Lap counting/timer for ac2car?

[viejoronnie]

Working on my ac2car system track using Artin 1/32 track components. I would like to add lap counting/timing for all cars, even those running in the same slot, on the same lap.

Has anyone used the lap counting scheme shown at ac2car.org?

Any other ideas?

[viejoronnie]

Crickets.... LOL

Anyway in my continuing research, I see PM has an ac2car lap counting/timing wiring offering that competes pricewise with RC racing-based systems such as I-Laps, Robitronics, etc. The drawback with RC is that the onboard transducer requires a small onboard battery, and then there is the cost of the transducer itself ($20- $30), which adds up.

I'm not interested in stuff like fuel management, etc , just want to count laps for cars sharing the same slot. I have seen a ios app that visually ids cars from the ios device camera and might work for lap counting/ timing, but???...investigation continues.

[Nor Cal Mike]

This is a subject that you will have a hard time getting answers for around here because AC2car isn't commonly used by the members here. I played around with AC2car many years ago but never attempted timing. Heck even the guys at the AC2car site hadn't yet done timing either. I haven't looked at that site in years but those guys were pretty crafty so I imagine their system is probably to most efficient and likely the most economic way to go for that system. I think I have heard of someone embedding barcode readers into a track surface and using barcode stickers to count cars going by but I know little about it. You might check into that.

[viejoronnie]

Thanks Mike.

I have been researching other slot forums as well with no luck.

I am working with an RC timing equipment company to come up with a cost effective transducer based solution for ac2car, but we'll see.

It may als0 be possible to use Hall sensors located under the track at strategic points and magnets glued to the underside of the cars to trigger a counting signal, akin to what was done below with TCR:

http://www.tycotcrracing.com/projects/s ... p-counter/

My twist would be if a Hall sensor is mounted under the track as far OUTBOARD as possible for a shared slot with a magnet mounted on the car A chassis at a corresponding location; AND another Hall sensor is mounted under the track as far INBOARD as possible with a corresponding chassis-mounted magnet for car B, one should be able to create two distinct A and B electrical signals....MAYBE???