Lap timers?

[Adoom]

Anyone use a lap timer?

I'd like to get "automatic" lap timer so I don't have to rely on those poor bored people holding stop watches......

I've seen a few on tardme...
like a gps one, but how accurate is that? Isn't gps(civilian) restricted to 3-10 metres something accuracy?

How much do I HAVE to spend to get a basic one?

Aaaaand GO!

[Leon]

pm / phone / text / carrier pigeon

PC or Webster, or Andrew "Distrb"

I think they all run "performance box" gps doodads.

[Adoom]

...

I think they all run "performance box" gps doodads.

299pounds.... ouch!

basic...er?

[Dunny]

mylaps transponder, most if not all circuits in NZ should have the loop installed now

[Adoom]

mylaps transponder, most if not all circuits in NZ should have the loop installed now

More explaining please...
Does the "loop" have to be turned on? Is it on all the time, or only during actual race meetings?

[nz_climber]

http://www.mylaps.com/index.php/australia_eng/Websites/B2C/car/home

I think they are on all the time, I know they are on at test days at Ruapuna (was there in a friends mini and got laptimes that night when we got home)

Also there are lots of apps that use gps on smartphones (cheap option)

By the way, civil and military gps is the same until p(y) codes are enabled (which hasn't happened in a long time due to airliners relying on gps)

[Adoom]

mylaps permanent transponder and performance box both seem to be ~$600
My wallet is hurting already...

I saw one post that said the smartphone GPS is only 10Hz which is apparently too slow a refresh rate and can give you a 1 second discrepancy.

[DexGT]

10Hz is 10 times a second so can't see how it could be 1 sec out .
My preformance box reads 8 GPS sats 10 times a second and is accurate to 0.3 km/hr.
I find it very useful to get my time as i cross the finish line and it works on hillclimbs / sprints etc . It isn't usually the same as the official time though usually only 10's of a second different and it stays consistently the same difference relatively for the whole day.

[nz_climber]

You can get external blue tooth gps for smart phones with increased refresh rate. but still not sure how good they are.. surely software should use a bit interpolation to work out your exact time.

There are a few different lap times on trade me that vary in price. Most are in the $400-$600 range by the time you buy the transmitter and receiver. But these ones seem really cheap:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Parts-for-sale/Performance/auction-359828577.htm

[matt dunn]

mylaps permanent transponder and performance box both seem to be ~$600
My wallet is hurting already...

I saw one post that said the smartphone GPS is only 10Hz which is apparently too slow a refresh rate and can give you a 1 second discrepancy.

I have both a Performance box and a Mylaps transponder.

The transponder system may be on all the time at CHCH,
but not at all tracks, and you cant see it each lap while on the track.

Performance box is quite dear but very very good.
Accurate to .1 seconds from the mylaps system,
was also accurate to within .1 sec at the drags,

and gives you split times and lap times on screen the instant you cross the line,
and you can download all the speeds etc etc.

There are also other systems but we have had real trouble with aim beam type systems in direct sunlight on the sensor, etc etc.

[pc]

spend lots and get a Pbox, or take timekeeper and provide stop watch.

I'm not aware on any in-between option that is worth considering... unless you borrow a pbox on the days I don't need it.

[mjrstar]

http://www.racechrono.com/
Is a cheap/free option if you have the right type of phone with GPS, or will cost you around 130 for an external GPS bluetooth reciever..

[neo]

AIM laptimer here, works great except I keep leaving the transponder at the track

[molex]

Racechrono is awesome. Rapid development, free, runs on lots of stuff now, including windows.

Very accurate if you've got a good GPS unit, I bought a 5hz unit for ~$70 a couple of years ago that works exceptionally well. Most external bluetooth recievers as well as everything built into phones is at most 1hz with fairly limited positional accuracy.

[toymato]

I have a PBox (still learning to use) and also a manual timer that I find easy to use.

The manual timer is a 50 lap timer with nice large LCD screen, and I mounted a remote push-button near the steering wheel. I hit the button when I go past the start/finish line because I'm not doing much else really. Already in 5th, going straight ahead and just WOT. It cost $100.

[matt dunn]

I have a PBox (still learning to use) and also a manual timer that I find easy to use.

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Once you get the PBox sorted and working great they are a good thing.
You do need to have an SD card and set and save a start/finish line
(and splits if you want) to the card once, then it's all automatic from there.

There was a firmware upgrade a while ago that make the laptime bigger on the screen, but if yours in a newer one it will probably have that firmware loaded already.

At levels here the start/finish line is in a real busy place in the track so thereis no time to press buttons at that point of the track.

Also the standing 1/4 feature is really accurate in them to,
within .1 sec of the times I got on the printouts from the strip.

[Truenotch]

a manual timer that I find easy to use.

I've just bought one of these - seems to be a good, simple way to do record lap times. Not really reliable, but good enough to get a general idea.

[perfk]

Bump-

More thoughts from people on using your phone as lap timer?
I had a look on the app store and there seem to be heaps of options around $20-30, but after suggestions on which ones are good (or bad).

Not too fussed on them being crazy accurate, but do like the idea of being able to see braking points etc.

[RH9]

The Japanese Dig Spice unit is good. It will connect via GPS and record, speed, your line around the track as well as braking and gear changes.

Very very smart. $600 from ST Hitec but you need a lap top to download and view your data once you pit in.

We had a great laugh loading my data and comparing to Tim edgell's NZV8. Makes it a lil easier to find the race line and learn from a Pro without him even knowing

[Truenotch]

Just hold your horses for a while. Do you have an iPhone?


I tested a new app for motorsport over the weekend, it's still an infant but is going to be awesome. You set the start point and it counts your lap through GPS, as well as dividing sectors and giving your speeds/braking points through corners. When you complete the lap your time pops up in green or red (faster/slower) and it was accurate to our stopwatch times.

So we're going to help with the development over the next few months and it should be pretty trick when finished. Probably around a $20 app. I'll let you know more when we test it again.