Randy Smith

This post is duplicated on the NMPRA site:

Here in NMPRA District 3 (Canada) we are working on an off course judging system across all participating clubs in the district. Having done some investigation, we find one of the largest cost drivers is the cabling and connectors for cabling.

So as not to re-invent any wheels here, has anyone in the NMPRA looked into or implemented a wireless signalling system to accuate lights and/or lap indicators.

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Randy S

PylonWorld

Randy,

I'm sure Mike Del Ponte will jump in, but the answer to your question is that yes, some people have worked on a wireless system.

The system they used in Oregon uses 3 channel car/truck transmitters and receivers, and switches that plug in like servos.

I've also been working on a PC based course control system that uses off the shelf components, but is significantly more costly unless 3-4 PC's (preferrably notebooks with USB) are available. It can be used with wireless 802.11b network cards in ad-hoc mode. It is a ways off though.

F1race79

My Feedback: (6)

Contact: Loren Tregellas (Kansas) - [email protected]

He has built some for our Giant Scale Racing very nice.

Mluvara

My Feedback: (10)

Lauren Tregallas's unit is very nice. I know he used some off the shelf equipment to build it.

Linx (http://www.linxtechnologies.com/ldocs/main.html) and several other manufacturers have some good wireless data units that you can get cheap (~$10.00 a unit. They are good for intermittent on/off use as permitted by the FCC. Beware what frequencies you can use for this as sometimes the FCC limits the type of data sent over that frequency range. Canada may be different.

I know that people have also operated their pylons on the 50MHz ham band. However, since most likely none of the operators pushing the buttons have ham licenses, this is illegal.

Michael

Randy Smith

Thanks Michael,
I'll have our lighting committee check into it.


Randy

radiopro

Randy,
I helped out on the wireless lighting system used in Medford and would be happy to help if possible.
We used simple three channel ground radios (as mentioned, RC car/truck/boat radios) modified with switches for the cut lights and using the throttle for the turn light. The key to the system was using the RC-100 (RC Electronic auxiliary switch) instead of servos to activate the lights. This was necessary to reduce latency (delay from the time trigger is pulled to time turn light is activated) in the system. The RC switches were/are made by my company Radio Products (www.radioproducts.com) and are available directly from me. There are others on the market as well available from Tower Hobbies and others but I am not familiar with these so check the current ratings out with your intended lights. We also made regulators for both the Receiver side and Transmitter side to operate from a twelve volt source (auto battery) thus eliminating hassles and problems with the small AA batteries.
Am I out of space yet?
Kai

PylonWorld

Kai,

Thanks for posting. Feel free to post as much info as you care to. I'm interested in your solution and would like to hear more about it.

PylonWorld

Kai,

What is the price for the RC-100?

MDP

KAI was the master mind behind our new light system...Thanks KAI !Thanks to the help of Peter Goldsmith of JR & JR Horizon, we were able to put a wireless light system together, worked great, simple, and no bugs. Five JR XR3 three channel FM radio sets, were donated to the OMPRA (Oregon Miniature Pylon Racing Association) By JR / Horizon, through Peter Goldsmith, Team JR Captain, the fifth radio was a backup.....For example in lane number one, the Pistol grip Transmitter trigger, operated the turn light, & the # two channel operated the 1st cut light, & the # three channel, operated the 2nd cut light. Lane 2-3-& 4, had the same set up. The four receivers, were mounted on a plywood board, along with the lights, at pylon one, and each receiver operated one set of lights, we used Automotive Halogen headlights for turn lights, & automotive tailights, for cut lights, and was visible for over 1000 feet, in bright sunlight. The radio's were on FM 27 band, channels 1-2-3-4, & corresponded with lanes 1-2-3-4. The radio's had a range of over 1000 feet, and the 27 band did not cause us any interference at all. So instead of taking all the time, & trouble running hundreds of feet of wire, not to mention the cost, all we had to do was, mount the light board to number one pylon, turn on the receivers, go sit on a chair at the pylon one cut judge station, and turn on the transmitters, simple as that......Turn on the receivers, turn on the transmitters, in five minutes, you are good to go.....Just like turning on your racer........
_________________
Mike Del Ponte

radiopro

Thanks for the kind words Mike.

The RC-100's go for about $20 US. You need one for each light. The rating on the relay contacts are 5 amps at 12 volts (60 watts) so use a Halogen bulb with a 55watt rating or smaller. We wanted something really bright and used an 85watt halogen bulb for the turn light which necessitated the need for a 12 volt relay purchased at the local auto parts store (conveniently the same place the bulbs were bought).
Kai

Randy Smith

Thanks Kai,

Will pass along your advice and concepts.
You might be contacted by our club.

Randy

stand-RCU

Your sytem sounds good. How did you handle cuts from pylons two and three and what did you use for lap counting and timing?

Did the timers have to watch the cut board to find out if they had to time 11 laps or did they have some indication near by so that they could keep their eye on the aircraft they were responsible to time?

Stan D

MDP

HI !.....Cuts from Pylon 2 & 3 were called in by radio, by the 2&3 cut judges, to the Pylon #1 cut judge captain. The captain would tell the pylon one cut judge of that lane turn on a cut light. Pylon #1 captain, lap counter captain, pylon 2&3 judges, and Starter Flagman, all had radio's on the same frequency. All cuts are shown on the light board on Pylon one for all to see. The lap counters had the automatic stop watches, like you have for timing, and flipped large lap cards, and they were easy to see with white numbers, on black background. The lap counter captain instructed the lap counters, who had to go 11 laps. We used it for the first time at the Medford North / South Shoot Out race, and it worked flawless. We had one instance, when somehow a channel on the transmitter got de-programed, but that was reset, with no problem.....I might add, I took a 4'x8'x 3/8"sheet of plywood, cut it in half, screwed on 1"x4" planks all around the edges on both sheets, attached them together with piano hinge, mounted a couple of latches, and a couple of handles, on the other end, to make it look like big suitcase. The lights were mounted on the outside of both halves, and when they were latched together, it could keep the Transmitters safely inside for travel, plus it also protected the receivers, wiring, etc............To set up the light system, all you had to do was take the suitcase out to pylon one, opened it up (now it measures 4'x8'), leaned it up against the pylon, lights facing takeoff pad, plugged in the 12 volt Deep Cycle battery, turned on the receiver switches, carried the Transmitters to the pylon one cut judge station, sat in the chair, & turned on the transmitters.........We wanted to keep it simple. We could have used radio's with more channels, to do more things, but we wanted to eliminate the chance of failure, from being too complicated......This setup eliminated 90% of the work of setting up the coarse, & those lights were real BRIGHT, & REAL FAST.

Bill Vargas

My Feedback: (5)

Does each light,,, cut 1, double cut and the turn light need to have its own RC-100 electronic switch?


Thanks, BV

PylonWorld

Bill,

I'm sure MDP will answer soon, but I communicated with him about this, and I'm pretty sure the reason they used 3 channel radios was so that 3 switches could be controlled.

However, being a computer guy, I can tell you how to make 1 and 1 equal 3, and have 4 possibilitites with only two channels and two switches. And the circuit to do so is quite simple.

PylonWorld

I had thought through this one, and forgot about a downside to using only two channels. You have to use latching relays. The judge does not have a discreet indicator of the state of the display, unless he can see the display also. And that requires an extra display board, or an angled pilots board. The former is not cost effective, and the latter isn't the best of solutions.

radiopro

Hi All,

To answer your question Bill, yes, one RC-100 (RC Auxilary switch) is used for each individual light.
The RC-100's are now available from RCAT Systems on the web.
http://www.rcatsystems.com/store/store.php

Look in the electronics section.

Kai

MDP

Bill ....
You can use our light system if you want to. It can ship on Greyhound. This system is so much easier to deal with at the races than any other I have seen yet. Especially at the smaller races. There are more elaborate wired systems out there, but this does the job, and it takes about ten minutes to set up, & ten minutes to tear down. The lights are faster with wireless too.....

Bill Vargas

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks Mikey, for the offer

but,,, working on something here


BV