Mini-Z, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer, MR-03, MR-02, MA-010, Forums, News, Pictures, Parts, and Shop - Mini-ZRacer.com
Forums, Mini-Z, MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z, Kyosho MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, MiniZ Hop-Ups, MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Kyosho Mini-Z Parts, Kyosho MiniZ Hop-Ups, Kyosho MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer Hop-Ups, Racer Kyosho Mini-Z Parts
Old 2007.03.29, 09:54 PM   #16
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Still moving slowly forward. I soldered everything that I can do up to this point. Now I have to tune the antenna, then solder the TI module in and it should be done. I greatly dislike tuning antennas....

pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2007.03.30, 02:42 PM   #17
cdog4w
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Seattle WA
Posts: 381
Impressive work, I think we're all interested to hear how it goes. Did the software from the giroz package end up working?
cdog4w is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2007.04.02, 09:02 PM   #18
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Success, I tuned the antenna at least well enough to pick up the tag in my car from ~9". Check it out, picture is linked since it is really large.

http://www.flipsidehobbies.com/stuff/rfidscanner4.jpg

The antenna may still need some fine tuning but in the current state I can now put it in an enclosure and take it to the track for testing. If our next race night has near as many people as the last having this second lap counter is going to be really helpful

Here is a picture of the board close up.



I had a couple of mistakes on the layout that I will correct for the next version. Nothing major, just measurements from manufacturers that were wrong causing me to improvise. The obvious ones are the resistors that are much bigger than the spacing I gave the leads.

Unfortunately I did not have any female headers so I soldered the TI module directly to my board. I could not find any locally. It's a bummer how hard it is to find electronics components locally now.

Last edited by pinwc4; 2007.04.02 at 09:06 PM.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2007.04.02, 10:20 PM   #19
GrfxDan
RacerTag: Drinian
 
GrfxDan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Decatur, IL
Posts: 328
Send a message via AIM to GrfxDan Send a message via MSN to GrfxDan Send a message via Yahoo to GrfxDan
Congrats! I'm glad to hear you've got it working... ish. Looking forward to having 2 tracks with lap counters.
__________________
HFAY RacerTag: Drinian DansDecals com MiniZDecals.com (work in progress)
GrfxDan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2007.04.03, 12:49 PM   #20
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by GrfxDan
Congrats! I'm glad to hear you've got it working... ish. Looking forward to having 2 tracks with lap counters.
Well, with how the club is growing, by the time I get this second one going I am going to have to make a third.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2008.11.02, 04:04 PM   #21
briankstan
Registered User
 
briankstan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Jordan, Utah
Posts: 6,877
how about an update on the hardware?
__________________
--Salt Lake Mini-Z---HFAY---MZR Gallery--
briankstan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2008.11.18, 09:54 PM   #22
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by briankstan View Post
how about an update on the hardware?
Sorry for the lack of response, the forum did not send me an email about a new post....

I had set aside this half of the project to focus on the software side. Now that I have an alpha release of the software I can now turn my attention back to this. Plus we had an incident in the room we race in that resulted in it getting flooded, my Core lap counter was under water so I do not know if it will work again. So I pretty much have to get my prototype working fully so that we can run races again.

My prototype has worked well enough for testing but I still need a more reliable antenna. I have tried a few different materials so far but either could not get the signal strength or had durability problems resulting in failures after repeated transport. I think I am going to switch to using coax for now. While it is thicker it should be reliable.

Hopefully in the next couple months I will have something durable enough that I could build and ship to people knowing it will work when they finish assembly.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2008.11.19, 07:14 AM   #23
briankstan
Registered User
 
briankstan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Jordan, Utah
Posts: 6,877
oh man that really sucks about the Core, did you get if dried out?

I accidentally (yea right) landed my heli in my swimming pool this summer. After a complete disassemble and dry I was supprized that it still worked.

I'm in no rush, but just wanted to check the status of the hardware. Once completed I'd like to possibly put together a HFAY package using your timer.
__________________
--Salt Lake Mini-Z---HFAY---MZR Gallery--
briankstan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2008.11.19, 11:38 AM   #24
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by briankstan View Post
oh man that really sucks about the Core, did you get if dried out?

I accidentally (yea right) landed my heli in my swimming pool this summer. After a complete disassemble and dry I was supprized that it still worked.

I'm in no rush, but just wanted to check the status of the hardware. Once completed I'd like to possibly put together a HFAY package using your timer.
I have disassembled it and let it dry. But before I try using it again I am going to put it in a vacuum chamber with a moisture absorbent material to get it as dry as possible. Since you can not buy the Core hardware and I want to ensure my software works with it along with my own hardware I need to have a working Core lap counter to test with.

But this motivates me to get my own hardware done quickly as we can not race again until I have something.

That is a good idea with a HFAY package. The only catch will be some assembly will be required. I can not sell this as a fully functioning unit without getting FCC approval which will cost quite a few thousand dollars. Some basic soldering may be required to finish assembly. But it will be easier than solder FET's.....

If I were to give a safe high estimate I would say total cost will be around 300$.

You will need to buy a few parts yourself including the TI S6350 module for 160$, but tags are cheap at around 1$ each. Higher quantities could bring parts costs down some.

Email me so we can chat more about the HFAY idea.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.01.16, 09:12 AM   #25
jimb
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 4
counter system?

We are just starting up a club and i am very interested in your system i have downloaded software (only mac friendly system i could find) we are hoping to be in hfay next session. but since core is no longer available and used ones are hard to come by i would be very interested in your hardware also. thanks
jimb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.05.04, 12:28 PM   #26
kalou60
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 13
A big up
@pinwc4: I like know if your project is alway in your head, and perhaps could you explain with some images and a tutorial will be welcome for my little hands.
kalou60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.05.05, 01:12 PM   #27
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by kalou60 View Post
A big up
@pinwc4: I like know if your project is alway in your head, and perhaps could you explain with some images and a tutorial will be welcome for my little hands.
This project is not just in my head, I do have designs of it and originally had 5 boards produced for myself so I could tweak the design. It has been slow going I know as I have focused more on the software side. I needed software first as without it the hardware would be useless.

I have tried and failed at quite a few antenna designs, either they are not strong enough for the signal, not durable enough or not easy enough to produce. Right now I am trying to use simple computer ribbon cable, like is used to plug a CDROM into the motherboard of a computer. This approach looks very promising, it is durable, cheap and I can actually tape the antenna together at the right dimensions so that people would not have problems getting the antenna loop the right shape.

But I think I have a flaw in the antenna tuning circuit somewhere. No matter what I try I tune the antenna at one location and then when I take it somewhere else it is out of tune and can not pick up the cars good enough.

So while I have not said much I do work on it every couple of weeks and try to get it finished, I just have focused more on the software.

If you want to read up more on antenna designs TI actually has a few of good documents
TI Antenna Design Notes
TI RFID Antenna CookBook
100CM x 600CM Antenna Design
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.05.05, 11:37 PM   #28
kalou60
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 13
Thanks for your answers
kalou60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
New nextgen I-Lap lap counter. wcrotty Lap Timing Systems and Software 33 2007.10.10 10:21 AM
Help Building a Lap Counter Blackranger3d Mini-Z Science 34 2006.03.31 01:52 PM
For Sale: Laser Lap Counter - High Quality Goosebag Miscellaneous Discussion 9 2006.02.14 05:10 PM
Personal lap timer counter CHEAP! 46u Lap Timing Systems and Software 10 2006.02.14 03:50 PM
Lap counter needed. NT2 Lap Timing Systems and Software 62 2004.10.13 08:52 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2011 Mini-ZRacer.com
Mini Inferno Sale - Up to $85 Instant Savings!
Micro-T Hop-Ups
RC18R, M18, Micro RS4, Mini-LST, TamTech-Gear, Minizilla, RC18T, RC18B, RC18MT
shop.tinyrc.com Products

more»
Tiny RC Community News
[03/22/17] MZR was on vacation, didn't... : All kidding aside, the host experienced a bit of a server meltdown last week and efforts to restore the site to a new server took longer than anticipated. The current server is temporary until - more»
[11/25/15] Did You Hear? Our Black... : Hey Racers,
We're getting started a bit early with our Black Friday sale this year.  Generally we're not supporters of retailers opening early on Thanksgiving, but in our case, we're - more»
[06/30/15] shop.tinyrc.com: Have You... : Hey All! Just a quick reminder to everyone that we post all of our shop.tinyrc.com Newletters here on the MZR Forum. If for some reason you miss them in your email inbox, you can always see the - more»
Mini-Z, Mini-Z Racer, MR-02, MA-010
M18, M18T, RC18T, Mini-LST, Mini-T, Micro RS4, XRay, 1/18, 18th scale
XMODS, XMOD, Micro Flight, ZipZaps, ZipZaps SE, Bit Char-G, MicroSizers, TTTT, Plantraco Desktop Rover, SuperSlicks, Digi Q
Mini Inferno, Mini Inferno ST, half EIGHT, 1/16, 16th scale
Epoch, Indoor Racer, 1/43, 43rd scale
E-Savage, eSavage, eZilla, e-Zilla, HPI
Robots, Bots, Bipeds, Wheeled, Manoi, Roomba, NXT, Lego, Hacking
Crawling, Crawlers, Micro, RC, Losi Mini-Rock Crawler, Duratrax Cliff Climber
Kyosho Minium, Caliber 120, Minium Forums
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, Mini Inferno Hop-Ups, Mini Inferno Parts, M18 Hop-Ups, M18 Parts