I looked this up in the archives with little succes, but what are most people using?

I looked online and it looks as though you only really need to buy the reciever and display as most likely someone will have a transmitter already setup at the track. Is that correct?

It also looks as though they make a standard and compact model. I am assuming that the compact model is a little better. Any opinions?

Finally - Are these systems prone to problems? Is it worth buying one at all?

Your advise is appreciated!

 

You are correct. Most of the time someone does have a transmitter. And only one person can set a transmitter up because if you have multiple ones out there, you never get an accurate lap time! If someone does not have one, you are screwed!

The only draw back to the system is that it seems to get screwy around senset and if your running early enough, sunrise! The work off infared light, and the rising and setting of the sun seems to screw with it and your lap times. You will be running consistent times get a bit quicker all day, and then near the end of the day you will suddenly be 6 seconds faster with only the help of some magic it seems!

 

I prefer the XT Racing set up because you can save and download laptimes, plus it flashes red/green each lap to let you know if you are faster or slower. The lap time display has larger text but is unit smaller in size. Plus it automatically does an average for you at the end, as well as some other stuff. If 6ft of cable is not enough for you, you can custom order any length.

Note: XT laptimers don't work with HotLap beacons so you need a beacon.

http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/products.html

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jpl95si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I prefer the XT Racing set up because you can save and download laptimes, plus it flashes red/green each lap to let you know if you are faster or slower. The lap time display has larger text but is unit smaller in size. Plus it automatically does an average for you at the end, as well as some other stuff. If 6ft of cable is not enough for you, you can custom order any length.

Note: XT laptimers don't work with HotLap beacons so you need a beacon.

http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/products.html</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are there many car users? It looks as though they are mostly used by motorcylces...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jpl95si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I prefer the XT Racing set up because you can save and download laptimes, plus it flashes red/green each lap to let you know if you are faster or slower. The lap time display has larger text but is unit smaller in size. Plus it automatically does an average for you at the end, as well as some other stuff. If 6ft of cable is not enough for you, you can custom order any length.

Note: XT laptimers don't work with HotLap beacons so you need a beacon.

http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/products.html</TD></TR></TABLE>

I use the same thing and so do many of my firends, we all love it.

 

I have the Hotlap setup and instead of using the receiver, mounted a push button on the steering column that I hit when I pass a predetermined point on the track. The button is available from Longacre and plugs into the port that the receiver plugs into. This way I am not relying on someone else bringing a transmitter.

 

I've already got two buttons on my wheel (NAAAWWWS y0!) that are unused, wonder if I could rig those up to work in a similar manner?

 

Keep in mind you're adding in as much as a half a second of error to your measurements if you're pushing the button manually every time. A few tenths doesn't seem nearly as significant when you're moving your finger compared to how significant they are when you're going for a good lap. I did this recently with in-car video and a stopwatch and I was able to be pretty close, within a few hundredths every time, but I was sitting in a chair in front of my TV and not in the middle of driving a car where the environment can get just a bit more distracting.

 

Our Longacre HotLap timer has been working flawlessly for years...

Now if they can make a seperate "Ego-inflation-instamatic" button that'll subtract about 2 seconds per lap to make you feel good...

 

Are there any other models out there to consider?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITC Racer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the Hotlap setup and instead of using the receiver, mounted a push button on the steering column that I hit when I pass a predetermined point on the track. The button is available from Longacre and plugs into the port that the receiver plugs into. This way I am not relying on someone else bringing a transmitter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not only that But I believe the theory of relativity has something to say about measuring your speed when you are moving fast

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTECAcuraGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are there any other models out there to consider?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Other then the two mentioned above:
Intercomp
AIM (MyChronLight (MCL))