Conventions. Track Electronics Setup. Timing System

Transcription

1 Conventions Left-right side of the track is defined from the viewpoint of the cars on the track. The top of the track consists of the starting line, and the bottom of the track contains the timer/display unit. Track Electronics Setup Track electronics are divided into two parts: timing system and starter system. These two systems operate independently. Timing System The timing system consists of a laser-eye starter and a 4-position electronic eye finish line gate. The equipment used is a Micro Wizard Fast Track K2 Grand Prix. At the starting end of the track, a laser is attached magnetically to the track below the starting pins on the right side of the track.

2 The laser may be adjusted by moving around on the steel plate to center it on the photo detector on the left side of the track. On the left side of the track, the starter box containing the photo detector is screwed into place using two small screws. The cable coming out of the laser plugs into the photo detector box using a 1/8 miniplug. The power to the laser is provided over this cable. Power to the photo detector, as well as communication with the timer display, is via an RJ11-style connector cable. When setting up the laser and photo detector, the black button on the top of the photo detector box is the reset button. When held down, the laser will turn on. You want to align the laser so it goes into the small white hole in the photo detector box. If the laser is properly aligned it will stay on when the black button is released (until the beam is blocked from reaching the photo detector box by a car, hand, etc.). During racing, the computer will automatically reset the timing system, turning the laser on before each race begins. At the bottom of the track, the timer display is bolted to the track using 2 bolts under the track. The photo detectors in the bottom bar of the timer display must align with the holes in the track (that is, when the timer display is installed, you must be able to see the photo detectors through the holes in the track). The DB-9 connector goes on the left side of the track, and the RJ11-style connector on the right side of the track. The RJ11-style

3 connector on the right side of the track connects to the photo detector box at the top of the track using the long RJ11-style cable. Power (9 VDC) is provided to half of the timer display on the right side of the track using a wall transformer. On the left side of the track, a second power connector (also 9 VDC) powers the second half of the timer display using a second wall transformer. A short DB-9 to DB-9 cable that has a 1/8 miniplug spliced into it connects the two halves of the timer display. The long DB-9 serial cable plugs into the other side of the short DB-9 cable and runs back to the PC being used for race results.

4 Cables and power cords should be securely tucked under the track to prevent tripping and to keep from interfering with the cars during races.

5 See the MicroWizard website ( for more details on connection and configuration of the timing system. Starter System The starting system consists of a light tree and the electromagnetic actuators that lower the starting pins. The electromagnetic actuators are attached to the underside of the track. Ensure that the actuators and starting pins are secure (not loose) in the underside of the track. The light tree plugs into the actuator control box using a 1/8 miniplug. The light tree is powered by AA batteries in the bottom of the tree. The light tree is typically attached to a ~5 piece of PVC pipe and taped to a chair so it can be clearly seen. At the bottom of the clear portion of the light tree is a black photodiode. Any IR remote control may be used to start the light tree by aiming it at the photodiode and pressing any button. The light tree will begin a countdown and will release the cars. Timing is automatically started when the laser in the timing system is blocked from reaching the photo detector box.

6 Software Configuration The track software is GranPrix Race Manager. It will run on any PC with Windows 2000 or later. Connection to the timing hardware is a serial port configured at 9600 baud, 8 bit, no parity and 1 stop bit. If the PC running the software does not have a DB-9 serial port, a USB-serial adapter may be used. When opening the software for the first time, there are a number of steps to take to configure for racing. Step 0 (as labeled in the software) is a tutorial on operating the software, and is highly recommended for beginning users. Step 1 is software configuration. Clicking the Step 1 Software button brings up the Software Setup Options window.

7 The first tab is General. Note the settings shown in the window. The Subgroup of Circle is entered by clicking on the Subgroup Label pull-down and typing Circle into the window.

8 On the Racing tab, note the track length of 37. The Auto Heat Advance moves the racing ahead to the next race automatically after the specified amount of time following the previous race has elapsed.

9 On the Standings tab, make sure Scoring Method is set to Time, and Cumulative Total of All Heats is selected for the Standings Determination. This will cause the software to sum the times from all heats and award trophies based upon total run time. For the Tiebreaker Procedure, select Don t worry about ties. If a tie in a single race occurs, this is not important as final ranking is based upon cumulative time. If a tie in the cumulative time occurs, the software will automatically award the trophies correctly later. When finished, click the Save button to record the settings. The next setup is for the track Hardware, which is opened by clicking the Hardware button.

10 On the Timer tab, we are using a Fast Track timing system. A Maximum Time is shown which is what is given to any cars that DNF. We should discuss a policy on how to handle this. The COM Port selects which port the track is plugged into. If you are using a USB-serial adapter, you will need to go into the Windows Device Manager to find which COM port it is assigned to. The Start Test button performs a trial race with the timing hardware. When clicked, it will configure the track for racing, then report the timing values in the Timer Input and Times indicators. The Solenoid Gate and Light Tree tabs are not used at this time.

11 After the general setup is complete, you are ready to begin setting up for this year s race. Click the New File button, then Save the file with a useful name (2010 LewisAndClarkExpedition, for example). All entries made into the application from now on will be automatically recorded to the file without needing to click Save. On the Setup tab you need to enter the Grades expected for racing, and the Circles. Note that if a Circle has kids in more than one Grade, you need to select each Grade and enter the Circle name for that Grade. Make sure to add a Test Grade with a Test Circle for testing of the setup later, as you won t want to run test races with the real Grades/Circles. Note also that you need to click the Add button each time to add a new item, or the currently selected item will be overwritten.

12 On the Registration tab, the actual registration entries are listed. Select the Grade and Circle for the child, enter name and other relevant information, click the Passed Inspection check box, then Save to enter into the list. It is recommended to assign car numbers with the first digit for the Grade to make sorting cars easier later. Grade Numbers Kindergarten and Under 1 st nd rd th th and up Open Class Adult Class Note that the software will not allow you to enter then same car number twice. To change a registration, click the appropriate row in the table, make changes to the data and select Save. Note that you can move cars between Grades this way as well.

13 Once registration is complete for a grade, a Schedule may be created on the Schedule tab. Select the Perfect-N Type Chart, the correct grade from the pull down, then click the Schedule button to bring up the schedule creator.

14 Note settings on this page. All the Chart Upgrade Options are unchecked. The Number of Vehicles should be automatically populated from the registration list. If it is not correct, go back and make sure all the cars in the Grade have the Passed Inspection checkbox selected. Click the Generate button to create the chart, then Save Chart to store this schedule to use. You do not need to actually save the file or print it. Once a Schedule is saved, click the Racing button at the top of the window to begin racing this schedule.

15 When the Racing window comes up, double check that the correct Grade is selected at the top. Click the Timer Ready button in the bottom left of the window to arm the timer, then trigger the start when you are ready.

16 When the race is complete, places, times and speed will all be automatically recorded. The software will automatically advance to the next heat 10 seconds (or whatever is configured) after the scores are displayed. A heat may be rerun by clicking the Previous button then the Rerun Heat button. The software will ask you to type a KeyWord ( YES ) to acknowledge that you are going to overwrite results, but then you may go ahead.

17 Once racing is completed for a Grade, click the Standings button at the top of the main window to bring up the Standings list. Clicking the Reveal button in the lower left will show the top finishers one at a time.