Derby Talk

I tried to use IR LED's & IR photodiodes bu whne I got more than 2" apart I notices that the transistors were not in saturation anymore. That is a bit suprising. Maybe you were using too high of a resistance to control the current on your IR LED's. I have no problem with mine, up to at lea...

Off topic, but related to trucks racing...

I wonder how many organizations out there run the semi-truck races? I've seen some Canadian pack sites showing these type of races, but I don't know that I have seen a US one. Racing semi-trucks would be even more of a challenge, I would think.

But, since you have your sights clearly set on finish line electronics I just have to convince the race organizers. Hopefully, it won't take too much convincing. You can have a system for under $75. It can be cheaper than that if you can get some of the materials, like wood for the electronics encl...

At http://grandprix-race-central.com/general_topics.htm, in the Race Preparations section, you will find the various documents that I have collected and used for our Awana Grand Prix races. In there are some documents that we use for the check-in inspection.

This year we tried out NyOil II as the lubricant on our cars and it worked rather nicely. On a whim, I tried this out on the slide bolt that holds our start gate closed and found that it made the bolt much easier to pull open. With the easier pull, there is less possibility that the track would get ...

Which software are you using to generate the schedules and look at the lane and opponent equities? Sorry, the answer to the first part of this question was in your original post. Using the Stearns method, there can be charts that do not provide a good opponent equity. You can try looking for some o...

I've coordinated our Awana Grand Prix for the last five years and this year I will also coordinate our pack race (I'm a glutton for punishment )

When I looked at the lane equality and opponent equality there was not an even spread for all cars. I am not so concerned with lane assignments for our track but I am concerned with the opponent equality. I need to work with this software some more to see if I can make changes to the race schedule ...

It could give up some tiny distance/time on a vertically mounted sensor if either the sensor was not centered or the car did not cross while centered. I guess with both start and finish vertical sensors, it could actually help the ET if it crossed the start off-center and finished with the nose dea...

Sparky wrote:BTW, where is the thread that discusses lower Cg making higher PE?

So as not to make things too easy for you, I'd suggest you try out the search feature of this board. It is a great tool, especially since the number of posts and threads is getting pretty big.

they all look great! Did you have any problems with your daughter's car lining up on the starting pin with that sharp nose? Obviously not TOO bad, since she was so fast... I had warned her about that when she drew it out on paper, but it was her design and she did most all of the work on it. It is ...

Here's the cars that my daughter, two sons and I built for this years racing. We were a bit rushed this year, trying to prepare for our race (which I coordinated) and having the busiest January ever. They were all 3 wheelers and used NyOil II as the lubricant. This is my daughter Amanda's "The ...

darin_mcgrew wrote:And there's no "none of the above" option...

We don't have design awards for adults, and I don't usually do much to make my car fast.

It has been added, as well and the national level which I thought I put in there earlier.

I am curious. Does anyone know how many people participate in a Pinewood Derby on a National or Global Basis? Taking all organizations into consideration ie., BSA, Awana, Royal Rangers, Royal Ambassadors, Christian Service Brigade, Klub Car, YMCA, and any other organization I may have left out. May...

Sssnake wrote:I can't edit the poll. I get an error messsage, only site administrators can delete a poll, or you can not edit an active poll.

How does it look now?