Building your own lap timer?

**TurboRA28** · 24-05-2006, 04:12 PM

Hi all, i've been thinking about purchasing a lap timer to use at track days. They are expensive buggers though and well, thinking how hard would it be to make one?

I've been searching google and turning up a few bits n pieces..

Things such as, converting a dolphin torch to infered to mount on the side of the track as the transmitter.. A USB infered adapter connected to a laptop or palm pilot in the car as the receiver.. Some software to run the show, would have to somehow read whatever the IR sends to the usb port?

Whats everyone think? Possible?

**kingmick** · 24-05-2006, 04:18 PM

yes you could! or you could buy a gokart lap timer. think there around $300 or so from memory. they work well.

**NeoNasty** · 24-05-2006, 04:19 PM

STOPWATCH double sided taped to the steering wheel.

$5

BAM.

plus if you feel like going 'faster' just press the stop time before the line.

**TurboRA28** · 24-05-2006, 04:50 PM

Nah I want something that is automatic, stop watch isn't accurate enough as depends when you press the button.

Plenty of products to buy.. But hey I love DIY

**gemtoy** · 24-05-2006, 05:13 PM

Jaycar sell a timer kit that uses IR. I looked into building the same sort of thing. They have two different ranges for the sender/receiver. I have decided to buy an Aim MXL dash with logger (one day) . The other option is to buy a sender/receiver from Aim and adapt it to your own timer or just the receiver and hope that someone else at the track has the sender out on the side of the circuit. Check out www.aimrace.com.au they some old stock of thee TG lap timers for $399.

**wilbo666** · 25-05-2006, 07:38 AM

Hey Joel, I'm keen on something like this one day.

I havent started looking into how to do it tho!

I'll keep an eye on this thread and see how you pan out

Cheers
Wilbo

**TurboRA28** · 25-05-2006, 09:06 AM

Well to get the ball rolling....... I'm going to build a IR receiver for the serial port on the laptop. This seems a very simple design and is mainly used for when you want to control your PC with a remote control.

As for the transmitter, i'm a bit confused what way to go.. Lots of designs for different ones on the net. I think its more going to be a beacon/emitter type thing. So need to research that more.

I've got a mate who is a programmer so will chat to him this weekend and get him onboard to write some software to interpret the raw data coming in the serial port and kick off some timer and to start with just write the results to a txt file or something simple like that.

Will keep everyone updated.

Cheers
Joel

**thechuckster** · 26-05-2006, 01:09 PM

fwiw: one of the T CCQld committee members has a dog enthuiast in teh family - at their agility events, they have timing gear that is wireless. We're trying to see if we can borrow it for motorkhanas and/or work out how it works.

cheers,
Charles.

**thechuckster** · 26-05-2006, 01:22 PM

off the wall? put an RFID chip in each car? <http://www.championchipusa.com/home.html>

and did you know someone loon has patented a 2-way timing concept (wireless timing) in the US:
<http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6603711.html>

Sports timing wequipment:
<http://www.splitsecond.com.au/>
... google will find you more aus suppliers, but it all looks expensive.

**kingmick** · 26-05-2006, 01:49 PM

lol deleted by mick

**thechuckster** · 26-05-2006, 02:54 PM

-deleted by ed-

**rob** · 26-05-2006, 06:58 PM

a friend of mine built his own lap timer for his mates go-kart

seemed to work ok last reports tho he said prolly better off with the $300 jobbie mick suggested

**thechuckster** · 27-05-2006, 01:42 PM

gokart timing:
<http://www.amb-it.com/modules/?name=Systems&systemID=13>

**TurboRA28** · 02-03-2007, 09:23 AM

Whats everyone think of something like this - http://www.mini-zracer.com/forums/sh...personal+timer

Its for RC cars, but in theory the same?

**-GT-** · 02-03-2007, 11:56 AM

I was hoping you hadn't given up on this! I only had a chance to have a quick glance at it, how exactly does the reflector work? I'm only thinking of how accurate your laser aiming from trackside needs to be, and things like vibrations, noises from loud cars going past. Also, how do you get it to not read the other cars out on the track when they go past?

It's just a laser reflection system right, so it times intervals between the detector receiving the laser signal back at the emitter? So it could bounce off car panels?

It sounds like it's worth a shot though, reckon you can build it in a week?