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AMB's update of decoder .. MRT transponders will not work

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Old 04-03-2013 | 08:56 AM
  #226  
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Originally Posted by asc6000
That is a smart track owner. There is NO advantage with the rc4.
The argument to upgrade because it's a deal is actually the perfect argument to NOT upgrade. Clearly Mylaps is taking a loss on the decoder boxes to speed up the demise of clones and they know they will make that money back later when we are all FORCED to buy new transponders.
Smart? I'm not sure about that..

MRT owners had an option, spend the 35 or so dollars and get a NEW RC4 PT, which puts their total investment at about the same cost as buying a new RC4 PT out right (MRT cost + 35 bucks = new mylaps cost..give or take)

Most tracks sell amb/Mylaps, not many carry MRT's, and now none of them will that have upgraded. Mylaps is no longer making the hybrids, soon the only option for a new Mylaps PT will be the RC4. Which, like it or not, people are going to buy.

What is this "smart" track owner going to tell the guy who walks in with 3 cars, all running the RC4?

"Sorry buddy, I didn't think it was fair to ask my MRT guys to spend the 35 bucks and have the same amount invested as you." Will he be honest and follow that with.."I'm sorry you have $345 worth of PT's that don't work at my track but I was too cheap to spend the 330 bucks to upgrade. But if you want I'll sell you 3 new MRT's for $225"

obviously the numbers aren't exact but you get the point. IMO, NOT getting the upgrade was the complete opposite of "smart"

FYI, the Mylaps upgrade deal is done so what would have cost a track owner $330 will now cost about 3 grand!

**I'm not saying I like paying $115 for a PT or the fact that Mylaps has no REAL competition in the market. I'm saying the upgrade was the cheapest and most painless option for the racers.
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Old 04-03-2013 | 09:00 AM
  #227  
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Originally Posted by whitrzac
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You can sent your own custom ## in the MRTs... + the stock 20. They ship with a random ## that can be changed.

A transponder ## conflict takes 2s to sort out in most racing programs.

404error: problem not found
You cannot pick a custom number nor do they pick them out of thin air. The MRT uses existing AMB/MyLap numbers.

And you just admitted there can be a conflict of numbers!
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Old 04-03-2013 | 09:10 AM
  #228  
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Originally Posted by Bob Malphurs
You cannot pick a custom number nor do they pick them out of thin air. The MRT uses existing AMB/MyLap numbers.

And you just admitted there can be a conflict of numbers!
You can program any number you want by using the button on the transponder.
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Old 04-03-2013 | 09:18 AM
  #229  
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Originally Posted by whitrzac
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You can sent your own custom ## in the MRTs... + the stock 20. They ship with a random ## that can be changed.

A transponder ## conflict takes 2s to sort out in most racing programs.

404error: problem not found
I think you're making my point for me inadvertently. The AMBs all have unique numbers. If you stay in the all AMB world you're fine.

The MRT's on the other hand could potentially be duplicates of a real number already existing on an AMB unit, since you chose it yourself (or MRT did) without knowing in advance what's already "in the wild". So when a conflict arises, The AMB can't be changed.

So, to be able to race, the MRT chooses from one of it's 20 alternate IDs. The alternate IDs are exactly the same on every MRT unit. You are now in conflict (potentially) with other MRT units. Sure, you can press a button and change it. But this tends to come up after everyone is on the track and checking in. Stopping a whole race so you can pull your car press the button and try again might be pretty quick... but it's an inconvenience to everyone involved.

This is a concrete problem with MRTs that has actually happened. Repeatedly. Rather than some hypothetical "I bet in a couple years AMB makes everyone get an RC4!!" nonsense coming up in this thread.
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Old 04-03-2013 | 09:19 AM
  #230  
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Originally Posted by whitrzac
You can program any number you want by using the button on the transponder.
Don't think that's the way it works. More like any one of the 20 pre-programed 7 digit number combos. Again copied form existing AMB/MyLaps PT's.

Again cdwilliam1 beat me to it!
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Old 04-03-2013 | 10:21 AM
  #231  
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Originally Posted by whitrzac
You can program any number you want by using the button on the transponder.
As others have said, you're limited to one of 20 numbers "pre-programmed" into the MRTs.

Originally Posted by cdwilliams1
I think you're making my point for me inadvertently. The AMBs all have unique numbers. If you stay in the all AMB world you're fine.

The MRT's on the other hand could potentially be duplicates of a real number already existing on an AMB unit, since you chose it yourself (or MRT did) without knowing in advance what's already "in the wild". So when a conflict arises, The AMB can't be changed.

So, to be able to race, the MRT chooses from one of it's 20 alternate IDs. The alternate IDs are exactly the same on every MRT unit. You are now in conflict (potentially) with other MRT units. Sure, you can press a button and change it. But this tends to come up after everyone is on the track and checking in. Stopping a whole race so you can pull your car press the button and try again might be pretty quick... but it's an inconvenience to everyone involved.

This is a concrete problem with MRTs that has actually happened. Repeatedly. Rather than some hypothetical "I bet in a couple years AMB makes everyone get an RC4!!" nonsense coming up in this thread.
I wouldn't say "repeatedly," my guess it would be more of a rare occurrence.

As most of you know, MRT is a UK company and have tons of British customers (many before any of us on this side of the pond ever heard of MRT). I've been to races over there where literally everyone in the club used MRTs and, except for a couple of rare instances, there were no number conflicts.
I had a couple of MRTs myself (yes, before anyone says anything, I also have AMBs/MyLaps PTs) I picked up while over there, and both came pre-programmed with different numbers - along with the primary number initially assigned to each of them both being different.
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Old 04-03-2013 | 02:40 PM
  #232  
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Originally Posted by cdwilliams1
Again, devils advocate here... (I don't really care either way since I don't have an MRT, my own stuff works and will continue to work) but.... the MRT folks just picking their own number out of thin air has caused problems at the snowbirds in the past where it conflicted with a real AMB number.
This is total BS from MRT haters... MRT did not come up with there own random number.. so if you had an AMB and never sent it over to MRT you had/have your own number. MRT would clone your PT, or was buying up PT's and HTP's cloning them. The chance of you buying a PTX with the same 21st number with someone else does exist.. but I'd say its pretty rare. I've seen a few hundred of them and none had the same 21st number... and if it did happen the software would pick it up and you change it to one of the 20 other numbers... not a big deal... easier then the old crystal conflicts... and you don't have to go beg or borrow from somebody else.


The only way what you're saying could happen would be if someone had there PT cloned... then sold there AMB, and MRTs to different people.
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Old 04-08-2013 | 02:16 PM
  #233  
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I've read some of this thread but I don't want to go back and read 16 pages but some people seem to think that MyLaps is going to make the older AMB and RC4 Hybrids not work anymore in the future so I sent them an email and this is the answer I got.

I have not heard that the RC4 Hybrid will be phased out; but under personal assumption, just as we are no longer manufacturing the older AMBrc DP’s or Rechargeables, we will no longer make the Hybrids either after most tracks have upgraded their systems to the new RC4 b/c the new RC4 transponder will work on the new system AND all of the existing transponders will continue to work on the new RC4 system too.

I don’t know who is spreading this rumor. Why would Mylaps make any of their older transponders just not work? That doesn’t make any sense. We came out with the new RC4 system but all of the old transponders still work on it…

So to answer your question more briefly; yes that is a rumor.

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Old 04-08-2013 | 02:27 PM
  #234  
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I have not heard that the RC4 Hybrid will be phased out; but under personal assumption, just as we are no longer manufacturing the older AMBrc DP’s or Rechargeables, we will no longer make the Hybrids either after most tracks have upgraded their systems to the new RC4 b/c the new RC4 transponder will work on the new system AND all of the existing transponders will continue to work on the new RC4 system too.

I don’t know who is spreading this rumor. Why would Mylaps make any of their older transponders just not work? That doesn’t make any sense. We came out with the new RC4 system but all of the old transponders still work on it…

So to answer your question more briefly; yes that is a rumor.

Regards,

Kelly Chase
Sales Consultant
I wanted to say on another thread, but the whole idea of AMB/Mylaps not supporting the older PT's and the house transponders on RC4 was going to make for certain suicide for Mylaps. I'm glad I went out an bought the Hybrids, I'm $200 poorer, but I should be good for a while.
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Old 04-14-2013 | 07:51 AM
  #235  
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I hated to do so, but my local track is sending in their decoder this week, so I ordered the rc4 trade-in/upgrade. hate to see my little black MRT go but at least I got it for $43 (after shipping) instead of $120 and having a useless MRT sitting around in a few months.
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Old 04-14-2013 | 08:36 AM
  #236  
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And good luck with the new software , none in denmark can see their practice times , nothing is working , and we have updated our box. We just get a "authentitation failed" message.
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Old 04-14-2013 | 03:41 PM
  #237  
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Originally Posted by HB-forever
And good luck with the new software , none in denmark can see their practice times , nothing is working , and we have updated our box. We just get a "authentitation failed" message.
Are you refering to a race management software or the decoder RC4 firmware update?
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Old 04-14-2013 | 07:19 PM
  #238  
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Originally Posted by Bob Malphurs
Are you refering to a race management software or the decoder RC4 firmware update?
Hi

We are trying to log on to the practice timing on the new mylaps homepage , www.mylaps.com . As a racer.
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Old 04-15-2013 | 10:35 AM
  #239  
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Has anyone been noticing a significant amount of missed laps with the new RC4 decoder? Our club ONLY used RC4 hybrid transponders and racers are frequenting one lost lap per race. Granted a lot of them are also running Savox/Spektrum as that is what the LHS sells, but this did not seem to be an issue prior to upgrading.
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Old 04-15-2013 | 11:02 AM
  #240  
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Originally Posted by JourneyMan
Has anyone been noticing a significant amount of missed laps with the new RC4 decoder? Our club ONLY used RC4 hybrid transponders and racers are frequenting one lost lap per race. Granted a lot of them are also running Savox/Spektrum as that is what the LHS sells, but this did not seem to be an issue prior to upgrading.
Why would Savox / Spektrum have an effect on the transponder?
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