Got tired of crashing at top speed into my phone (on the track) when using LapTrax so I had Greg design a bridge. It was made exactly to spec and the finish is superb. After a bit I had the phone locations nailed and it was picking up 30 out of 30 laps (both lanes). Even if I wasn't using it for LapTrax it would be a nice addition to the layout.
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Bridge for LapTrax
Charles R
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Looking at some of the vids on YouTube most I saw seem to have the phone at an angle on the side of the track to time on more than one lane, the only ones I saw with the phone over the track were just using one lane or were RC with a timing tunnel or similar narrow timing zone.
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I don't think you can set/adjust the camera inside the LapTrax app. There is a Beta sensitivity setting which I hadn't figured out yet... various settings don't seem to make any difference. Also you can turn the flash on but again I didn't see any real difference. I'm not sure how active the development is as it hasn't been updated in quite a while.
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I used the side angle for the first few months without any luck. Best chance I had was using it in a curve and with it sitting right next to the track it would rarely pickup the further lane (if at all). That's why I wanted a bridge as I "keep" running into the phone base at full speed since it was sitting in the other lane and I would start running the other lane without thinking ... lost a crown gear in one crash. Now if I was smart I would have flipped the phone around and placed on the other side of the track although the bridge looks a little more elegant.
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@Charles R have you tried raising the height of the phone camera up significantly so that it sees more of the track width? For HO, mine is sitting 6-7" above the track and just barely sees lane 1 and 4 but has no problem detecting lanes 2 and 3 at the same time. I can switch back and forth between lanes without adjusting the camera position.
The FOV settings in the app do not do what I had expected, but tapping the camera icon twice will show you what the camera is seeing so that you can tell how high you need to lift to get both lanes in the view.
The FOV settings in the app do not do what I had expected, but tapping the camera icon twice will show you what the camera is seeing so that you can tell how high you need to lift to get both lanes in the view.
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I have been using my old Galaxy S7 phone that I normally use as a remote for my 360 camera. The FOV is relatively narrow. I just tried using my Galaxy S10+ phone and it has a wider FOV. At the same height, it can motion detect all 4 of my HO track lanes.
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I imagine HO and 1/32 would behave quite different. Plus Carrera track is rather wide for 1/32. Way back I tried all kinds of angles, distances and whatnot without any real luck. Bottom line even doing one lane I need to ensure I have it just right or it will miss the occasional lap. With the bridge I have it more or less down and only takes a second or two to change lanes.
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I figured different phones would behave differently and wonder if you could mount a fisheye lens. At this point I'm good with one lane as I have to reset it anyway after the "race" before starting the next (the other lane) so I simply slide it over before tapping the screen.
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For those interested in printing, or modifying the model:
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I am also having much better results in ColorTrax mode with the newer phone. While the S7 was in focus at this height, the S10+ lens is not. The image is quite blurry. I imagine that this lack of detail makes color detect mode work much better. It is still giving me the same issues trying to set up a white or black car, though.
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Some random thoughts...
If you're using the motion detection the question is once set up does the software monitor the whole screen or just the area that movement is detected in during setup? In one off the YouTube videos the setup is done by moving the car by hand so the question is if it's only part off the screen is it possible to do the setup with the car between the lanes or even sideway?
This is the link to the LapTrax website, which I have also posted in the thread by Henri, not a lot of info but you can trace the development back to the original beta versions which might prove helpful.
If you're using the motion detection the question is once set up does the software monitor the whole screen or just the area that movement is detected in during setup? In one off the YouTube videos the setup is done by moving the car by hand so the question is if it's only part off the screen is it possible to do the setup with the car between the lanes or even sideway?
This is the link to the LapTrax website, which I have also posted in the thread by Henri, not a lot of info but you can trace the development back to the original beta versions which might prove helpful.
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I think that video is with an older release... I have never seen that screen. Now the app auto configures the camera once you pick motion mode.
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Laptrax has been on my phone for a couple of years but I don't use it...but I'm going to print a bridge for a spare phone that's SIM locked so useless as a phone but this would be the perfect use for it as it's been gathering dust for two years.
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Thanks for the files Greg.
I opened the Fusion file but after measuring my scaley sport track decided 200mm was a long enough bridge and glue the parts together.
I ended up drawing a new bridge then a fair bit of testing.
My track has one crossover so laptrax only needs to see one lane.
Laptiming seems to work best directly under the camera and watch out for creating moving shadows in the area of the bridge or it'll trigger a count.
I've uninstalled as many apps as possible on this old phone and running it on battery saving mode. I'll leave the program running to see how long the battery lasts.
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As you can see it's got the 3 legs of Man at each end, the motto on the Manx coat of arms translates to 'whichever way you throw me, I stand'
...so I'm calling this the 'I-Stand'
I opened the Fusion file but after measuring my scaley sport track decided 200mm was a long enough bridge and glue the parts together.
I ended up drawing a new bridge then a fair bit of testing.
My track has one crossover so laptrax only needs to see one lane.
Laptiming seems to work best directly under the camera and watch out for creating moving shadows in the area of the bridge or it'll trigger a count.
I've uninstalled as many apps as possible on this old phone and running it on battery saving mode. I'll leave the program running to see how long the battery lasts.
As you can see it's got the 3 legs of Man at each end, the motto on the Manx coat of arms translates to 'whichever way you throw me, I stand'
...so I'm calling this the 'I-Stand'
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Mine's horizontal, I haven't tried linking to a screen or bluetooth but that'd shorten battery life even more.
...external battery pack on it's way...
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Since it barks out lap times as well as fast lap I don't ever look at it... just tap to reset/start the next timing session.
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