I have tested tonight.. I wired it all just like diagram above. Tried it with a bright led pocket flashlight, it did nothing. Then I realized that I have the infrared emitter and decoders (276-142). There has to be power involved somewhere. Does anyone know how to wire up the infrared LED's like from above and below the track to get this lap counter working? I would much rather not see any light on the track that does not need to be there. Thanks for all the advice so far.

Hi,
I'm using Greg Brauns setup, and here are some tips that you might find helpful. First of all, save yourself a lot of trouble, and just buy the pre-wired harnesses from him. It will only cost you a few dollars more and will work. Even tho you are using the Radio shack stuff that he spec's on his website, the RS stuff is junk. Greg will be the first one to tell you that, and in his pre made cables he uses a much higher grade of components. The reason that he shows the RS stuff on his site, is because everyone has a RS nearby, and the parts are easily avialable. But save yourself hours of headaches, and at least buy the pre-made sensors. The cables are EXTREMLY well made, way better than you can do yourself.

Now, as far as the other stuff, A led flashlight will probably not provide enough infra red energy to test the sensors. Try a regular flashlight.

Make sure that you have Greg's software installed, and that your paralell port is working properly. The software is a free download from his site, and you get a copy if you buy the cables also. I don't think that the pin compatiblity is the same as trakmate, because the software has a checkbox to enable trakmate sensor compatibility, which would indicate that his sensors are not wired the same.

You will still need a strong light source above the track sensors. You could use a small spot or trak light mounted on your celing, but if your hand gets in the way when you re-slot a car, you will mis-count laps.

If you build the emitter gate using the RS emitters, it will work, but you need a 12v DC power source to run them. Make a small wood or plastic arch to go over your track. I mounted the emitters and resistors to a small piece of circuit board (also from RS). You may want to go with 220 ohm resistors instead of the recomended 470 ohm to send more power to the emitters, but this may shorten their life. Also mount the emitters as low as you can above your cars allowing only about 3/8 in clearance above your highest car, or you may get false triggers. Check my gallery for a photo of my gate. Greg has a ton of info at his site: www.hosoltcarracing.com , and the program has a very detalied help section. Also he will answer the phone, and has always been very helpful to me. His turn borders are very cool too. Let me know how it goes, his site is the one that helped me the most when I got back into slots.

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Well, dead strips are OK, but I've had no problem with the infared. I've got a trak mate system here that I never used, because I got Greg's to work with no problem. I like his turn borders better because they have a tapered edge and look a little better.

A friend of mine has Trak Mate on his home track...
And is currently using dead strips. (That I built...)
His track does have missed laps with this set up.
It also missed laps with reed switches. (On weak magnets in Tjets)
And he is going to switch it over to a light bridge with sensors...
That should never miss...
Just my expirence.
Your mileage may vary...
Scott

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You know this is just a group of guys in the basement drinking some beers after work and having a good time.. It's not the championship of the universe.. Some of us just dont believe some of the lap counts that some are saying. Just fun friendly racing on a Friday night.. I wired up the sensors like gregs site said and then found that I was using IR sensors and not regular photocells. I still have not got a diagram on how to wire up and power the IR sensors. (I would rather not see any lights shining on the track while racing) I have spent countless hours on the net now trying to find someone who will just tell me how to build it rather then send me to a web site buy it some where. I know how to solder this up and make it look just like the purchased ones, but I am not an electrician by any means. I just need someone that is using the IR sensors to give me a parts list and show me what goes where. The rest I can easily handle.

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You know this is just a group of guys in the basement drinking some beers after work and having a good time.. It's not the championship of the universe...
:p :p :p

This is so appropriate for that comment...
http://www.supervipersystems.com/VargoSpeedway/Cartoons/Simpsonsslotcarssmall.mpg

-Scott

:p :p :p

This is so appropriate for that comment...
http://www.supervipersystems.com/VargoSpeedway/Cartoons/Simpsonsslotcarssmall.mpg

-Scott


Scott, do you know what season this is from? My kids love the Simpsons and haven't seen this episode....they'd like too though. :hat:

Dude:

1. Download and install Lap Timer 2000 from Greg's site. (FREE)
2. Open the help menu on the top toolbar.
3. There's your wiring diagram.
4. Hook up and enjoy.
5. I like the concept of racing and drinking beers on Fridays, we'll have to try that since we only do it on Mondays!

Cheers!

P.S. The IR sensors do not require power. In fact they produce a small voltage when IR light is falling on them. When the car passes over it blocks the light and the voltage drops. This is what causes the lap counter to trigger. This is also why you need a strong IR source above the sensors as I mentioned in my previous post. The IR emitters do require 12v , but the light they produce is not visible. Hope this clears things up.
Like I said, dead strips are fine, but you will have to solder wires to the track rails, and that takes a bit of skill and supplies to pull off.

Thank You very much for this information..That is what I was really looking for. The knowledge and experience in this forum board has a lot to offer.. Being new to this hobby I have no idea what to expect or need to make things work corectly. As I build this track in my basement I will be documenting everything for a website that I will create. It would give all the new commers to the hobby of slot racing, like me, the info of what it takes to just get a basic 4'x8' 4 lane layout with a lap counter going. No landscaping as of yet. Lets face it if you want to get more new people in this hobby you have to take the guess work out of it at the beginning. The quicker they get up and running the more fun they will have. I will keep you all posted as to how all this turns out.

i also had a ton of problems getting Gregs system to work (It works perfect now !) What I found is that some of the pins as per his schmetic will not work on all computers. What I did was trace out each pin from the connecter to the wire end (ir hookup) using a contanuity tester. Also if you look close, the connecter block will have number above the pin. Just match the number to the wire. After you think you have it right....Download this program http://www.cenobyte.nl/slotracemanager/download.html and test the setup on the bench using a bright flashlight.This program found that one of the sensors on my 4 lane setup was closing oppisite of the 3 others. I changed to a different pinout and got all 4 working in unision..problem solved. I gave up on the infra emitters The resister vaules are not correct on gregs site and I did get the infra emitters to work using a 1.5 volt transformer but they would constantley trigger the sensors like a rapid fire machine gun. I ended up using a g.e. 25 watt tubular bulb part #pc15821 wally world (fishtank bulb). My system works perfect! Although I would really like to get the infra red emitters to work properly.(anyone have any ideas?) I made my own cable from a pre made printer cable ($8.00 and just cut off the printer end, quick and easy. I also used the r.s. sensors and have had no problem with them. Hope this helps.
Scott

Read my post on the previous page. That should help you get the emitters working. Wire them acording to Greg's diagram, but substitute 220 ohm resistors, and power the whole thing with 12v. Also, don't tie all the grounds together to run from the sensors to the parallel port, give each sensor a dedicated ground and tie them together in the plug. (Or just use Greg's sensor harness and then you can run a standard ethernet cable the legnth you need to reach your computer).