ok guys... i am building the slot car lap timer as shown in http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/. i have the software and the computer, and the photo cells are instaled under my track. i have it working, but there are a few kinks and i was wondering if anyone had any ideas...

first: at the moment i am using normal 12volt leds, but i would like to use infared leds Radio shak Part No. 276-143. i bought them, the same ones that gregory talks about in his site, and also bought the resistors he mentions to run the infra-red leds on a 12volt power pack, but if i hook them up, the lap counting software just keeps counting lap after lap...... i do have that reverse logic setting on, the one that says once the light beam is BROKEN it counts a lap, but at the moment it just keeps counting without it being broken

second: when the system counts laps, it is always two laps ago, not your last lap. for example.... if i get 12 seconds one lap, the next 14, once i go through the gantry, it dosn't show the 14 seconds, which is my previous lab, it shows the 12 seconds, which would then be two laps ago. i was just wondering if there is a setting for that or if the program just operates that way... by the way, the program is Lap Timer 2000, from hoslotcarracing.com


any help is great!

Have you try any other software with your laptiming system ?


but if i hook them up, the lap counting software just keeps counting lap after lap.

I don't understand : it counts the laps even if any cars is passing over ?

sorry for the misunderstanding... when i hook up the leds even when there is nothing passing in between them and the photo cells they are counting the laps, one after the other and so on, like the beam is being broken over and over again.

and i have looked at other programs and like this one the most and i know someone who uses it that it works for.... so i would like to use this program.

The problem you describe is maybe a too much important resistor, a not enough powerfull light , or a too sensitive setup in the software.

I don't use this type of detection, but generally the laptiming hardware acts like a simple switch (on/off). So, there is something in your setup that switchs the thing on and off.

I think it 's perhaps the LED that doens't bright suficiently. So the photocell "switch" OFF all the time. Wich should mean that the LED isn't enough powered, or that the photocell are not enough sensitive, or that your bridge is not on good height.


First of all, try another software. Sometimes problems happens you don't know why. You can use ultimate racer 3, it's free and in english and windows. You don't have to choose this software permanently : it's just for tests purpose.

Secondly, if it doesn't fix the thing, you can try to replace the led (you're not using an IR setup, are you ?) with a powerfull desk lamp, for example, to see if the problem is caused by the led bright. You can try to lower the led bridge too, to make the light more powerfull.

If I understand correctly, your LEDS are protected by a resistor. Perhaps this resistor is too powerfull for the LED powersupply, causing weak light too.

Well...a lot of possibilities for the cause of the problem... ;)


I can't promise you it will work, but you have to make tests, step by step, to isolate the problem first.

SCB,

Would you happen to be using fluorescent lights in your track room? Fluorescent flicker @ 60Hz and can cause issues if they are being detected by the photo-cells.

-Robbie

I have the same issues with LT2k. I don't know if it's just this version.
I haven't been able to figure it out either, no settings seem to change anything.
I use it only for practice, when people come over for sound effects.
For races, I use SRM.

Rich

thanks for the help. i am using floresent lighting in my room so i will look into that. right now i have it set up with leds and they work fine, but i would like to go to an IR setup, which is where i am having the problems. i might also try out another version of software. Thanks again

I run laptimer 2000 and I find it to work quite well. I was using a desk lamp over my track until I bought the Plasticville bridge for 14 bucks. I then wired in the infrared LEDs from Radio shack and couldnt get it to work. I have since disassembled a set of very cheap IKEA LED lights I had sitting around and the LEDs were the perfect size to mount on the bottom of the bridge. It works perfectly. The only time I ever have a problem is when I bring out the lexan bodied Life Like M Car I have that is extremely fast. Then it doesnt register sometimes. Also Flamethrowers, the AW bright ones, can trick the sensor too.

I had the same problem with the led's that Greg suggests. I bought the light bridge from Trackmate for $24 dollars and it works great. It also fits perfectly under the plasticville ped bridge.

http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/catalog.htm

ok thanks for all the help. i was wondering if anyone had the dos version of track mate, and if they did could they possibly email me at joegeo1@gmail.com

If you're OK to deal with DOS, you can also try slot race manager (SRM), it's what I use on my personal track, and it works flawlessly.

Demitri is right about SRM .... i got a buddy who uses it and it has never caused him anguish at all. So it can be another viable option.

Bear :wave:

thanks again guys, ill download that right now

I had the same problem with the led's that Greg suggests. I bought the light bridge from Trackmate for $24 dollars and it works great. It also fits perfectly under the plasticville ped bridge.

http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/catalog.htm

If and when my LEDs die, I will definately buy that kit. I like the idea that the light is invisible, and it is plug and play. The price is ok too. My LEDs only cost 4 bucks, but took about half hour to disassemble plus time to re solder the connections. It was cheaper but more labor intensive and the light is visible.

i tried to download SRM today and for some reason when i went to unzip the folder, there was an error and it wouldnt let me? I think that i want to go with that program but i cant get it to work

When I built my track I order the photo cells for it from Greg and used a shop light with a 100W blub clipped to the ceiling. LT2000 worked great from the start with no hiccups at all. It would time the fastest cars (under 2 sec) and never miss a lap. That all changed when I got sic of messing up the laps reaching over the sensor to put a car back on.

My first attempted was RS emitters and the circuit that is on Greg's site. That set up was not too good. Some lanes would count laps with no cars on it or not count at all. I lowered the resistors to get more output with no change. I kept lowering the resistors to the point I burned out the IR emitters.

My next attempted was white leds. I had a led flash light and it would count no problem when I would hold it over a lane. So I wired up 8 LEDs and that worked about as well as the IR emitters in my 1st attempt.

Convinced at this point all I needed was more output from the IR emitters since LT2K worked perfect with the 100W bulb, I decided to go with two per lane. The Emitters would be wired in series but the power would be in parallel so I could use one resistor (easy to changed if needed).

Go here to design the circuit http://ledcalculator.net/

This setup works perfect. I can have the room completely dark except for the computer monitor and it won't miss a lap running the fastest rockets.



http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/fpp/track4.jpg

more pics here http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/fpp/slotcar.htm

Incandescent bulbs work as well as (or better than) the IR emitters, in my experience. Our club used the Lap Timer 2000 for timing. We had several tracks and all of us tried various things, including the emitters, before we all came to the same conclusion. The automotive bulbs, I forget which one I'm using, can be powered by a hobby transformer and if you use lamp sockets for them, the bulbs can be easily changed if one burns out. I haven't had one burn out yet, but usually only have the light bridge lit during a race event.

Our track operators took various approaches to make the light bridge aesthetically pleasing, as shown in the attached pics. One appears to have a UFO hovering over the start/finish, that's a hanging lamp placed there for race scoring. I think the track owner eventually built a light bridge, but I can't find the picture of that. Basically, there are many ways to hang the incandescent bulbs over the sensors. They're cheap, so more money is left over for beer.

As far as bulb selection, Digi-Key and perhaps others, have detailed information about the available bulbs; including light brightness, bulb size, and current draw. Select accordingly. I think mine are number 1812. Not sure. I can update this once I dig my light bridge back out as I'm currently in the process of setting up my track again.

The trick with any light based timing system is to get the right combination of transmitters (the light sources) and receptors (the light detectors). Ideally you want the transmitter/receptor pair to be designed to operate at the same wavelength. These devices operate in a narrow bandwidth, so if you are off even by a small amount you end up in a situation where your transmitter is banging away at one wavelength, say 870 nm, and the receptor is only looking for light at another wavelength, say 950 nm. Both devices can be working perfectly, but unless they are both at the same wavelength, the setup is dead in the water. If you buy both the transmitter and receptor the ideal situation is to buy a "matched pair." These combinations are at the same or nearly the same wavelength and designed to work together. Even Radio Shack sells matched IR transmitter/receptor pairs. (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049723)

If you are only supplying one half of the transmitter/receptor combination you'll need to find out what wavelength the other device is operating at in order to pair it up correctly. You'll need to know the part number and then find the data sheet for the part to find out what its wavelength is. Data sheets are available online.

The reason incandescent bulbs work at transmitters, especially when placed close to the receptors, is because the white light they generate is very broadband and emits light across a very wide bandwidth, including the infrared (IR) band. (In fact, an incandescent light bulb generates more IR light than visible light, which is part of the reason why they are only about 10% efficient.) The downsides of incandescents include the fact that they flood the area with visible light, only last a fraction of the time an LED does, and generate a lot of wasted heat.

The reason incandescent bulbs work at transmitters, especially when placed close to the receptors, is because the white light they generate is very broadband and emits light across a very wide bandwidth, including the infrared (IR) band. The downsides of incandescents include the fact that they flood the area with visible light, only last a fraction of the time an LED does, and generate a lot of wasted heat.

Absolutely correct. But the small automotive bulbs we used have yet to burn out, are easy to change (sockets in the light bridge), and are easy and cheap to buy (auto parts store, maybe even Wally-Mart). The flooding of the area with light can be minimized with proper bridge construction; extending blinders down past the bulbs as shown in the pics of my previous post. As far as heat, well sure I wouldn't want to touch the bulbs after they've been on for awhile, but as these layouts are usually in a basement AND we're typically racing in the winter, that little bit of heat is a good thing.
;)

Great bunch of info flowing here guys ! Keep it up as i am really digging it and now know where to go back to for more info and where to point others.

Grrrreat !:thumbsup:

Also just want to say that the PARMA sign on my light bridge was not an advertisement for the slot car products, it was actually the name of the town where I lived. So calling the track Parma International fit. Hey, we were international. We had German and Canadian citizens compete. :)

Oh, and the tire bridge is a bicycle tire, cut in half. I bought the smallest tire I could find at Toys-R-Us and cut it. I still have the other half somewhere...

I added stairs going into and out of the tire, stolen from other kits.

OK, sure, this was a little off topic. Bear with me, I'll get my lap counter out and take some detailed pics of the circuits and stuff. Built by a mechanical engineer, it'll make any electrical engineer cringe. :p BUT IT WORKS!

I think i am going to give up and go with the track mate set, from the track mate site. has anyone had a bad experience with that or is it a good buy, because you also get a lot of extra features that lap timer 2k dosn't have.

i have trak mate dos and windows , they both work flawless !!!

I have Trackmate...I don't notice any missed laps and it worked right out of the box!

I bought a brand new printer port harness set off a seller on ebay containing 4 micro photocells then purchased the assembled IR light set from Trakmate. All working with LT2k. I have never had any problems but I don't run lighted cars, lexans, or have flourescents in the basement. The lights are on the bottom side of a bridge with the lights themselves set about 3" from the track surface.

anyone have the link to TrackMate DOS?

It does not appear to be posted yet: http://www.trackmateracing.com/a_support_slot_cars_laptimer_dos_software.asp

You could also check the Museum of Natural History. The DOS Era stuff is somewhere between Lucy and the first recorded evidence of hominids using crudely fashioned stone tools.

slot car noob, check your private message box.