Derby Talk

I just want to pick the method from the software. . . . :D BTW, my 25 car 4 lane sample was off . . . sorry :oops: A quick check to make sure that car 1 races different cars in each of it's heats quantees that there are no duplicate competitors. . . each car gets to race as many other cars as possib...

I would recommend these only if there will be a multiple of one run per lane. These types of schedules are for TOTAL TIME racing, NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ELIMINATION races. They allow for easy car selection from the staging area, every car down every lane, even distribution of time between each car raci...

Been there, done that. I would recommend a Phase Shift Lane Rotation schedule. :-) Coming soon to software near you! Please Randy. ;-) This can be created in excel fairly easily and then imported into GPRM. Basically think of the cars in a vertical list. Car 1 is in lane 1 for heat 1. Get the "...

When I did this "physics" for the boys, I kept it real world for them. The CG/COM issue is complex at the physics level and so to a 5th grader I tried to keep the examples real and result orientated(theoretical physics is not as fun as applied physics). Which ball is moving faster when it ...

Well, I got around to getting out the camera. Here is are a couple of photos of three axles that shows the differences in the points of each type. The axles are, left to right, BSA Axle, a Speed Axle(#5095), and a Super Speed Axle(#5098). The first two are identical when looking at the heads, same s...

I agree that it would add lots of complexity but would be very fun. If you use a logic level switch you should be able to use an something like an "exclusive nor" to cause the switch to either fire the red light or if the "master start" from the parallel port has been sent, to ac...

The way I have handled things like this is to just ask the scout, and then later the parent, about the suspect parts/practices. People usually have one of the following reactions: A. Confess and accept responsibility B. Agree but blame ignorance of the finer points of the rules C. Deny the suspect b...

The ideal flow, IMHO, is that the Council sets it's rules, the districts adopt those rules and the packs follow the same ones. . . and they don't change from year to year. The inspection of the axle tip allows for determining if the axles are, or at least were at some point in the past :-) "BSA...

For me, the 3/8" is a love/hate relationship. ;-) For the boys, if the car drags bottom in the test jig, it is tested on the track and if it clears it is allowed to race. I love the rule because it eliminates things scraping the track. I hate it because it is *WAY* too high for current tracks a...

I have gotten very similiar results. I provide a track setup that is 64' long and 6 lanes with Micro Wizard timer and GPRM software. The biggest factor is if the group decides to have a youth announce each of the heats and the heat results. When the kids are doing the announcing for each heat the ti...

might I suggest buying the extruded aluminum, for those of us without the tools shops, Beta Craft Industries sells individual sections. 93" section for less than $16. Has center guide and a nice alignment system using pins between track sections. I believe their web site is something like betac...

I run a couple dozen races a year and have settled on using a "lift the car and let it slide" method with lane dividers. The material that seems to work real well, is cheap and easy to replace after 20 races or so, is a 27" bicycle inner tube cut in half the long way. I turn it inside...