Best Lap Timer

[unearthed name]

hi guys, we just bought a kyosho ic tag lap counter for our local hobby shop. when we first use it, it run great. it would record lap after lap, after lap. however, when we decide to use the FS software, the ic tag work inconsistently, and now our ic tag can't be read by the original kyosho software.

that being said, what's the most consistent lap timer in the market right now, and also works great with the FS lap timing software since we're planning to register our club in the HFAY series

[Mike Keely]

You do not need to us FS to submit your laps for HFAY. You can really use any lap counting system. There is a special format HFAY wants the results submitted in. We used the core system for about a year but we did notice it would miss some of our laps here and there. The Giro-Z system I think works much better but the software is a pain to set up each race day.

[Felix2010]

PNWC swears by Giro-Z. Some other official PNWC events/regionals had I-LAP as the official lap timing system (I-LAP being the track's home lap counter/timing system). I own an I-LAP setup. All I can say is... Perfect 100% recommend

[H.N.]

+1 on the I-lap system.

[ChiMiniRc]

+1 on I-Lap. I've used another system and wasn't as happy with it. I had issues where cars were counted when they were in an adjacent lanes and love how the decoder on the I-Lap is a single USB connection to the laptop and doesn't require a power adapter.

Also the transponder is very small and I prefer it over the units that use a standard servo harness. I thought about the Giro-Z but heard reports of the transponder being fragile and they had fixed channels. The I-Lap transponders have been in cars that have taken severe beatings at events where all drivers where young first timers. Having each one be unique allows me to put one in each car of the fleet.

Some of the transponders were used in Losi Micro SCT and Rally cars and we powered off the 3v regulated power for the servo and they worked well.

[doug01n]

We use the trackmate racing in Brazil, and I think it's a great lap counting system. 14 cars max, and we have to use only one of the two bridge sensors we bought. And we use it in the side of our track, not over! The sensor is so sensitive that cover precisely the 80cm wide part where it's installed.

The standard servo plug works fine, but can be changed to any plug you want... I'm thinking in changing my transponder plug to ICS plug, and remove the wires over the cars.
The transponder weights 3.4g.

Best "bang for the buck", IMHO.

[Racer-HH]

For Mini-Z we mostly run Robitronic systems in Germany. For dnano IC-Tag with FS is golden standard.

[ChiMiniRc]

Originally Posted by doug01n

We use the trackmate racing in Brazil, and I think it's a great lap counting system. 14 cars max, and we have to use only one of the two bridge sensors we bought. And we use it in the side of our track, not over! The sensor is so sensitive that cover precisely the 80cm wide part where it's installed.

The standard servo plug works fine, but can be changed to any plug you want... I'm thinking in changing my transponder plug to ICS plug, and remove the wires over the cars.
The transponder weights 3.4g.

Best "bang for the buck", IMHO.

I didn’t want to call out the name but the Trackmate system is the one we displaced with I-Lap. I didn’t like the power adapter for the decoder board. With the I-Lap, I can setup counting anywhere and do not require access to A/C power. This is very handy when I do outdoor events in the middle of say, a parking lot.

Also the USB conectory allowed me to ditch the flakey USB to Serial convertor I had to use (purchased on my own as I didn't want to shell out $30 for trackmate's convertor).

With the trackmate I had to create “blinders” for the bridge as the “focus” of the IR beam was too wide and laps were counted in adjacent lanes. Yes the wiring harness can be replaced but I’d have to reshrink the transponder, get the connector, and do the board level work. Having the readily available transponder connector we Mini-z racers use it very helpful and easy.

[doug01n]

Nice imput...

The problems above doesn't really bother us, 'cause it's a fixed track, so... no issues with the AC power. About the focus thing, we fixed the IR beam unit inside a tube with an open section... kind of a "blinder".

We tried this 'cause the complete system, with 6 transponders, 2 beam units, decoder and cables costed us 350 bucks shipped to Brazil trought UPS. The other systems, with similar number of transponders would cost almost twice this.

As our "mini-z" market is very restricted, we can't do trying, buyng and selling used systems to find the perfect one, 'cause anybody woud buy it arround here.

We are thinking about trying the IC Tag reader, specially because now we have 5 or 6 dnanos coming into the track. By the way, is there another better or shipper dnano lap counting system than the kyosho?

Thanks!

[unearthed name]

does anyone have a tip on how to use the ic tag and FS software to work consistently. our club us the ic tag, sometimes it record, sometimes it doesn't. it'll be a huge pain if we're trying to make a race with that kind of inconsistency

[Racer-HH]

I would highly assume, that the inconsitency is not coming from FS. You should check the tipps-section in the IC-Tag manual and look for the perfect spot to place the timing. Try a low speed section, make sure there are no interferences with other power units and that the track is not too thick. Apart from that, if only one or two racers suffer from missed laps it might be, that the tag is somehow broken. This is very seldom, but at least I know one (!) proven report of this situation from a guy in Switzerland.

[ChiMiniRc]

Originally Posted by unearthed name

does anyone have a tip on how to use the ic tag and FS software to work consistently. our club us the ic tag, sometimes it record, sometimes it doesn't. it'll be a huge pain if we're trying to make a race with that kind of inconsistency

Is it certain cars on certain laps or does counting outright stop for all cars when you restart a race?

[unearthed name]

@chic

it's like for every racers in certain laps. my ic tag will sometimes be recorded and sometimes not.

[ChiMiniRc]

Originally Posted by unearthed name

@chic

it's like for every racers in certain laps. my ic tag will sometimes be recorded and sometimes not.

racer-hh might be right then. THe issue I had was with a beta version and you'd run a race, all laps counted. Then you start another race an no laps would count for ANY cars.

[ukyo]

+1 for ilap here... our club and the local hobby shop are on ilap and FS for HFAY