I don't agree with the IT analogy, because the consumer still gets to choose "when/if" they are willing to make the upgrade to get enhanced features with a PC. What MyLaps is doing is literally extorting more money from customers who already bought their product. MyLaps is forcing all new decoders sold to be fixed with RC4.5 and will not allow them to be backward compatible to RC4.4 and this in itself is an unethical business practice worthy of a class action lawsuit IMO. Although MS no longer supports older OS's, they do not physically lock out those systems the way MyLaps has done it. I can still install Win7 on a new PC which is a requirement in order for me to run software for my CNC.


If the local club in my area decides to upgrade to RC4.5, then I will be forced to pay the $50 upgrade fee for the 5 MRT's that I currently own for a net extortion fee of $250. This is the definition of a monopoly because it eliminates the ability for the consumer to have any choice in the market. I believe in free enterprise because once you have a monopoly then there is nobody to compete for reasonable pricing.


While the "Speedhive" app is technically an enhancement with RC4.5, they should simply limit the newer generation of PT's to integrate with Speedhive without locking out the older units which would not get to leverage the new service, simple as that. What's crazy is that the local tracks are already paying for the LiveRC service as it is, now MyLaps is double dipping by charging the racers an additional fee (via the extorted upgrade fee) on top of what the tracks already pay... this is criminal activity in my book!

What might be more translatable are some of the older generation cell phone plans, but even then the phone companies have absorbed the cost by offering free phone upgrades to get consumers switched over to newer phone signal services when necessary.

The track should not have up graded. Would've saved guys alot of grief. One of out local tracks left there's alone. Doesn't accomidate the 3 wire ones but old AMB's and hybrids are still functional.

This reminds me of when Apple updated the software on the iPhone that caused everyone to think their battery was bad so people would buy new phones. The updates also caused their older devices to operate a lot slower, which made people think the device was outdated. That was about 5 years ago. They are now in court because of it. I had Apple devices for about 7 years, and I remember those things happening. It's was like all of a sudden all of our phone batteries wouldn't charge or they would die really fast. My tablets started operating really slow. It all made sense when this new update was exposed. However, people still buy them and blow off the fact that Apple just screwed people, like me, out of thousands of dollars by making us think our old devices needed to be replaced.

The problem was there was no warning. It wasn’t until after they realized what the update did. I remember a very active thread here about it. Some tracks did the update then found out all their loaner transponders had suddenly become useless.

I ran into a new club last January that the 3 wire didn’t work on their system. So despite having 5 3 wire transponders, I had to buy another 2 wire to run there. Then 2 weeks later the club lost its building. Fortunately the other track was able to use both. But still wasn’t happy that had to buy another transponder.

I hear ya. Fortunatly I have 5 different tracks I can go to within a 2 hr. drive but only one doesn't use the 3 wire system. I do have 6 total transponders and 2 are still the hybrid version for such tracks. I only use 2 cars at that track so I don't have to switch any around from car to car.

Currently, both track can use both. So I have more then enuff. I know at some point, MyLaps will do another update and 3 of mine will no longer work there. I’ve usually running 3 classes each raceday. I did 4 a couple times over summer. But thats a lot of running around.

I work as a systems engineer in IT, part of my job is computer imaging and deployments for my company. Just an fyi, make sure any new computer you buy if buying intel processors, is gen 6 or older processor (good luck finding one). Gen 7 and beyond processors do not support Win7. Yes, there are hacks to run older operating systems on them, but out of the box it isn't supported. I can't speak to AMD processors.

Which is funny because their processor base architecture hasn't changed in 5? 7? years. So it should all be compatible, well except all the security breaches this has enabled. Goodjob intel!

Buy once, cry once, Mylaps 2 and 3 wire.

I&^)^!!! I just read ahead that they are fazing the three wire out too? WTH?

Yeah I have a 1 year old mylaps 3 wire transponder that drops more laps in a 5 min race than I miss in 2 years with all other transponders used. I've heard from several people this is pretty common and that older 2 and 3 wire transponders are more reliable. Great, how do you expand and run more classes if you cant really rely on new transponders?

Best part is I traded a 2 wire for it to help an old friend out because it wouldn't work with that stupid spektrum servo/receiver combo. So not only did I not technically purchase it I didn't have the receipt. Amazing,

So transponders are $75-125 new now, and they were $75-90 20 years ago. Meanwhile stuff like TVs are way more advanced and cheaper for the size. Cheap cellphones vastly more powerful than they used to be.

But a simple transponder is more expensive? They have some more features but who really uses them. Plus the whole firmware updates just to make other/older transponders not work and it makes it clear its a money grab. Is it cheap compared to your yearly expense of the hobby? sure but buying 3 or 5 when a firmware update ruins yours (useability) or getting new people into racing is hugely prohibitive. Of course if we had some competition there'd probably just be a new firmware update to nullify it.

Here's a strategy to consider:

Buy MRT for $60 which is the equivalent of a RC4 Hybrid for $130, that's a savings of $70 now to get the same flexibility to run at tracks with RC2 -> RC4.4

If the local track ever updates to RC4.5 then you send the MRT to MyLaps and pay the $50 upgrade fee to get a RC4 Basic later, you still save $20 regardless by going this route.

Only exception is if your local track has already switched to RC4.5 then your best option is to pay $100 for an RC4 Basic today but wouldn't get the flexibility to race at other tracks running older decoders today unless you paid $130 for a hybrid today.

I would not trust that any RC4 product will be forward compatible if/when MyLaps releases RC5+, they have already proven to screw over their customers as it is. It would seem more logical to hang on to an MRT for as long as possible and then upgrade to a future version when that becomes necessary.

What I would like to see is someone clone the older RC4.4 version of the decoder that wasn't patented and sell that to tracks instead... there was a thread on here by someone working on an open source decoder but I've lost track of it

I also saw a guy get screwed when he bought a RC4 Basic (aka 3-wire) and didn't realize his local track was using an RC3 decoder, once again another customer screwed by MyLaps

You may be thinking of my thread:
Lap Timing Decoder

Another gentleman, RCTech user mv4wd, has used my design as a stepping stone for his own, which is an improvement in nearly every way:
RCHourglass DIY Lap Timing (AKA Cano revised)

The RCHourglass design is far easier to build than mine, and the chances are good that even a small club will have someone with the skills necessary to build it.