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This page is dedicated to information about AX and TT equipment. I especially want to document timing     systems. Please send information about the equipment that your Region uses to:     chuxter@airmail.net                                    2/24/03     Steve Sapareto from Southern Arizona Region sent the following:     "One of our members in SAZ, Wendy Walker, has put together a website listing all of the commercially     available timing systems. She's done a nice job collecting info."     http://members.aol.com/wendyofaz/timing.html     Check it out...it's a wonderful resource if you are looking for this info.     Maverick Region Timing System     Golden Gate Region Timing System ———Maverick Region Timing System         The system consists of a TAG Heuer PTB 605 timer and 2 HL2-35 pulsed infra-red emitter/detector sets.     We only use one HL2-35 set for TTs and for the occasional AX with a small course, where we require     multiple laps for one time. A Region member wrote custom software for this system with VisualBASIC     6.0. We rolled our own because there was no commercially available AX software when we bought the     system. Thre are several commercial packages available now. One advantage of a system that     incorporates a PC is that the results are automatically stored in a disk file. In our case, it's a text file     that is easily imported into Excel. This makes results easy to post on the web site.     The timer has a single timebase with 16 input channels. The resolution is 1/250,000 second. However,     the HL2-35 emitter/sensor sets operate at 10,000 KHz, so the effective resolution of the system is only     1/10,000 second. We round the result to 3 decimal digits.     The HL2-35 units can be spaced 270 feet apart. There are two output "power" settings on the emitters.     The internal batteries last several days if we select the "low" setting, which only allows 130 feet     separation...we normally select the "low" setting, since this spacing is big enough to keep the boxes safe     from cars. The Heuer sensor boxes are ver nice. They are nicely painted metal boxes. They are sealed     against water and dust. The PCBs are coated with a plastic coating to preclude mildew or condensation.     A negative, is that the battery compartment is inside the sealed housings and requires several screws     to be removed to replace the batteries. These things are built like little, jeweled tanks!     Our system allows many cars to be timed simultaneously, limited only by the size of the "stack" utilized     by the software and the ability of the operator to quickly and accurately input car numbers. The software     runs on a laptop. We have a 1000 watt Honda generator that powers the laptop. No, it doesn't take that     much power...but if Porsche Design ever offered a generator, it would work like these Honda's do!     In operation, the system waits until a car produces a timing event and the program queries the operator     for the car number. Both start and stop events are handled identically, as far as the operator is     concerned. Pylons and DNFs are operator prompted events. Each event (of any kind) is logged to a disk     file. For stop events, the previous start event time (for the same car #) is used to calculate the lap time.     After the event, a simple script produces an Excel spreadsheet of the results from the log file.     We normally have 2 operators. The second operator handles radio communications, announces the     times and drivers on the PA system, writes all events on a paper log, and chases off the paparazzi.     A 3rd posting worker listens to the times on the PA system and writes the times on a big posting board,     mounted on the side of the timing trailer. Occasionally, a 4th worker writes the times on a small white     board and displays them for each driver (this function will go away soon...see below).     You can get more information on-line:     PTB 605 Timer     HL2-35 Sensors     Tripod     We are currently upgrading to interface the system to a big results display. We are planning to buy a     ProLite PL-SB2014 high brightness red LED unit that can display 16 alpha-numeric characters. We will     display the car number, time, pylon count, and DNF status in the following format:         NNN SSS.sss P X     The display only has 2" high characters, so we will place it within 50 feet of the cars as they drive off the     course.     The PTB 605 costs $995 and each HL2-35 set costs $895. We also bought the tripods for $38.     The ProLite display will cost $595. The software was free.   :-)    Charlie Davis ———Golden Gate Region Timing System         The system consists of a RaceAmerica AC-4 system. You can get the specs here:     http://www.raceamerica.com/tac4main.html     We’re very happy with it. Used it next to a JAC unit one time, and the JAC guys were constantly running     out to align the lights. The RaceAmerica system had an alignment system built in, no bending down,     squinting, lasers, etc.     When our volunteer operators ask how to work it, I can usually just say, watch it and don’t touch anything.     We have used them in the rain, and we don't let them get hit by cars. They are cheap enough that we     have 2 spares, just in case. They have not needed to be mounted on tripods, and I have them on plastic     boxes that would not damage anything, should they get hit. The beam is so good, we put them pretty     far from the edge of the course.     We have a printer attached to the timer, and we write the car numbers down as it comes off the printer.     We only use it as a backup, in case the card writer gets lost.     We had the option of getting the car numbers printed, but I did not want to give up the cone count, and it     was limited to 2 digits. They offered to do custom software, but I declined.     We post results by hand, at the event. They are tabulated by hand, and excel spreadsheets posted to the     web.     Pretty hard for operators to make mistakes, better than anything else I saw, but nothing was perfect.     Since we have the printer and there are 2 different people writing down the info, we can cross reference     results.    David Leong     Comments by Charlie Davis about the RA AC-4 system...     Several years ago (1998), I surveyed the market for AX Timing Systems. I called RaceAmerica and     talked with Dennis Laczny. He gave me the following information...     The RA emitter uses an IR LED and is pulsed at 62 KHz. The IR beam is not focused so it is about 30     degrees wide. The sensor is similarly not focused and sees over a similar 30 degree cone. This makes     alignment easy, but limits the range to 50 feet. The sensor locks onto the 62KHz signal from the     emitter (probably via a phase locked loop circuit) which delays 4 mS before signaling the absence or     presence of the signal from the emitter. This delay is not a problem, as long as it is a constant delay.     Unfortunately, it is a variable...varys up to 0.3 mS. This is a small error, but is avoidable with a better     design. It means that the accuracy is only 0.001 second, regardless of the count frequency of the timer     (unspecified).     The sensors are housed in small PVC cases that are not sealed against water or dust. There is no     bottom on these cases...the batteries mount in the bottom and it's open. There is no provision to mount     the sensors on tripods, because there is no place to put a mounting hole. RA suggests that they be     placed on the ground, where the IR beam is 1" off the pavement. This is a good height to detect blown     trash. They offer a strange foam "stand" that surrounds the sensor cases with soft foam. This protects     the cars and gets the IR beam up to 6".     The AC-4 system costs $1308. An optional printer costs $450 (dot matrix) or $695 (thermal), not     including AC adapters. Four foam "stands" cost $75. Spare emitters cost $105 and spare sensors cost     $118.