Somewhere (I can't find it) I read about software that you can download that integrates a USB webcam to your laptop and counts your laps. Keys on the color of the car, I believe.

Sounds just like what I'm looking for to keep track of what I'm doing on practice days.

I just can't remember where I saw it, what it's called, or if it even really works.

Anybody got any clues?

Thanks in advance!

http://sites.google.com/site/easylapcounter/home

That's the one. Thanks. Any experience with it?

We tried it briefly at work on RCP track. We didn't have a tripod and only half of the car bodies were solid color, so it didn't work that well. That said, we didn't spend too much time tweaking as I only get a small chunk of track time these days and I wanted to spend it on the track

I bet it would work better if you had distinct car body colors in the different primary colors (though I'm sure the webcam sensor is not exactly primary color keyed, so perhaps this might not be the best advice). It often mistook blues and greens to be just the one color, so having very different color bodies would help.

Cool deal, thanks. I'll keep that all in mind.

I downloaded it last night and my cheap webcam didn't work. I got an $18 basic one from WallyWorld tonight, and with an all red car, poor lighting, and my funny green carpet in my garage, it actually worked rather well.

Going to take it to the track with me and see if I can't get it to work there as well.

GL, lets us know if you find any helpful tweaks.

ill be testing this on the weekend and ill be running 1/8 e buggys just for fun lol

I found that it worked quite well. The two big things are look for a slower speed section of the track and it helps if the body is a solid primary color (or mostly so) that contrasts well with the track surface. Make sure that the camera can see the entire section of the track.

The latest revision of the software lets you tweak camera settings, and this helps get things sorted out. If your camera angle or placement ends up seeing too much of the track, you can also size/shape the sensor area, too.

All in all, it's perfect for small club racing or practice night where you don't have access to the primary timing computer. The only extra gear for me is a tripod and the camera itself.

Testing some new pictures. Software still works well, just remember to have some pretty good lighting wherever your camera is looking.