Laser gate problem

[beakerboysracing]

I have a brand new 42 ft 4 lane Best Track with a MicroWizard K3 timer and a laser gate. Last night, in preperation for our up coming derby, we attatched our brand new skirt to the track. After that, the boys wanted to run some cars down the track so we did. The cars ran .2 faster than previously. I knew something had to be wrong. After checking all my connections and the magnets on the laser, I can't find anything wrong. I talked to Stuart at Microwizard and he gave me a couple of things to look at, but they didn't fix the problem. I could understand the times being slower if the vibration from the drop of the pins were tripping the gate, but not faster. I checked and the gate doesn't interfer with the laser and the vibration doesn't trip the laser.

I am at a loss. Anyone have any ideas?

I can hook a micro switch up to it and the times go back to normal. This laser gate has me spooked now, I don't trust it.

Any help is appreciated.

Scott

Beakerboys

[blcrow33]

We have the same set up as you except we have a K2 timer. We use the starting pins to trip the laser gate. If you set the laser gate in front of the start pins, then the cars will trip the laser. This, to me, is not accurate. If the laser is 1 inch in front of the cars and say one car is much faster than the others. If the first car gets to the laser and trips it and the other cars are a half inch behind, that is like starting the cars with one car getting a half inch head start. Once the laser is tripped, all the cars should be at the exact same position on the track. Tripping the laser with the start pins should give you the same time as using the micro switch to start the timer. This is the set up I would recommend.

[gpraceman]

I'm with blcrow33. The start event should not be based on something as variable as the first car to break the sensor beam. If possible, align the sensor so the pins break the beam.

Personally, I like using the micro switch with that timer. Timing is based on the opening of the gate (as it should be), but it has an added advantage. If a car does not finish, simply reset the gate back up. This tells the timer that the race is over and it will send to the computer the times for the cars that had finished. Of course, the gate should not be reset while cars are still running, so you will need to stress that to the gate operator.

[Go Bubba Go]

I'm with blcrow33. The start event should not be based on something as variable as the first car to break the sensor beam. If possible, align the sensor so the pins break the beam.

We moved our beam and sensor so that the pins break the beam as Randy describes.

Our sensors used to be a few inches down the track, and what we found was that occasionally a heat would register a couple hundreths slower performance for all 4 cars. When we watched closely (at first I was the only one who even noticed this happening), sometimes the vibration from the gate opening caused enough of a jolt that the laser and sensor momentarily moved out of alignment and "tripped" the timer while the cars were still those few inches up the track.

Bubba

p.s. Of course this did make our elapsed times a little "longer".

[OneHour]

We have ours mounted where the laser is about 1/2" from the pins. So far ... it has worked ok for us.

To add on to the question ... I'm not sure if everyone is having a tough time with lining up the Microwizard's laser with the laser receiver starting gate. The laser is attached to the track by a magnet to a metal bracket. On the other side the "blackbox" laser receiver is mounted firmly with screws. Now, the problem is that the laser with the magnet does not stay in one place, especially mounting it so close the pins (even closer as Randy describes). The vibration of the gates tend to cause the laser to slip out of the "tracking" area of the receive. We're constantly having to readjust the laser to line it up. Has anyone solved this stability problem yet?

[gpraceman]

The vibration of the gates tend to cause the laser to slip out of the "tracking" area of the receive. We're constantly having to readjust the laser to line it up. Has anyone solved this stability problem yet?

Yes. Use the mechanical switch instead. That is a little tounge-in-cheek, but since we switched to using the switch, we've had not problems with reliability and we run several races per year (about 15 last year between scouts and Awana).

If you are to use the laser, then it really needs a more fixed mounting. The mounting should allow for some adjustment to the beam alignment, but then you should be able to lock it down and not have to mess with it.

Another thing to look at is the vibration being imparted by the gate itself. If it seems too much, try to add some more foam padding to reduce the vibration. That alone might help a lot with keeping the laser aligned.

[Go Bubba Go]

...We're constantly having to readjust the laser to line it up. Has anyone solved this stability problem yet?

We are looking at doing something with this issue with our track. While it generally performs fine, there are times when we've first set up the track that it gets really finicky until we reposition it a couple of times (so much so that our Cubmaster who operates the track during the Pack races has threatened us with rather non-Scoutlike consequences if we couldn't get it to settle down).

We are actually considering retrofitting our track (a Wood Piantedosi) with the metal spring loaded gate they now offer (we also have an issue with a damaged wooden pin), we just haven't checked yet if they sell the gate by itself and what it would run. Especially if we change to the spring loaded metal gate, we will be exploring starting with a mechanical switch rather than the laser.

Bubba

[gpraceman]

We are actually considering retrofitting our track (a Wood Piantedosi) with the metal spring loaded gate they now offer (we also have an issue with a damaged wooden pin), we just haven't checked yet if they sell the gate by itself and what it would run. Especially if we change to the spring loaded metal gate, we will be exploring starting with a mechanical switch rather than the laser.

I was able to retrofit a wooden Piantedosi (now Micro Wizard) track with their newer metal gate design. That was back before the company changed ownership, but I would still imagine that Micro Wizard would sell you just the start gate.

[OneHour]

Randy,

Which mechanical starter did you use? I'm looking for one that will have 6-lane option, can utilize the solenoid starter and light tree that we recently got from the Judge, and fit for Best Track track.

Thanks,

-L

[gpraceman]

Which mechanical starter did you use? I'm looking for one that will have 6-lane option, can utilize the solenoid starter and light tree that we recently got from the Judge, and fit for Best Track track.

I'm not quite sure I understand your question. For our old pack in San Diego, I called up the track manufacturer and was able to order just the start gate unit. Their newer gate design just replaced the old wooden gate on the pack's track. The old design had rubberbands to keep the gate closed. It took a flick of the wrist to open it. The problem with that design is that the person operating the gate could open it too slowly, so as to restrict the cars, but the timer had already started. Their newer design uses a spring to snap the gate open, so the pins move away before the cars can start rolling.