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Lap Counters


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The DS system can be easily adapted for wooden tracks.

 

Ds linky Click on accessories, and then DS lapcounter to view.

 

 

hi gang -

 

first - how many lanes are we lookin' at?? two? or more?

 

my 2¢ -

 

i consider accurate lap timing to be vital - not just a luxury .. i've tried 'em all!! scalex old and new .. scx .. carrera .. n-scorer .. the works .. i ended up with a DS unit ..

 

i run a DS200 with a light bridge on my NINCO layout, and like it alot .. it provides accurate timing to four decimal places (1/10000th!) in various modes, tracks fastest lap (with sound too), is easy to hook up and disassemble (for two or more tracks), look pretty good (and 'professional') and is very reliable .. everything included for well under two hundred bucks US, this is the cheapest way i've found for reliable, functional lap timing ..

 

ds200.jpg

 

my layout is two lanes tho

 

if you need more lanes counted, then the costs starts to increase - dramatically .. start with a more expensive DS300, add as many modules as you need and a light bridge capable of the required lane numbers needed.. any other addons while yer at it .. great systems but lotsa pesos ..

 

so - what to do??

 

maybe an old PC running something like SRM? i have this hooked to my small track, and, actually, it is the best .. lotsa reasons, but mainly - continuous screen providing info (too much info!!) and the ability to 'save' - two cool features! for two lanes the screen will look like this - four, six or eight are possible, with the screen 'splitting' horizontally

 

srmscreen.jpg

 

considering a hundred bucks + for an old PC, monitor, mouse and keyboard, the necessary knowledge to build a 'dead strip' and program everythind in DOS, it wound up easier, quicker, cheaper to go the DS route for my second try .. your mileage may vary!

 

here's another thought tho - SCX makes a pretty good system - my fave of the 'factory' timing systems .. the 'box' counts the time (to hundredths if the track is under ten seconds), the bridge counts the laps

 

scxtiming.jpg

 

the track piece may be 'adaptable' to a wood track simply by - oh - ya know - adapting .. if interested, after electrical engineering school, you'd hafta see the insides of a modern one - the older ones had a wired, mechanical 'switch' in each lane that tripped the counter, i think (?) the newer models are 'electric' (or something else magical and mystifying) ..

 

hope any of this helped

 

(verbose) pete

.. with only fear and good judgement holding us back ..

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