This year AASBD may be testing the use of GPS technology to calibrate the lanes.

Hope they also choose to capture surface temps during this testing. Surface temp effects rolling resistance, not air temp as they captured in previous ramp calibration attempts.

Link below to one GPS solution that is used in many forms to racing. The MaxQData 5Hz solution was used last year in the ZE Ultimate set-up testing in Cleveland and Akron.

http://www.maxqdata.com/MQGPS.htm

MPH,

You seem quite knowledgeable on GPS technology and perhaps you can clarify how a GPS would help with calibrate the lanes in Akron. With current GPS technology (WAAS Enabled) the accuracy is only 1 Meter. Basically the GPS knows where you are within a range of less than 39 inches. Garmin states that their units with WAAS Enabled have under three meters of accuracy (9.75 feet). There are some newer technologies that can enhance the position accuracy, see below:

"How accurate is GPS?
Today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmin's 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin® GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average.
Newer Garmin GPS receivers with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability can improve accuracy to less than three meters on average. No additional equipment or fees are required to take advantage of WAAS. Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS signals to within an average of three to five meters. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the most common DGPS correction service. This system consists of a network of towers that receive GPS signals and transmit a corrected signal by beacon transmitters. In order to get the corrected signal, users must have a differential beacon receiver and beacon antenna in addition to their GPS. "

The GPS I have in my car, sometimes has a problem figuring out which road I’m on when two roads are close together, it will jump from one road to another. It’s kind of funny when it happens.
The MaX Q updates at 5 HZ and their new high res unit is 10 Hz, seems kind of slow when we are timing the run to a thousands of a second. Wouldn’t the best way to calibrate the lanes would be through a series of 1 ms timers located down the track and recording the elapsed run time?

the road paving companys have been using gps for years to set road grade it might work for setting the ramps

Not a driving direction tool that only connects with a few GPS satellites. Was able to connect to 8 to as many 11 GPS satellite last year in some testing at the Cleveland venue.

Please direct your questions to Info@MaxQData.com. They have released the 10HZ and standalone unit since my testing last July Please post there responses too!

Derek were you not going to be marketing a the MazQData SBD solution?

They were also supposed to release a SBD solution. User would need to input* the exact length of the rolling length of the SBD race for this application.

* Input race length by measuring the length or pulling the lenght from a database of SBD hill lenghts.

Eary testing that required a laptop to go with the GPS unit showed that one lane of mechanical release SDB ramp from the westcost venue was dropping at different times!

First data point is provided as the wheels start rolling. (before the SBD car has left the ramp!)

I am not aware of any civil surveying firm that does not use GPS enabled equipment. I can't go into tremendous detail because I don't fully understand it all, but this technology has revolutionized the surveying industry and we are assured that the surveys we receive are extremely accurate - we are talking extremely small fractions of an inch, not meters. The GPS enabled equipment they would use for track calibration is not the GPS technology in your unit used for hunting or vehicles.

Now, how they use this equipment for track calibration is another matter. Perhaps measuring at different times, temps of the day to determine if there is expansion in the track. Also, they could gain an extremely accurate measurement of the ramps that is repeatable regardless of temp/conditions.

Send you questions about the use of GPS in any gravity sport

send Ed your questions Info@MaxQData.com

Please post the responses from ED on this venue


Website

http://www.maxqdata.com/

FAQ

http://www.maxqdata.com/FAQ

Link to forum

http://www.maxqdata.com/phpBB2/

Link to Wiki

http://www.maxqdata.com/wiki/pmwiki.php

Anyone know, whats going on with lane calibration ?

Do they run stock cars down ? super stock ? masters ? or all three ?


Since they did not go with the wheel pool, did they go with anything else ?



Sporty

Since I've been there (the past 3 years) they've ran Super Stock cars, (I've watched once or twice - It's very boring) and I'd guess that that remains the same.

They do run Super Stock for calibrations. Last year they were done the week prior to Race Week. I don't see calibrations on the schedule, so I'm assuming they will be done early again this year.

They run two matched Superstock cars for calibration. The floorboards were align drilled while bolted together to make sure that all holes were in the exact same locations. Every nut, bolt, brake pedal, pulley, axle, etc was weighed and divided up between the two cars to make sure they weighed the same. All of the washers were miced for thickness and both cars have the same rake, ground clearance, and theoretical CG. No paint was put on the shells to create aero differences and the shells were massaged until they weighed the same. All holes in the bodies were made the same size. These two cars were made as dimensionally the same as possible and they weighed within a few ounces of each other.

And EVERY nut and bolt on both cars was set to the same torque setting with no cross bind.

I'm not sure why that would matter because: you have to run a heat in order to determine which car/driver are the fastest. Then that differential would be used to determine the lanes by subtracting differential.
This gps unit we used with mph was a really neat deal. If that was used only 1 car would be needed. There is nothing anyone can do about heat from different times of day but a overall lane run would allow you to take that time into the next lane and use that time to try and calibrate. The wind also has a lot to do with the overall run differential. Should be better than current method which has been unsuccessful at pulling off.
DEREK

I understand that the 'calibration cars' are run down the MIDDLE of each lane, which is not how 99% of the drivers drive (mostly in lanes 1 and 3).

Thus, unless they drive the track like the RACERS do-- the calibration process is worthless.

I have watched calibration for more than 10 years and have seen them do it both ways. They have "driven the line" and straight. Now please note that these are very good drivers. But even a good driver introduces small changes in the way each driver drives the lanes each time down the track after they switch. This introduces an additional factor in the calibration. Driving straight down minimizes this factor.

That said, I still think that people are driving lane 1 and 2 wrong since the track was repaved. I sit in the bridge and watch rainstorm after rainstorm come through during race week. The water in lane one does NOT run to the line between lanes 1 and 2 but instead heads to the outside rail and then flows back to the middle of the lane and then again out to the rail.

Lane 2 sheds water pretty evenly towards both lanes 1 and 3. So driving the lane toward the line on lane 1 is still fine. But driving toward land 3 might be advantageous with a cross wind if the car in lane 3 drives toward the line and shields the car in lane 2.

Lane 3 drains to the line just as it always has. That said, I have wondered why in a strong cross wind situation like in 2006 it would have been better to either stay straight or hug the fence rail to gain protection from the wind.

I'm sure the experts here can point out where I am wrong on this.

Good luck racers. Hope to see you in Akron.
Jim McMillan

Jerry

Purchase a capability to document the lane temps during the calibration.

Lowes has a $50 unit in the electrical/HVAC that measures a 4 inch area at 36 inches.

There are more costly units that incorporate a laser.

Measure the same point in all lanes 10, 25, 50, 100 feet in front of the ramps

Take these temps every 15 minutes starting TOD that the Rally racers will have started racing thru the estimated time of the championships heats.



I found it easier to set the GPS unit on Auto

Ed was supposed to create a SBD solution that allow for entry of the track actual rolling distance. Was going to make other changes for a SBD solution.


Don't forget to turn on the unit/s prior to using them. Need time to setup and connect with up to 8 sats in Akron. On a few runs in Cleveland (evening) connected with as many as 11 sats!

FYI 3 new sats were going to be activated this month. Increasing the accuracy?

Will ask this Sunday at a 267 field Autocross if any issues with the new sats and MaxQData

The unit must be connected with the sats before dropping the paddles.

Unit is actually capturing data as soon as 4 sats are connected. When the unit senses there is movement it starts saving the data from 30 seconds prior.

So first data point is actually as the wheels start rolling. Distance Time Speed and G-force data is provided for entire run. Also provides a quick time sheet with splits that is quite useful.

Please Retest riding vs not riding the white line.

I tested several locations on the ultimates to locate the unit. Best location was behind the helmet. Worst location was on the floor between the pullys and steering.


STS2 now