Lets take the human error out of timing...

[jkale]

I was talking to John R. about this Sunday night and it seems like he and Kevin already know how to do it, so why don't we?

I mean, if, at the end of the season, it comes down to .11 seconds determining King of the Hill(like last year) we need the times to be exact. Because human "error" will factor in and those .11 become negligible.

So lets get some things organized and make it happen! Either a beam that sends a signal up to timing, or a timing tree, it doesnt matter.. But we need to do something different than the push of a button when we hear "go".

What do you guys think? Im willing to do whatever it takes. Same with James. We can even provide the laptop designated for this purpose...

[KevinGale]

There are a few issues to resolve.

1) Do we have to use a drag race style count down light.

For years we have been talking about a light tree that counts down and starts the clock when the green light turns on. The problem is this is complicated and to properly handle jump starts we still need a light beam to catch people who leave before the green light. I would rather use a setup with a light beam and a button. The starter asks if you are ready. You signal yes. The starter then pushes the button to activate the light beam and signals you to start when you are ready. After you leave the starter releases the button. By using a button we avoid having 25 tones going up the wire when we do a fam run or a bring down as each car trips the beam.

2) Andy Jones where are you?

Andy has a circuit to send the tone up the wire.

3) We need to buy another light like we use at finish and reflectors.

4) Logistics problem. Who is going to be in charge of charging the new deep cycle battery we need to power this?

I'm already in charge of transporting and charging the battery we use at finish and I'm not willing to handle another battery. The best bet would be to rig some sort of charging system in the club trailer and make sure that who ever takes the trailer plugs it in before bringing it to the event. The light beam at start won't draw a lot of power but the battery for finish (which I want to leave in the club trailer once we have a way to charge it) does get drawn down a lot running the laptop for two days and needs a fair bit of changing. If a 2 amp trickle changer is used it may need a couple days to top off. So plugging it in on the Friday before the event isn't going to work unless we have a more powerful charger.

5) Time

I have time to get the finish portion of this done. (I have to add the hardware and software to accept the signal) but I don't have time to build the hardware we need at the start. I'm willing to explain what I think we need. (I might have time to build stuff later in the year once my car is working.)

[jkale]

James works at Interstate batteries. That is not an issue. He will be in charge of supplying and charging the battery.

I think a beam to break would be the better choice compared to the timing tree.

If we do this, it WILL be used at ALL hills, correct?

[sachilles]

Do we(sccv) still have the old timing light from our previous timing system? I'm sure NEHA can have it, if it is still around somewhere.
You can't have the the sweet milk crates it was attached to though.

[sdwarf36]

I personally would LOVE to have a christmas tree ,but i understand that just breaking a beam anytime after the drivers ready would be much simpler. I'm all for it.

[STI NICK]

Do we(sccv) still have the old timing light from our previous timing system? I'm sure NEHA can have it, if it is still around somewhere.
You can't have the the sweet milk crates it was attached to though.

I have the old timing light. They dont make milk crates like that one anymore.

[Rabbit Farmer]

I called and spoke with Andy tonight and mentioned this discussion. Unsure if he will make it over here (wife/kids has 100% of his attention at this point in his life).

[Mopar 151]

Well - I have in my posession, a real traffic light, purchased by KSCC years ago. Being as I have some unwelcome free time at the moment, I can make a tripod to set this up on (it's aluminium), and, IF WE CAN AGREE ON THIS, I can mount LED truck lights behind the original Red, Yellow, Green. I can handle wiring up the relays and control pendant, and mounting the light and reflector.
Where we need help is in a little low-rent automation - if we can agree on the concept we want to pursue. I favor the countdown tree for several reasons - getting the starter out of the path of the car being a major one, the rest having to do with fun, tradition, and getting runs in.

[Rabbit Farmer]

I might be able to get the lights from Andy. He purchased about 16 of the light-weight LED traffic lights (individual lights).

[Mopar 151]

I may have found an industrial timer/relay combo that would run a tree, and I'd like more info on our current finish line "beam" (really an IR proximity switch) - I think that the relay gizmo can read that for the guard beam. And one of the outputs can send the tone up the wire.
Now the issue of money rears its ugly head - this is gonna take a few hundred$, and cash is short for 2 of the clubs just now.
More to follow.