What do personal transponders do?
 

Hi, i am thinking about buying a my laps personal transponder, and i was just wondering what it does. Can you track your times or something like that?

It tracks your times but only if the racetrack uses a compatible tracking software. Most tracks use MyLaps and have a wire buried underneath the start/finish line to record lap times. It's required to have one for most races although some tracks have loaners. The transponder itself has no tracking of times, it's just a unique identifier to the track's lap system. So you can get your times if that equipment is on.

(Also, hello fellow central LA RCer! I'm getting ready to start racing @ West Coast RC pretty soon, although I live near Koreatown, there's no tracks midcity or westside AFAIK)

Yeah, I have only been in the hobby for about 10 months and I have been going to both OCRC and WCRC. hope to see you there sometime. Also, so all it does is not make you have to use one of the track's transponders?

With yr personal transponders, u get to see yr runtimes even when u go home thru mylaps website. Not all tracks have loaners and it's not an expensive investment.

okay, so even in practice I can use it to track the times?

Yes if the system is turned on..

At many tracks, if turned on during practice, it will audibly call out each lap time as you run. Really helps with trying/evaluating lines. The funner tracks will switch to a female voice on slow laps :D (no fair asking how I know). Really slow won't get anything (see previous :lol:).

I hope u r not confusing yrself. The transponder emits a signal which the transcoded system picks up. Yr laps r recorded and thereafter loaded onto the Mylaps website. You can view yr laps once they r uploaded. It facilitates the announcer to know each individual's posn during a race.

oka thanks for all the help guys

If the club has the older RC2 decoder, you wont see lap times at Mylaps website.
Depending on which software they use for lap counting, they can have multiple monitors setup so you can view your lap times, and can print them if you request it.

I have never bought one but was thinking about purchasing. which is the most reliable brand to go with or does it really matter?

I was looking at the mylaps hybrid transponders. Seems like all the pros use them.

If the track is using a MyLaps decoder, then the only option is Mylaps transponders or MRT transponders.

I have the MRT transponders. They are clones of the mylap transponders. They are a little cheaper, and work fine.

I just raced at WCRC this weekend for the first time. Seems like they have plenty of house transponders to go around since anyone above beginner class has their own. In my heat of 7 only 2 of us had personals. I wouldn't worry about it for the time being unless you need them at OCRC.

Yeah, they have them there too. its just that i dont have anything to track my lap times with. And i need that so i can see if any of my adjustments actually help my times.