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Introduction
I have had over 20 years as a leader in the scouting program. Every year I watch the cheers come from the scouts as their cars are racing down the track. All too often some close decisions are not always correct, resulting in disappointed scouts and parents. Humans are trying to perform a job that sometimes is beyond their powers. This timer will leave no doubt as to each lanes total race time and finish place position.
I designed this timer for my grandsons Pack. After several modifications I believe I have come up with a very reasonably priced and extremely accurate race timer for indoor use. Some of our purchasers have used the timers outdoors but have experienced some inaccurate timing problems. This is caused by the large amount of uv radiation bouncing off the track especially the aluminum tracks. So if you plan outdoor use please consult some of the other timer manufactures.
Features
- Can be ordered for any track between 2 to 6 lanes.
- This unit not only just shows 1st, 2nd, ect. but displays the actual racing time of each lane. The results are displayed on an LCD screen on the front panel of the controller. The results will stay displayed until the Clear Results button is pressed. Once the previous race is cleared the controller will start timing again after the start gate switch is operated.
- First time setup may take up to 60 minutes, however during each subsquent year plugging in a few color coded cables is all that is required.
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Accuracy per lane is 0.001 of a second.
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No additional computer or race management software is required. All results are displayed on the LCD in finish place order and the exact race time for each lane. However if you desire to interface this controller to an external computer a software Serial Port is also included. (See serial port information below)
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Unused lane blanking. Example if your track is equipped for 4 lanes and you only race 2 lanes the 2 racing lanes times will show correctly after 10 seconds. These unused lanes will show 0.000 on the finish place display.
- Expandable to allow an optional Finish Place display Each digit is 2" high and is located above each lane at the finish line. This option can be added now or in the future by just plugging in.2 additional color coded cables.
- Each controller is covered by a 100% parts & labor 2 year guarantee.
Serial Port Information
Interfacing this controller requires a Serial cable consisting of a RJ45 connector on one end and a DB9 connector on the computer side. This cable can be purchased from us or made locally. Please use the following table to construct the cable.
RJ45 Pin 4 Rec Data DB9 Pin 2
RJ45 Pin 7 Grd DB9 Pin 5
RJ45 Pin 8 DTR DB9 Pin 4
Data Format
All controllers made after September of 2007 have had the printer port turned into a data port that can be accepted by several race management software packages. This output can be accessed at the Green RJ45 connector in the controllers rear and is set at 9600,N,8,1 ASCII
The data stream from the controllers GREEN RJ45 connector is sent after the race finishes. The results sent out the Green Serial Port and displayed by the LCD will be the same. Data is sent in ASCII format. There will be anywhere from 2 to 6 lines of data. The sequence of lines sent will correspond to the finish order of your race. You will always get the number of lanes printed that the controller is designed for. If you have a 6 lane track you will always receive 6 lines of data. Any vacant lanes or any lane where the race time exceeded 10.0 seconds will be shown as LANE# Space 0.000(cr) (lf)
As an example our race of 6 cars may show the following data for a race in which the cars finished in this order. 6,2,4,5,1,3
6(sp)3.826(cr)(lf) Note: ( cr) = Carriage return
2(sp)3.945(cr)(lf) (lf) = Line Feed
4(sp)4.557(cr)(lf) (sp) = Space
5(sp)5.002(cr)(lf)
1(sp)5.249(cr)(lf)
3(sp)0.000(cr)(lf) ß Note all 0.000 Track was not run or it
(lf) finished after 10 seconds.
With the above information you may decide to tackle your own custom software or go with one of the other commercial packages.
Customer Comments
Received your timer and display today. Installation took about 35 minutes and the testing for all 6 lanes was a snap. When we ran the district race of 127 cars it went so smooth and we were completed much earlier than any previous years. Seems you just can't argue with this computer. Mike (District Chairman Pinewood Race Commitee) New Jersey.
Got the timer today and everything is great. That thing works like a charm. Mikko Omaha NE
Really fast shipping and very easy to install. It really helps getting the correct drill size included in the installation package.
Reasonable priced and allowed our new Pack to become another Pack to enjoy the Derby. Carl Middletown TX
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