Light Pollution
- PWD_addict
- Master Pine Head
- Posts: 705
- Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:35 am
- Location: Middle River, Maryland
Light Pollution
At our District Derby, we host it at a local shopping mall that has huge skylights on the roof, causing a significant amount of light pollution. It was so sunny this year, that we had to put a 10x10 popup canopy over the finish line (we do this every year) but also had to hang a NASCAR flag in certain positions on the popup. We would run a test run before each set of races and would routinely have to adjust where the flag was to get all 8 lanes providing timing info back to the computer.
I saw the great article from Pinewood Derby Times (http://www.maximum-velocity.com/pinewoo ... imes-v7i2/). The black paint and smaller bushings may solve our problem but we are using the Judge Timer and could purchase the Sunlight Max Option http://www.newdirections.ws/options.htm#sunlight.
Has anyone had a similar problem and had success either way?
I saw the great article from Pinewood Derby Times (http://www.maximum-velocity.com/pinewoo ... imes-v7i2/). The black paint and smaller bushings may solve our problem but we are using the Judge Timer and could purchase the Sunlight Max Option http://www.newdirections.ws/options.htm#sunlight.
Has anyone had a similar problem and had success either way?
- gpraceman
- Site Admin
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Re: Light Pollution
Well, if you are operating in that much light and knew of the problem before, I'm rather surprised that you did not get that option already. I'm not sure if that can be retrofitted to your current timer or not. Maybe John Shreffler can chime in.PWD_addict wrote:we are using the Judge Timer and could purchase the Sunlight Max Option
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
- PWD_addict
- Master Pine Head
- Posts: 705
- Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:35 am
- Location: Middle River, Maryland
Re: Light Pollution
I didn't realize it was even an option before today. The cost is pretty reasonable--but the cost for painting the finish line black is practically free. If I would have thought of it beforehand, I could have charged it to the District event budget--we have a kind sponsor and we usually make a fair amount of money from the event.gpraceman wrote:Well, if you are operating in that much light and knew of the problem before, I'm rather surprised that you did not get that option already. I'm not sure if that can be retrofitted to your current timer or not. Maybe John Shreffler can chime in.PWD_addict wrote:we are using the Judge Timer and could purchase the Sunlight Max Option
- gpraceman
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Re: Light Pollution
Ah. Well, if the books are not closed on this year's race, try to squeeze it in. I would check with John at New Directions to make sure that it would be an easy retro fit.PWD_addict wrote:I didn't realize it was even an option before today. The cost is pretty reasonable--but the cost for painting the finish line black is practically free. If I would have thought of it beforehand, I could have charged it to the District event budget--we have a kind sponsor and we usually make a fair amount of money from the event.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
-
- Merchant
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- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:32 pm
- Location: Vienna, VA
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Re: Light Pollution
Keep in mind that what looks black to the human eye does not necessarily look black in infrared light. Even if it did, placing the emitter or detector or both at the bottom of a deep hole is not going to help. If you are outdoors or under a skylight, or have a glass brick wall, the entire area and everything in it is aglow with infrared.
It is a bit like trying to talk to a friend at a rock concert. Impossible. But if you put in your ear buds and tune your radio to your favorite station, it works fine. The is the principle of Sunlight Max.
The circuitry is transferable to other finish lines.
It is a bit like trying to talk to a friend at a rock concert. Impossible. But if you put in your ear buds and tune your radio to your favorite station, it works fine. The is the principle of Sunlight Max.
The circuitry is transferable to other finish lines.
John Shreffler
Maker of The Judge
Maker of The Judge
- gpraceman
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Re: Light Pollution
Hello John,
For someone with one of your timers, is it just a matter of getting a different sensor board from you?
For someone with one of your timers, is it just a matter of getting a different sensor board from you?
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
-
- Merchant
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:32 pm
- Location: Vienna, VA
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Re: Light Pollution
Beginning with the F series Judges, the boards have positions for the components. It is easier of course to install Sunlight Max when first building, since to retrofit means tearing up everything inside the Judge and rebuilding. Not just the main board, but all lane station boards. So I charge an extra $20 for a retrofit to cover the average hour of time.
John Shreffler
Maker of The Judge
Maker of The Judge
- gpraceman
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4926
- Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2003 12:46 am
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Re: Light Pollution
Thanks for that clarification. Since there is some pulsing of the IR going on with those sensors, I had a feeling that there was more to it than just a sensor board swap.John Shreffler wrote:Beginning with the F series Judges, the boards have positions for the components. It is easier of course to install Sunlight Max when first building, since to retrofit means tearing up everything inside the Judge and rebuilding. Not just the main board, but all lane station boards. So I charge an extra $20 for a retrofit to cover the average hour of time.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Romans 5:8
Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.