John, Mike;
It would be possible to design a battery- powered RF system that would
do the job but its cost might be a factor. If there were a high enough
tower or pole so that line-of-sight could be used all the way to the
last mile marker, an optical system might be a possibility, too.
I'd want to run any new system in parallel with the old wired timing
system for a few events to establish its reliability, though.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-land-speed@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-land-speed@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Jon Wennerberg
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2006 11:33 AM
To: MEIERLE Mike
Cc: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Timing light wires
On Friday, October 13, 2006, at 02:19 PM, MEIERLE Mike wrote:
>
> Jon,
> Physics. Hard wire has a measurable and consistent delay component,
> necessary for the accuracy were timing at. Wireless is unreliable (for
> timing purposes) and affected by many atmospheric and ambient
> electrical
> interferences. Remember were looking at 3-5 places behind the decimal
> point....
>
> Mike Meierle
And GPS delivers how much accuracy from how many miles through how much
poor atmospheric conditions? WiMax internet service moves digital data
-- more than a timing system would need to move - at extremely high
speeds and densities over a few hundred square mile area, in mixed
terrain and conditions.
And couldn't digital technology send data that'd allow accurate
synchronisation of the lights? A clock/tach signal, with an encoded
"tripped this light" signal that'd be received by the computer from the
first light, another from the next light, and so on - all running on
the same clock. How much delay is there in a pulse running down a few
miles of wire with no synchronisation? I betcha a digital system could
do better.
Cost: Well, sure, I understand there'd be a capital cost. Might be
huge, might not. How much does it cost in hours of volunteer time to
string out wire? To clean wire during the off-season? To repair wire,
to re-string wire after an incident? How much racing time is not
available because wires are being repaired after the afore-mentioned
incident?
Case not closed for me, yet. Maybe I've got to do the leg work. I'm
glad that Gary and others are experimenting/exploring.
Jon Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
Marquette, Michigan
(that's 'way up north)
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