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Data Acquisition and Timing

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Almighty 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all, I know this topic has been discussed quite a bit in the past and many opinions have been given. I'm starting a new thread because I believe my situation is a tad more unique.

OK here's the deal. Some friends and I are nearing completion of a 1994 Acura Integra chumpcar build and one of the final pieces of the puzzle is acquiring a DAQ and timer. To get the nit picky details out of the way, here's a list of features we would liketo have sorted roughly by importance:

All-in-one solution
Lap timer
Scalable
Cameras (preferably GoPro if it's external)
Able to be transferred between cars easily(Lotus, Evo 9, Integra)
The ability to store data on an SD card
Has a dash option

I do not want to consider iPhone/Android lap timers or pseudo DAQs. Budget is NOT a consideration; however, $10,000 systems will probably not be an option. We've been considering the traqmate traqdash complete unit as an example.

Any suggestions to help this newbie out would be awesome. Thanks!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
You might wanna check out AiM, The World Leader in Data Acquisition | Products for car. I think sector might even carry them.
They seem to have the most complete solution, imo, with lap timing, dash support, OBD and external sensor data acquisition + video.

There are couple of similar products at that price range, and the unifying theme seems like that they all like to push their own cameras(which more or less all seem like packaging exercise using Sony CMOS sensors...)
Unfortunately, I don't think any of them support 1080p yet, and some of them downright look fn terrible in 2014 standards(varying levels of terrible in rolling shutter effects and sometimes even have interlacing artifacts). It could have been the cutting edge broadcast quality video technology... 10-15 year ago, back when people still used CRTs.

So, you might want to either replace or augment with gopros since they've finally hit the acceptable video quality since gopro2. You still should get an external mic for it, though since the built-in gopro mic sounds awful, and you can even manage to sound even more awful by putting it in a case.

Others you might want to check out include products offered by racelogic, race-technology, and chasecam.
 
#7 · (Edited)
There are couple of similar products at that price range, and the unifying theme seems like that they all like to push their own cameras(which more or less all seem like packaging exercise using Sony CMOS sensors...)
Unfortunately, I don't think any of them support 1080p yet, and some of them downright look fn terrible in 2014 standards(varying levels of terrible in rolling shutter effects and sometimes even have interlacing artifacts). It could have been the cutting edge broadcast quality video technology... 10-15 year ago, back when people still used CRTs.

So, you might want to either replace or augment with gopros since they've finally hit the acceptable video quality since gopro2. You still should get an external mic for it, though since the built-in gopro mic sounds awful, and you can even manage to sound even more awful by putting it in a case.

Others you might want to check out include products offered by racelogic, race-technology, and chasecam.
Good write up. Most of the companies actually doing engineering on the camera head side (AIM and ChaseCam) are using Aptina sensors. Same sensors that GoPro uses. However, your point is well taken that it is a packaging exercise, but the complexity becomes the signal protocol as the sensor itself is not designed for a long distance signal transmission. Lots of details here... I will not bore you. But I can tell you that making your own camera can be very painful.

After our experience making our own cameras, we decided this was a mistake. :) Our new product range will take video signals from a variety of sources including GoPro, Sony Action Camera, bespoke HD camera heads, and SD bullet cams.

Our market has intentionally changed, so we are not targeting track day people at this point. Even if our product is something that makes sense for that market, we sell more product to other markets that require multiple views and real time overlays.

What sets us apart from all the Chinese and Korean product, is we can do multiple camera feeds (including dual HD or SD Inset into HD) and real time graphics and data overlays with separate audio controls and hands free operations and smart phone apps for control and review, and single dash control, write to USB thumb drives, and 100+ hours of recording time. But we are still in development and beta units are going out this month as part of the development cycle. So, if your requirement is immediate... we are NOT your solution. :)

We will be actively adding features to the system in the coming months including wireless sensors, wireless OBDII, global shutter cameras, various gauges, dash display, track analysis software. The system is field upgradable.




If you do not mind spending time getting the data and video synced (really not that hard if you apply some data-video points to set to)... and doing post process, it may make more sense to consider separate data and video systems. All in one make it easier, but at a cost.
 
#3 ·
We've thought about the AiM solution but thought that competing products from Tracqmate and Race Technology because of the lack of camera support and portability. I am very willing to replace the standard cameras with GoPros since we already have 2 of them. We also have an external mic to help with sound issues already.

So far the traqmate traqdash complete and the Race Technology DL1/Dash2 are the front runners. I'd like to compare the chasecam DIVA cam HD as well, but I haven't been able to dig much up on that.
 
#4 · (Edited)
#8 ·
I have use the Race Technology DL1 / Dash 2 ( recently Dash 4pro ) ECU link and video with a two camera setup ( 1 x high res / 1x std res ) for the past 4 years on my 2-11
Once I got my head around the software , which appears to be a little more difficult than AIM etc , it has been great .
I notice also that they now have Go Pro integration .
Video easily integrates with data and is easy to read / compare etc ... And trust me I am no whizz at this stuff !!
Currently building up a new Elise race car and will most likely go with RT again ..but keen to use a PDM , so this may be a limiting factor as it may not integrate well with the RT
RT support in general has been good , I deal with the UK dealer . You may want to contact RT USA and see what there response times are like .
If you are anything like me ... You will appreciate good support in the beginning until it all starts to make sense .
RT also have an excellent information base and forum on there website.. Plenty of people keen to help out .
 
#10 ·
I guess I should update this thread.

Well after mulling over the decision I decided to go with the Traqmate Traqdash complete. I figure it might not be as full featured as other units, but it seems to be a very good system for "amateurs". From what I've read about all of these units, you can't really go wrong with either one of them. This one check all of the boxes the best methinks.
 
#11 ·
Update #2

So, as said before I decided to go with the Traqmate system because of the feature set, ease of use, and being able to put it into multiple cars. Our chumpcar racing didn't go too far so I only have limited experience with the unit. With that said, it's pretty darn good for the price. I can see anyone using it being happy with the unit.

So that brings me to today. I have acquired an AIM dash and am in the process of installing it into the car. This is a whole different level of complexity. I created a cable to connect to the canbus, and now I'm trying to figure out a method of installing the dash while having it removable. Gotta love Va emission standards.
 
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