Timer testing

The problem with the laser, if it is the microwizard laser, is that the first car triggers the timer on a multi-lane track.  The laser would have to be triggered by the gate or something other than a car.

I went through 4 different systems and the electro magnetic gate system is by far the best and most consistent by a country mile. The parts only cost about $20 and Chuy built it with a FOB remote and push button start. The magnet is adjustable too. Extreamly reliable and easy to install. No sound or slap shock what so ever. I can't think or wish of one thing on how to improve this system.

If u are using a stock gate with microswitch the problem by design is not the switch. The switch may be bad though. The problem is in the design of the stock gate. I built my own gate by using the parts list Chuy posted on various sites and then built my own timer using an Arduino foundation that bracketracer turned me on to. I use a regular micro switch for the trigger and have had test runs countless times that are the same down to the 10 thousandths on back to back runs.

Scott

with a gravity gate it is important it moves very freely. Also import that the start switch is actuated when the gate falls not when the gate is triggered. So it is important to adjust things so that it doesn't trigger until the car is for sure released. Make sure everything moves freely and no jerky or erratic behaviors. If things don't move the same every time then u can get variances. Use your phone camera in slow motion mode to make sure the gate pin is pulling away from the cars nose before the car moves. Sometimes the gate might need more weight or maybe a slight assist by a spring to get away from the cars nose. But to answer your question about testing I think high speed cameras and expensive data/event logging devices are probably the only way to do it accurately.

Scott

I have a gravity gate made by BSB - he used to be a racer here. No slapping or banging. I was able to retro fit it with an electro magnet release and it appears to be as accurate as it can be. I'm just using the BSB timing trigger enabled by the the gate release. No laser - not sure it's needed, but then again, I'm not Brian, Dan, Reece, or Mojo either. I can, however, get fat wheeled oil cars to consistently run to the thousandth repeatedly (at least those that are worth it). Scout cars and graphite are still a mystery to me

Okay before I get too far in setup I have a 2 lane best track with what I would think is a factory manual gate. The timer is an early self contained MicroWizard. What do Ineed to upgrade for most accuracy please ? Thanks Fellas.......