I observed a derby ran by another unit in our area that uses the FastTrack timer. Their track was used in our first district PWD and had trouble dealing with being outdoors. Since I recently purchased the Daytona, which uses IR, similar to FastTrack, I wanted to see how their race went. I felt bad pointing out a few things that they had missed in the track setup, including not using the foam block at the finish line (older model Piantedosi wooden track). The only way we could get their timer to work at the district derby was to put tape over the sensor holes and then poke a pin hole in the tape. They did not do this this year and instead opened a large cardboard box and slid it over the end of the track. This worked, but blocked the view of the finish line from a large portion of the racers.
About a third of the way through the race, they had a problem with a car not setting off the timer. They quickly discovered that placing black electrical tape under the nose of the car seemed to resolve the issue. Their original conclusion was that it was because the car was red, however a few cars earlier, a red car had raced with no problem. The problem car did have a shiny finish. However, they later raced a block of wood and it had the same problem. They began placing tape on the bottom of all the cars with light colored noses.
I'm curious to see how this situation will effect our Daytona timer. For those of you not familiar with their setup, the IR transmitter is in the track and the receiver is mounted above the track. Would that mean I will have to place black tape or black paint on the top of the nose of the cars?
Glare off lanes interfering with a timing system
Re: Glare off lanes interfering with a timing system
If I had access to the timer I would put it too the pencil test. Swing a pencil quickly through each beam. I like to tap the pencil with my finger to fire it across the beam. If the timer fails to register it it is not designed properly and should be replaced. As long as the car's nose is wide enough to cover the beam, even when riding a rail, the timer shoud be able to register properly.
Terry
Terry
