Alternative software available for PC unit., Thanks to SFI member brumbaer.... Options

[indianfire]

hello bruce,

whats the effect of this setting:

??? After initial (timed) heat, count all crossings as lap ???

normaly i had not activated this.

[poolschool]

You either need to use a Serial to USB converter like the FTDI chip that my cables are based on, or you can go to the Serial port. This will need to be through a level convrter such as the Max232 range of chips. It will not work when directly connected, the Lap Counter has 5V level signals and the PC requires RS232 levels.


Rich

Rich,

makes sense

thanks
Gino

[b.yingling]

hello bruce,

whats the effect of this setting:

??? After initial (timed) heat, count all crossings as lap ???

normaly i had not activated this.

Generally not something you would want to do unless you have track power controlled from the software. If you're running a sequence of timed heats, drivers begin the next heat from where they ended the previous heat- so partial laps are not lost. Say you are 1 meter past the lap counter at the end of a timed heat (and track power is cut by the computer). Then you start from the same spot in the next heat, and when you cross the lap counter the first time a lap is counted.

I should have my track wired to make this possible later this week. It will also let me use the space bar as a track call button.

If you don't have your track wired like that, it is probably not an option you want to use. Unless you have a race steward who cuts power (the 'start' button on the Black Box?) as soon as the timed heat is over.

[b.yingling]

I should have an update available this weekend.

For most users, the only difference will be the option to use a black background on the race screen. Currently you are stuck with the Windows color settings.

It will also include the ability for the software to control power to the rails. In order to use this feature, you will need a parallel port relay board in the circuit feeding the rails. This is an easy addition on my track because I've already set it up to run digital/analog. I used the method outlined by SFI member brumbaer (who also made my software possible by decoding and making available the D132 lap counter protocol, Thanks again!!), which involves powering the rails individually, and powering the lane changers, the pit, and the lap counter separately.

This feature is one of the main reasons I decided to tackle the software project. If I hadn't planned on including this, I probably would have muddled along in silence with X-Lap.

It will mean I'll have a track call button available from the computer, and I'll be able to cut power at the end of a timed heat.

If anyone else has such a setup (must be a parallel port relay board controlling track power), I'll be happy to tell you how to enable this option in the software. It is off by default, and you can't change that setting within the program. This is to protect against the very strange results you'll get if you enable it and don't have a parallel port relay board controlling power to the rails.

If anyone wants to setup something similar with a serial port relay or a USB port relay (my first option, but every solution I found was waaaaay too expensive), I will be happy to include code in a future release to use those.

[Dommie]

A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU...
DOES THIS WORK ON VISTA OR VISTA 64 BIT? IS THERE A WAY TO ONLY SHOW THE DRIVERS PARTICIPATING ON THE RACE SCREEN?
EXAMPLE IF THERE IS ONLY THREE DRIVERS RACING , THE FIRST THREE SPOTS SHOW THE INFO AND THE LAST 5 ARE BLANK. CAN I NOT SHOW ON THE RACE SCREEN THE LAST 5 SPOTS? BECAUSE THERE IS NOBODY THERE? I LOVE YOUR PROGRAM. IT IS WAY BETTER THAN CARRERAS. THANKS

[indianfire]

hello,
when we have a race for example with three drivers,- wie give these 3 drivers different colours and then all other drivers get the colour white!.- so the racescreen is very
clearly and differentiated to see.- one look for half a second is enough too see everything you need.

[Dommie]

THANK YOU, THATS A GOOD IDEA. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF IT RUNS ON VISTA OR VISTA 64 BIT???

[b.yingling]

A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU...
DOES THIS WORK ON VISTA OR VISTA 64 BIT? IS THERE A WAY TO ONLY SHOW THE DRIVERS PARTICIPATING ON THE RACE SCREEN?
EXAMPLE IF THERE IS ONLY THREE DRIVERS RACING , THE FIRST THREE SPOTS SHOW THE INFO AND THE LAST 5 ARE BLANK. CAN I NOT SHOW ON THE RACE SCREEN THE LAST 5 SPOTS? BECAUSE THERE IS NOBODY THERE? I LOVE YOUR PROGRAM. IT IS WAY BETTER THAN CARRERAS. THANKS

The program does run on Vista. I'm not sure about Vista 64. I don't have a machine running Vista 64 and no one has reported yes or no.

Just remember my software does not include hardware drivers for RichG's cable or the PC Unit. You need to install those separately.

I get what you're saying about displaying inactive driver's on the race screen. It was a 5 minute addition to the code, so it will be included in this weekends release, along with the ability to display a black background on the race screen.

[Dommie]

The program does run on Vista. I'm not sure about Vista 64. I don't have a machine running Vista 64 and no one has reported yes or no.

Just remember my software does not include hardware drivers for RichG's cable or the PC Unit. You need to install those separately.

I get what you're saying about displaying inactive driver's on the race screen. It was a 5 minute addition to the code, so it will be included in this weekends release, along with the ability to display a black background on the race screen.

SORRY I DONT KNOW WHAT A HARDWARE DRIVER IS. I HAVE THE PC UNIT .IS THERE SOMETHING I NEED TO DO.PLEASE EXPLAIN.. THANKS

[b.yingling]

SORRY I DONT KNOW WHAT A HARDWARE DRIVER IS. I HAVE THE PC UNIT .IS THERE SOMETHING I NEED TO DO.PLEASE EXPLAIN.. THANKS

That's the software that lets my software talk to the hardware- whether the hardware is the PC Unit or a custom cable like the ones RichG has available. If you already installed X-Lap, it has installed the proper drivers for you.

If you plug in a hardware device that your computer has never seen before, the computer will need driver software for that new piece of hardware in order to be able to use it. I'm sure there would be an easy explanation if I spoke your native language (German?).




Just want to report that I now have the relay board in place and working on my track. The software can now implement a track call (space bar). The software also stops the cars at the end of a timed heat! I love it. As I said before, this is one of the main reasons I undertook this project. It brings my D132 digital track that much closer to the functionality of a club track.

I'm really looking forwared to the next race night here. We'll be rotating through eight cars. Everyone will drive each car for 3 minutes, and we'll see who winds up travelling the longest distance....

[b.yingling]

I thought some of you might want to see what you can do with the race screen now...

I need to do a little more testing, but this version (0.900) will certainly get posted to the website this weekend...

[indianfire]

GREAT AGAIN! every weekend some improvements! we drive tomorrow evening, please publish the download

no my next wish, i'm sure you will have the update next week

bruce, i want to drive some races with you!
please programm this:

we both go to wlan, i drive on my track against you on your track! the track have to compared, so that a race would be eqivalent...
there is a programmtrack with 100%, and the programm needs the datas of everyones track...something like else i imagine

and then 6 drivers from every in the world could drive races by sitting on their own hometrack...nice idea, or?

greetings from germany

klaus

[RaceAss]

Hello Bruce,

do you not want to make from your project an Open Source project?
Thus we could translate German user into the German one.
This would be certainly helpful for them who are able nobody in English.
Your programme could be also customised to own needs.(see indianfire idea)
Thinks sometimes about it.

with friendly ones greet

[Todo]

Hello Bruce,

can you give a little description/instruction of how you wired your track and what else is needed to control the power to the rails?

thx Todo!

[b.yingling]

Hello Bruce,

can you give a little description/instruction of how you wired your track and what else is needed to control the power to the rails?

thx Todo!

As I've said before, I used the method described by forum member brumbaer at his website to enable digital and analog use of my track. You don't have to do that to make use of the track call feature, but in my case it made for a much more useful track. But wiring in the relay board can be even simpler than that.

Attempting any of the following will void your warranty!
Only you are responsible if you destroy any of your equipment!
If you can't figure out the details from the basics outlined here you should probably not attempt it!
You have been warned!

I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS FEATURE WILL WORK ON VISTA!!! IT WORKS ON WIN9X, 2000, and XP

If you take the bottom tray off of the Black Box, you will find a red and black wire that feeds power to the rails. The lane changers, the lap counter, the pit box- all of these have their circuit boards plugged into the rails, and all of these get their power from these two wires. In the simplest case, you need to wire the relay in line with one of those wires.

I would not recommend that simple a method, however. I believe you should power the lap counter and the lane changers independently. Disconnect the circuit boards in them from the rails (very easy to do, and reversible) and feed them directly from the Black Box. That way when the power to the rails is cut, the lap counter will still work. You don't risk a car attempting to enter a lane change just as the power is cut. The lane changers are more reliable and will probably last longer if you power them separately.

I did this by bringing both wires outside the Black Box to a junction block. From there I feed the power directly back to the lane changers and the lap counter (you have to take the bottom trays off of them as well- more lost warranties!), but the power to the rails goes through relays on the relay board. I am also powering the relay board itself through this junction block. The relay board I'm using needs 12 volts, but the 13+ coming from the Black Box seems to cause no problems.

The relay board I'm using can be connected to and controlled from the parallel port of a PC. They are available all over the web. The best deal I found was from here. If you wire one of these into your track, there are four values you need to enter manually in the d132.ini file in the D132RMS program directory.

HasPowerCut=true
OutPortNum=xxxxx
OutPortOffVal=yyy
OutPortOnVal=zzz

xxxxx above is the I/O port address of the parallel port you've connected the board to. You can look this up in Device Manager. On many new machines the number will be nothing like the old DOS and Win9X port number, so it's best to check it. The number can't be in hexadecimal format, which is what Device Manager will show you. You can use Windows calculator to convert it to decimal.

yyy above is the byte you need to send to the port to turn off the power. The way I have wired mine, this value is 3, since the two lanes are wired independently on my digital/analog track, I am using the first two of the eight relays mounted on the board. If you don't have a digital/analog track you will need just one pair of wires going back to the track to feed the rails. You only need to wire a relay into one of those two wires. So this value will be 1 if you use relay number 1, or 128 if you use relay number 8. I have wired the rails to the side of the relay that is normally closed (NC). That means power goes through the relay when the relay is not activated. So the power to the rails works when the computer is turned off or when the relay board is not plugged in at all.

zzz above is the byte that needs to be sent to the board to turn on the power. Because I have gone through the side of the relay that is normally closed, this value is 0 on my system.

If any of this confuses you DON'T ATTEMPT IT!