Arduino upgrade of Microwizard P2XL
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:03 pm
Hi all,
I posted as part of another thread, but I figured this could be its own topic.
My pack has an old P2XL finish gate which has served us well for many years. We'd like to upgrade so as to be able to interface with software and eliminate manual entry of results (as well as add race time capture), but of course it isn't really in the budget. After seeing so many other folks who have used Arduino based timer solutions, I figured we could retrofit our old P2XL with an Arduino and a start switch to meet our needs.
At this point, I have a working prototype in front of me which uses little pushbuttons for the start switch as well as each of our three lanes. I built this essentially to be able to make sure I'd be able to interface with the software before I tear into the gate, and in that I've been relatively successful, running several heats with lane masking working and whatnot.
But software is my strong suit...hardware...not so much.
So, now comes the task of splicing this into the finish gate. I saw in the previous thread that at least one other person has managed this task, but attempts to contact that individual have failed.
I'd like to leave the finish gate's functionality fully intact if possible, and simply "read" the state of the existing photodetectors to my arduino, and possibly allow the arduino to reset the finish gate once the data has been communicated and a set amount of time has gone by.
I'm just not quite sure the best way to go about it. I have high school level electronics knowledge and can follow a schematic. I'm willing to learn, but could use a good hefty shove in the right direction. If successful, I will definitely document the build and share it for future tinkerers to utilize.
Thanks in advance. Our Bear den is doing an overhaul on the stopping portion of our track in May, and we plan to set up then to test the new stopping section (cars currently slam hard into a foam stop taped to the end of the track). I'd like to test the timer retrofit at that time as well, so I have some time to get it together. Cubmaster is bringing the finish gate to me next week, with the understanding that if I break it, I build a whole new one
Andre Miron
Pack 903
Livermore
I posted as part of another thread, but I figured this could be its own topic.
My pack has an old P2XL finish gate which has served us well for many years. We'd like to upgrade so as to be able to interface with software and eliminate manual entry of results (as well as add race time capture), but of course it isn't really in the budget. After seeing so many other folks who have used Arduino based timer solutions, I figured we could retrofit our old P2XL with an Arduino and a start switch to meet our needs.
At this point, I have a working prototype in front of me which uses little pushbuttons for the start switch as well as each of our three lanes. I built this essentially to be able to make sure I'd be able to interface with the software before I tear into the gate, and in that I've been relatively successful, running several heats with lane masking working and whatnot.
But software is my strong suit...hardware...not so much.
So, now comes the task of splicing this into the finish gate. I saw in the previous thread that at least one other person has managed this task, but attempts to contact that individual have failed.
I'd like to leave the finish gate's functionality fully intact if possible, and simply "read" the state of the existing photodetectors to my arduino, and possibly allow the arduino to reset the finish gate once the data has been communicated and a set amount of time has gone by.
I'm just not quite sure the best way to go about it. I have high school level electronics knowledge and can follow a schematic. I'm willing to learn, but could use a good hefty shove in the right direction. If successful, I will definitely document the build and share it for future tinkerers to utilize.
Thanks in advance. Our Bear den is doing an overhaul on the stopping portion of our track in May, and we plan to set up then to test the new stopping section (cars currently slam hard into a foam stop taped to the end of the track). I'd like to test the timer retrofit at that time as well, so I have some time to get it together. Cubmaster is bringing the finish gate to me next week, with the understanding that if I break it, I build a whole new one
Andre Miron
Pack 903
Livermore