As I've gotten several questions on my setup that I use for my videos I wanted to start a thread with the details. If you also have a similar system please feel free to post yours, if we get a number of replies I'll setup a table of contents in the first post linking to each.
Data
I use the original Traqmate Traqdash system that includes the "brain" unit and the older in car monochrome LCD display. My base unit is mounted in my dash where the airbag used to be. You can put it pretty much anywhere that is flat and lets you face it in the right direction.
I also have the TraqData II which adds 2 additional analog and 2 digital inputs. I use these to log oil pressure, oil temp and RPMs. I installed a sender on my gPan 2 when I installed it and tap it for both pressure and temp. I also have a device that attaches to the green wire on the coil pack for cylinder #4 . While temp/pressure aren't really that important but getting the RPMs can really make the videos look great. Also helps from a learning standpoint to see where and how smoothly you're shifting.
Display
Traqmate has come out with a significantly upgraded display, that color TraqDash. Nice and pretty with integrated shift lights it gives you a ton of real time information. My old style one simpley displays current laptime and does predictive timing to let you know if you're slower or faster than your previous lap.This is both a blessing and a curse -- as many times if I see thatn I'm say .5 faster I'll push harder and wind up making a mistake. It's still a great learning tool that provides real time feedback while you're driving.
Analysis
Traqmate includes analysis software called Traqview. While it's a touch on the weak side it can be a great learning tool as you can not only compare your laps to previous laps or even better you can import and compare laps from your friends. This can be hugely helpful as you can see where you're faster and where you're slower than others. While they may be in a different car (or type of car) it still can be helpful to see where you're smooth and where you're not.
Video
This is the fun part and what all your friends want to see. It can also be a great learning tool for yourself as you can watch what your doing as the camera doesn't lie. In my "full" setup I run 4 cameras, they are:
Syncing the video
This is the hardest part of making the video. The way I do it is I export the data from Traqview to an XLS files and then import that into Race Render 2. I use RaceRender as it not only has tools to help you sync up the videos but it does a great job with virtual gauges by reading the data from the Traqmate. The hardest part is getting everything synced up - to help with this I honk the horn 3 times right before I go out. I can then use this as an audible marker to get things very close to synced then use the the tools in RaceRender to fine tune the sync.
Conclusion
After everything is synced up I generally only render out the fastest lap then after that I'll edit down just the overtakes mainly for fun. Being able to review what I've done in a session is hugely help as it's pretty rare I have an instructor in my car. In the first season of having the system I took 3.5 seconds off my best lap. Seeing what and where I'm going things is hugely helpful as my memory of a session is rarely true to what happened.
Questions? Tell us about your setup and what it does for you?
Sample Video
-Ross
Data
I use the original Traqmate Traqdash system that includes the "brain" unit and the older in car monochrome LCD display. My base unit is mounted in my dash where the airbag used to be. You can put it pretty much anywhere that is flat and lets you face it in the right direction.
I also have the TraqData II which adds 2 additional analog and 2 digital inputs. I use these to log oil pressure, oil temp and RPMs. I installed a sender on my gPan 2 when I installed it and tap it for both pressure and temp. I also have a device that attaches to the green wire on the coil pack for cylinder #4 . While temp/pressure aren't really that important but getting the RPMs can really make the videos look great. Also helps from a learning standpoint to see where and how smoothly you're shifting.
Display
Traqmate has come out with a significantly upgraded display, that color TraqDash. Nice and pretty with integrated shift lights it gives you a ton of real time information. My old style one simpley displays current laptime and does predictive timing to let you know if you're slower or faster than your previous lap.This is both a blessing and a curse -- as many times if I see thatn I'm say .5 faster I'll push harder and wind up making a mistake. It's still a great learning tool that provides real time feedback while you're driving.
Analysis
Traqmate includes analysis software called Traqview. While it's a touch on the weak side it can be a great learning tool as you can not only compare your laps to previous laps or even better you can import and compare laps from your friends. This can be hugely helpful as you can see where you're faster and where you're slower than others. While they may be in a different car (or type of car) it still can be helpful to see where you're smooth and where you're not.
Video
This is the fun part and what all your friends want to see. It can also be a great learning tool for yourself as you can watch what your doing as the camera doesn't lie. In my "full" setup I run 4 cameras, they are:
Built in cockpit camera: For this I use a older ChaseCam that while it's SD is permanently mounted in my car on the rear glass between the seats. It's fairly wide angle so it gets most of the cabin and in my case it runs anytime the car is running.ounted next to the ODBII port shooting right at my feet.
The last 2 cameras are front and rear. The front camera is mounted in the main front intake area wit the mount stuck to the underside of the front main opening. The lower the camera the better the sense of speed comes across. Finally I mount my rear camera low near the exhaust tip for two reasons, one it's a great angle for rear view shots and second it generally does a great job recording the exhaust note of the car.
The last 2 cameras are front and rear. The front camera is mounted in the main front intake area wit the mount stuck to the underside of the front main opening. The lower the camera the better the sense of speed comes across. Finally I mount my rear camera low near the exhaust tip for two reasons, one it's a great angle for rear view shots and second it generally does a great job recording the exhaust note of the car.
Syncing the video
This is the hardest part of making the video. The way I do it is I export the data from Traqview to an XLS files and then import that into Race Render 2. I use RaceRender as it not only has tools to help you sync up the videos but it does a great job with virtual gauges by reading the data from the Traqmate. The hardest part is getting everything synced up - to help with this I honk the horn 3 times right before I go out. I can then use this as an audible marker to get things very close to synced then use the the tools in RaceRender to fine tune the sync.
Conclusion
After everything is synced up I generally only render out the fastest lap then after that I'll edit down just the overtakes mainly for fun. Being able to review what I've done in a session is hugely help as it's pretty rare I have an instructor in my car. In the first season of having the system I took 3.5 seconds off my best lap. Seeing what and where I'm going things is hugely helpful as my memory of a session is rarely true to what happened.
Questions? Tell us about your setup and what it does for you?
Sample Video
-Ross