1 1/2 years later, and this thread gets better and better!

I was previously unfamiliar, but I liked this description...

http://web.mit.edu/6.02/www/f2010/ha...ectures/L9.pdf

http://www.rctech.net/forum/12222187-post251.html

howardcano,

LOOP CONSTRUCTION:

Use 18 AWG stranded, insulated wire. Wire must terminate as closely as possible to loop amplifier input, with minimal lead-in length. Place loop 12" above track.

9'x1' to 12'x1' : No jumpers on loop amplifier.

6'x1' to 8'x1' : Use jumper at J3 on loop amplifier.

3'x1' to 4'x1' : Use jumper at J5 on loop amplifier.



On your loop PCB, J4 is not use ? is always ON ?

Thanks

J4 is currently not used.

ok, we can delete C6 and R12 if J4 is not used on the loop amplifier.
It ' s OK ?

Yes.

Hello Howard,

Great project! i came across this from finding your transponder design thread. Now i have went through alot of it skip some pages, im no electrical engineer but i am interested in this as a low cost system for our club, we are using the Robitronics but its not very accurate and its difficult to get people to spend $45 for that transponder on top of the MyLaps RC4 they already have. We certainly cant afford a RC4 decoder.

So if i can build something affordable and hand out transponders for free or for very little charge then we can hold more races and even invite others.

1. From what i understand you have a working decoder with transponders?
2. Do you have an final plans with a list of materials? instructions?
3. Which timing software is compatible with your decoder? We use Flip Side Racing (opensource) i think that fits well with your project!

is anyone using this at a track sucessfully ?

thanks!

It's been nearly 10 months since I posted the specs, so for those who have not read through the entire thread (which is getting quite long now!), here they are:

http://www.rctech.net/forum/12222187-post251.html

Here are some answers to your questions:

1) Yes.

2) Send me your email address in a private message and I'll send all of the info.

3) Flipside and Zround.

I'll let our readers respond to your last question.

This is a very complex project, if you are not extremely knowledgeable in electronics, you'll need to enlist the help of a friend!

About the specs ok yes i remember coming across them but thanks for posting again. Yes the threads are long i read alot of it and skpped some parts so i was not sure at what stage its at.

Thanks for the quick reply, yes i am possibly able to do this but if not i have friends who are electrical engineers and others that understand electrical so i can get help.

I will PM you now with my email.

thanks!

Hi guys!
I have great news - Payalneg find encription method to determine amb/mrt transponders as is - with numbers at box!
At this weekend I plan to test this version of firmware, I'll post result ASAP.

Thats very good to hear! All of this pogress is amazing, we cant thank you guys enough!

Can the detection loop be installed under a carpet or on the carpet covered by tape? Would like to do this without a bridge.

Would the loop work with FlatWire? (taperwire) http://www.taperwire.com/

or other kind of flat wire?

thanks!

I think you'll have good luck as long as the floor isn't conductive. But even concrete can have rebar that will mess up the signal.

The gauge of wire affects the tuning slightly, but the biggest reasons I chose 18 AWG were strength, low cost, and availability. You can go thinner if you want to get the carpet to lay flatter, and you can also use ribbon cable with several conductors wired in parallel. Both of these options will likely be cheaper than any specialty wire.

thanks Howard,

Yes ribbon cable sounds like a good idea. Our carpet is directly on concrete so yes there is rebar near by, actually our track is in a basement so we are surrounded by concrete!

Can i shield the ribbon cable from the concrete floor? what could be used to do that?

thanks!

My apologies for this late response to your question.

The loop is affected by any conductors nearby, so shielding is exactly the opposite of what we want.

My advice is try it and see how it goes. If you encounter problems, you can always go back to the original loop specification.

It's time for a celebration! This thread is now 16 months old, and just surpassed 50,000 views.

Thanks to all of you for your interest. I hope you have found it fun and informative.