1/24 Eurosport Results

[mark g]

Also counted every lap in 1/32 euro as well, That is why I was under the impression it was more car set up then track malfuntion! I know srt recomends a 6" dead strip min. We have a 8" dead strip on our king. Just to be sure

[GearBear]

John added diodes to the track on Friday and we never had a counting problem the rest of the week. Go figure!

[Monty@B.O.W.]

SRT clearly shows the placement of relay suppression diodes in the installation instructions, and has for years.

Who would have thunk it - just read the insructions!

[returnoftheJedi]

Ron & Roy

Want to thank both for your review of the race, coming from respected racers as you both are it means alot.

Thanks!

Mike S.

[Rotorranch]

JMHO.....but Brassy's suggestion of a video BACKUP is not so far out of the realm of possibility!

Expense? None! Everyone has access to a video canera! If you don't, then you really are living in the Dark Ages!

The camera(s) would be a back up, in the odd chance that there would be an electronic scoring problem! The camera(s) would not be the primary scoring device.

As Brassy mentioned, cameras have been used by SCCA, as well as NASCAR, USAC, IMSA, IRL, CART, AMA, AMLS, et al, for several years, AS A BACKUP scoring device.

IF there is a scoring issue, they can revert to the video tape to clarify that issue.

If there is no scoring issue, there is no reason to go to the tape for confirmation.

IMHO...this is a very viable method of backup scoring in the event of a scoring system failure.

BTW....I also think the manual "Hand Count" system is acceptable! I have nothing but praise for the folks who gave the effort to count the race manually. But the video is another very viable option to use if it would be necessary as a backup scoring system.

JMHO

Rotor

[4wheeldrift]

I think documentation of the race on videotape sounds like a good idea, but only if it works infallibly.

The frame rate of most video cameras is about 24 frames per second. At the speed many of our classes run, I think it might be possible for a car to pass in front of the camera and not be seen. If the camera can be run at a higher frame rate it might overcome this potential problem.

Does someone out there have any direct experience with this subject? Why doesn't some one do an experiment and relay the results to the board?

[brassy]

4WD, my suggestion was primarily meant for Scale racing, but it should also work for Wing-Car racing IF the camera's field of view is wide/long enough.

Let's see, a slot car going 40 mph (which would be a fast scale car) is traveling 58.8 feet per second. Assuming the 24fps you cite, the camera's field of vision would need to cover at least 2.34 feet of track length to ensure catching the car in one frame.

At 100 mph, the field of vision needs to be 6.13 feet of track length.

Sounds do-able to me.

While I've seen races taped, I've not seen any video where the camera was positioned to capture 8 lanes for the purpose of backup lap counting.

[Speedshop]

I doubt if the counting problems for 1/24th Euros was solved with diodes. We will never know because the Nats is most likey the last 1/24th Euro race ever on the twister track.

In the practice race 3 weeks eariler some of the same cars that did not count on Thursday counted every lap without a problem so you can rule out car set up. The track counted fine for Expert GT12 and 1/32 Euro. The problem only came up with 1/24th Euros.

The real question is what changes were made to the counting system after the pratice race?

[Woody-England]

Guy's, here in good old England we've been using a video recording of the counters on our UK Black as back up evidence for at least the last 10 years. Always solves any disputes, and a £5 deposit stops any false claims!!!

Woody.

[AndyWasserman]

Standard home video cameras run at 30 frames per second. Film cameras used in film production run at 24 fps.

[4wheeldrift]

I must have slipped a cog.

[mark g]

Not ! chris's car did not count in 1/32 euro

[Zippity]

We don't have a dead strip on our track.

We use, I think they are called "photo-electric cells" (the type you use for swipe cards and credit cards).

We never miss a beat. In fact, if you mark a light coloured guide flag with 20 vertical lines, the lap counter will register 20 laps - assuming that there is no minimun lap time set

Naturally, we use black guide flags.



Ron

[AndyWasserman]

How much fun did I have trying to race direct the main fairly and manage the "counter people" at the same time????

Believe me, it would have been much less anti-climactic if the darn counter just worked and I could have called an exciting race!

At least it all worked out in the end... It was kinda like when the dog eats your stash......lots of waiting around until everything works through the system.....then you get to deal with the results.

I digress.... ;-)

The absolute best way (also the most expensive to set up) to count slot car laps is to have a beam that shoots across the slot as the guide flag passes through it.

[Zippity]

The absolute best way (also the most expensive to set up) to count slot car laps is to have a beam that shoots across the slot as the guide flag passes through it.