Turning the computer on at the last second

Discussion in 'Pit Buzz' started by Will Hanna, Mar 16, 2009.

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  1. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    This isn't anything new, but it seems like on most of the cars, there's a crewmember that waits until the car is pre staged or damn near staged to turn the data recorder on. I can't think of a logger system out there with less than 60 second record time. In fact, the new racepaks have enough record time, you could turn it on when you start the car no problem.

    Someone is going to get hurt trying to turn the computer on at the absolute last minute. There's no reason why the computer can't be turned on right before or as the car is prestaging. Procedurally, the crew should 'hold' the driver from prestaging until the other team is ready to prestage, so that the driver isn't going to stay prestaged forever. Most FC's and dragsters; you can't see where your opponent is in the staging process. Once everything is good to go, it should be plenty of time on the recorder to turn the computer on once the driver is motioned to prestage, get out of the way and watch the run.

    This concerns me the most with dragsters. If that spillplate hits someone in the head, it's likely game over.

    Sorry about the rant, but after 'spectating' Pomona, ADRL Houston and Gainesville, saw a lot of that going on.
     
    #1
    Will Hanna, Mar 16, 2009
  2. jim phillips

    jim phillips ta/fc

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    will

    turning it on early like your talking about leaves alot crap on the screen to look at untill you find the actual run information i always had my guys turn it on just before the rpms went up down load it pull it up on the screen no crap to look at just the stage and the run fast and easy to look at on the moniter

    just my thoughts
     
    #2
    jim phillips, Mar 16, 2009
  3. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    scroll right

    how hard is it to scroll right on the graph?
     
    #3
    Will Hanna, Mar 16, 2009
  4. hot rod

    hot rod New Member

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    not hard at all

    hot to hard at all, you are right will i dont like to see tham do it at the last minute not safe
     
    #4
    hot rod, Mar 16, 2009
  5. Bruce

    Bruce New Member

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    We pull our car up to about 6 to 8 inches from pre stage and stop the car while I check the while bar another guy turns on the recorder and if every thing is set I give the thumb up and we check the other car and it's about time to let em roll in.
     
    #5
    Bruce, Mar 16, 2009
  6. Jim Peters

    Jim Peters New Member

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    Turn it on

    My guy gets me close to the beam. I TURN IT ON MYSELF AND THE RRRRRRS COME UP AND PULL IN. It's a toggle switch for crying out loud
     
    #6
    Jim Peters, Mar 16, 2009
  7. RLPRACING

    RLPRACING Member

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    After my son backs up his dragster following the burnout, I remove the throttle clip. When the other car is ready to stage, I show him the clip and walk off. He turns the recorder on with a switch on the dash as he pre-stages. He not going to run over me! :D
     
    #7
    RLPRACING, Mar 16, 2009
  8. Nathan Sitko - 625 TAD/TAFC

    Nathan Sitko - 625 TAD/TAFC TAD / TAFC

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    Agreed Will, I'd much rather take the 12 seconds to crop the junk off my computer graph than try to explain to my crew guy's family why he had to be there when god knows what happened and I dragged him part way down the track by the wheelie bar.

    Most computers I've seen record 30-60 seconds, so don't you have to either crop off the end or zoom in on the graph anyways?...wouldn't that take the same amount of time as cropping it everytime?
     
    #8
    Nathan Sitko - 625 TAD/TAFC, Mar 16, 2009
  9. Dave Germain

    Dave Germain New Member

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    racepak switch

    Like Jim Peters says "it is a toggle switch" And therein lies my problem. I turn it on before the run and turn it off after the run. But occasionally it gets switched back on while I get out of the car and the return road driver gets in. This screws up the data. Does anybody have any ideas on how to make the switch harder to accidently turn on and off? Maybe a switch that locks? Dave Germain
     
    #9
    Dave Germain, Mar 16, 2009
  10. secondwindracing

    secondwindracing top alcohol

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    we do what Bruce and RLPracing does..my car won't move till my crew chief gives me the word..Dave Lowe
     
    #10
    secondwindracing, Mar 16, 2009
  11. Tompkins_Racing

    Tompkins_Racing Member

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    What about a simple switch cover? You have to lift it to turn the switch on or off and then it goes back in place after you remove your finger. I plan on doing something like this on my new Top Sportsman car with the transbrake.
     
    #11
    Tompkins_Racing, Mar 16, 2009
  12. AFC357

    AFC357 New Member

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    Ours goes ON when the car gets started! Never gets "forgotten" that way either!
     
    #12
    AFC357, Mar 17, 2009
  13. Dan Lynch

    Dan Lynch Member

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    Could not agree more... Nothing more troublling than getting back to the trailer after a run and having no data from the run because the data recorder wasn't turned on.
     
    #13
    Dan Lynch, Mar 17, 2009
  14. Rodney O. Trower

    Rodney O. Trower New Member

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    We turn ours on after the warm up. We can scroll without issues, but If you cant then hook it to the loud peddle or trans brake button via a latching relay. Turn it off with mag kill....
     
    #14
    Rodney O. Trower, Mar 17, 2009
  15. Mike Canter

    Mike Canter Top Dragster
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    We didn't have a drive shaft data logger activation on our early data logger and I always had to push the record button on the side of the car (side window) at a set time as the driver was prestaging. I knew exactly how our driver staged so I knew when to getaway from the car. We changed drivers and the new driver did not waste time going from prestage to stage. I was a little slow waiting for Joey to go and as I hit the button he launched and spun me like a top.

    When we first started with the blower in the promod we first tried a #$@^% pneumatic throttle control for staging (before the Two Step). This system goes wide open throttle when the clutch switch is released. We didn't have enough air gap on the clutch so as he staged the car pulled through the beams. Since it was a test session I decided to get the driver to back up the car since I had the driver on the radio. I was standing behind the car just off to the side. The car was at idle and would not move so the driver let up on the clutch just enough to get the car rolling which released the pneumatic throttle and the car went wide open in reverse. I was barely brushed by the right rear corner of the car as it shot by me. If I had been directly behind the car it would have gone over the top of me. We were also lucky that there was not another car right behind us or spectators behind us. We still hold the national 60ft record in reverse. I never stand behind a car anymore.

    I watched a ProStreet car launch and a muffle came off and went under the slick and shot out of the back and hit the driver's son in the leg. It broke his leg in two places. He was lucky it was just his leg and it didn't cut off his leg.
     
    #15
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 17, 2009
    Mike Canter, Mar 17, 2009
  16. blownracer/a-fuel

    blownracer/a-fuel A-FUEL

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    What happens when either you or the person in the other lane takes longer to warm up or has reverse problems. The max record time is 240 seconds. Thats not long when you have long warm up times or trouble backing up. Then someone has to make a run for the switch and get out of a normal routine. That is when someone will get hurt. Just how I see it.
     
    #16
    blownracer/a-fuel, Mar 17, 2009
  17. bryanbrown

    bryanbrown Member

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    make the switch harder to get to, and don't turn it off. it'll just run out of memory, and you can trim off all the stuff past the run. Ours has never cycled back over and started recording over itself, i think it just stops when it runs out of memory
     
    #17
    bryanbrown, Mar 17, 2009
  18. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    record time

    Shane,

    I agree that it's hard to turn it on right at the start, especially with an A/Fueler, you usually have close to a minute starting on alky. I think the best place on the longer record time loggers is to turn it on after the burnout, whether it's in the car or external.
     
    #18
    Will Hanna, Mar 17, 2009
  19. nitrohawk

    nitrohawk New Member

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    Record time

    I have a Pro II Racepak and it has enough record time to turn it on just before doing the burnout and under normal circumstances it will record the entire burnout and run. There are times when making a single run I will do this in order to check the burnout rpm and fuel gpm. etc.
    When we are racing I turn the computer on just before cranking on alcohol do the burnout and when the car gets back behind the starting line no one is allowed to get near the car until the driver puts it in forward and lets the clutch out just enough for me and the other crew guys to to see it is in forward gear. I then set the rpm off the dash for launch and turn the computer off and back on which resets it for the run and motion the driver to stage. Just the way I do it. I think the most important things is to make sure the car is in forward gear before aproaching it!
    The computer will stop recording when it runs out of time. The driver gets ot of the car after the run and turns the computer off saving the data and puts the spare set of mag grounding plugs in.
    Bob Holley
     
    #19
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2009
    nitrohawk, Mar 17, 2009
  20. blownracer/a-fuel

    blownracer/a-fuel A-FUEL

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    If we have trouble I will reset the racepak after the car is backed up and ready to pull forward(before the pre stage light).I agree with bob that you need the information from the burnout for RPM and fuel system checks.
     
    #20
    blownracer/a-fuel, Mar 17, 2009
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