jamminnay

iTrader: (11)

i think i ll just stick with my amb transponders

RCHR

Charging rack with 20 transponders = $3400, we recently bought ours. My favorite part, all the racers want to keep the house transponder in their car all day just like a PT, they end up taking it home like a PT too.

jamminnay

iTrader: (11)

yeah and then they go dead midway throught the day and they wonder why?

AndyMoore

iTrader: (64)

All that would require is a complete re-engineer of the AMB system, combined with the development of the new system, along with production costs. Add that to marketing it, getting people accept it as an equal substitute, and not bash it on the internet, and I can see the companies lining up now...

Its all so easy I could do it in my garage tonight, but Im too busy on here analyzing something I know nothing about.

And for those who claim it only costs $5 dollars to make a PT, please make me some, whats your paypal, Id like 10.

UN4RACING

iTrader: (22)

I don't know what they cost to make but when they first came out they were 50.00 a copy. Now there twice that.

I say why screw up some thing good? Personally if they would get the cost down to about what they could sell them for or maybe no middle man we could all have one. And or rent them at the track. At one time I had 500.00 in PT's. I'm stupid huh? Its a must for racing but I could have just swapped it from car to car. I have learned that now and have 2.

So to sum it up 90.00 new is a little steep and I would have to guess they aren't 50.00 a copy to make.

snowdins

Slap a UHF RFID tag onto the roof of your car. Put a reader and antenna(s) where you want the laps to count.

The tags can be read at almost any orientation. The readers can be tuned so that it scans a certain portion of the track, not the whole track. The readers are extremely fast and reliable.

I could put this whole system together and write software for it. Its not expensive and extremely easy to put together.

The cost to the racer? 5 bucks, max, for a rfid "sticker" to attach on their car. So then they don't have to care about thier 100 dollar plastic pieces of over priced garbage that look like S#$@.

bentgear

Don't talk about it, DO IT. Make it work, it will sell.

Ed M.

snowdins

Why hasn't anyone implemented this? I am certified with two different RFID manufacturers and could pull this off with some interest and about 2k in backing....2k..cheap. I don't have the spare coin at the moment to purchase the hardware and test tags.

jla8874

iTrader: (23)

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but this is something that has been bugging me too. I've never understood why within an hour of a used AMB with maybe some ears missing or in so-so condition for $85 in the for sale thread it will have a hundred views and numerous posts, and for $76 you can get a BRAND NEW MRT PT shipped?

theDr

I'm not going to get into an argument justifying costs --- but the fact of the matter is that when AMB invented the technology they took out Patents protecting the manufacturing rights of that product and technology. And like any new technology introduced to the market, they had exclusive rights to said product until 10 year protective period (or whatever it was) ran its course.
They do that so someone doesn't spend a lot of time and money inventing something, and have someone else come along and copy it and produce it without having the R&D and Testing time and software needed and funding involved to cover those costs and undercut the inventor's prices that are needed to recoup the initial investment. Doing so would keep companies from spending the money or manpower coming up with new products.
It's how the U.S. government protects manufacturers and consumers in this country, and why economies and markets are out of control in third-world countries that deal in the sale and manufacturering of clone products that are generally crap in comparison to the real deal.

But the fact of the matter is that it's been going on 20 years of so since the AMB system came on the market, and it's my guess that the only reason someone else hasn't copied them is that our teeny-weeny-little RC market with the limited number of sales of transponders and whatever else is hardly worth the time or investment to get involved.

jla8874

iTrader: (23)

There IS an alternative, its called MRT and theyre 76 bucks shipped to the U.S.!

mremtr

iTrader: (1)

I think the reason why they are getting expensive is the fact that they CAN !
There is nothing out there that is even remotely similar. The patents for their units have long run out ! But no one is interested in doing the research and development, designing, and manufacturing of these things because of this piddly market!
Honestly now , how many new tracks are going to buy this unit ???
50 a year ? Yeah ....... It's simply not worth it !!!!! Suck it up and spring for the unit or whine about it !!! Unless your independantly wealthy and can afford to develop a new unit, give it a rest.
If you could come up with a transponder that recorded as you passed over or under a trigger device, and then dumped this info to the main computer as it passed the main loop each lap..... that would be WAY cool , even better yet it constantly sent info to the race computer about sector times,and such this would be the $hits!!!

Yeah yeah I know "keep dreaming Alice, someday you will get to Wonderland"

rocket-mtrsprts

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, and people can get together with their buddies and order AMBs 10 at a time and get them for 80 bucks a pop.

JDCrow

iTrader: (32)

I call BS on this. Minimum order for any bulk discount from AMB is 20 Units. And their much more than $80 each.

pdmustgt

It should only cost around 50 bucks they haven't changed them in over 4 yrs. I just got one from amain 104.99