Dash 3 Unreliable Lap/Sector Times

[emersom]

I am a longstanding DL1 user (since they came out in 2004). I love RT products and software and have two DL1's (an early unit and a MK2), both have up to date firmware. I invested in a Dash 3 Lite towards the end of last year in the hope I could get rid of my old fashioned infra red laptimer.

I tried using the unit last year and quickly gave up. On test days you really don't have time to mess around too much with stuff when it doesn't work easily as track time is so expensive. I had a play with it in my road car on normal roads and hoped I had got somewhere with it. My logger starts logging automatically with a .bin file and I had installed a .lap file (in the 8.3 format) onto the memory card so I don't have to mess around with setting up sectors on my out laps.

So it should just start showing laptimes and sector times automatically - well it doesn't. It is so hit and miss and frustrating and at the moment is a complete waste of time and distracting for the driver (me!). I really don't think I have done anything wrong at all, I have followed all your instructions by the letter. It just doesn't seem to work well and I am tired of it..................what can I do?

I want a display with live updates of sectors and reliable laptimes. PLEASE HELP!

Has anyone else had similar troubles?

[Jet-Tech]

I want a display with live updates of sectors and reliable laptimes. PLEASE HELP!

It seems to me that this is one of the fundamental functions of any data-logger. I hope this problem has been sorted out

[emersom]

Unfortunately no it has not been sorted out. Does anyone from Race Technology check this forum and/or care? Please advise.

I don't like wasting my hard earned money on products that don't work properly............

[David Ferguson]

Does the same .LAP file work with the data you load into Analysis?

To me, you haven't described the problem you are having -- is it lap times that don't display? Is it only a problem with .LAP files that have a start/finish marker and sector markers?

You say it's hit & miss -- do you always have the .LAP file on the card everytime you go out. Do you turn on the DL1 with the card installed, or are you inserting the card after the DL1 is turned on?

I installed a DL1 and Dash3, created a .LAP file (just a start/finish marker), and successfully got lap times, no problem. So it does work.

[DavidW]

I have just purchased a DASH3 to go with my DL1 Mk 1 and had exactly the same problems at my first test session at Snetterton last Thursday. I was using 1.40.2 Firmware in the DASH3 and V33 firmware in the DL1. Everything worked apart from the lap timing which was only giving very occasional lap times (about in about every 3 or 4 laps), and once managed to give some sector splits, however it was useless. I tried marker files with several sectors, one just 1 lap marker, and one created by the DL1 while driving round and had same results.

I was based in a pit which was after the lap marker, so on each run the first marker I would pass it would be a sector marker, and I think this was causing the issue.

Having read the forum posts I saw there was a issue with lap timing fixed in 1.40.3 firmware, so today I updated with latest firmware 1.40.6 and tested it this afternoon by putting the car on the trailer and towing it round a road circuit near my house with the DL1 and DASH3 running. Everything seemed to be working fine with both lap and sector times displayed at the right time. The times displayed were mainly within a few 1/100ths of the lap time shown in the analysis by one or two laps were about 1/10th away.

I'll find out if this works on the race track in 2 weeks time, but if you are still having problems I would suggest you update your firmware in both DASH3 and DL1 to latest versions and try again.

[Support]

"Unfortunately no it has not been sorted out. Does anyone from Race Technology check this forum and/or care? Please advise."

Well thanks for that!! After the long hours we work, and the lengths we go to supporting all our customers it great to know that it's all appreciated!! For information: as a general rule we try to check the forum every few days - but at this time of year it's absolutely "crazy" with the race season starting. If you had a problem and you needed support then maybe contacting us directly might be a way forward?

So in answer to this question, yes we do "care"!

Of course as always we are very happy to help - just email me your data from the data when you were having issues and if possible a lap file, together with information about your set up and we can do some checking here and let you know what the problem was. Please post it to "andrew@race....com" and I'll make sure someone reviews it.

"thanks"

Andy

[924RACR]

Am all ears on this; when I've had problems displaying laps on my Dash3, it's been related to power dropping too low... the DL1 would continue to log one continuous file without issue, but the DL1 would shut off and reset, then pick up and start a new lap at the next sector marker.

Now, another new DL1 user is borrowing my Dash3, trying to get it working in his street car (to learn the system) and is have a bad time of getting times to display that aren't zeroes.

Now he's tried to update the Dash3 firmware and the whole thing's bodged up... hopefully a fresh firmware download will clear this and the dash will be useable again. Otherwise neither of us will have a dash, and only a month to go to race season...

[924RACR]

An update on this after testing with my unit last night...

With the latest firmware (think it's 1.40.7 now?) we were still having some odd problems with lap/sector time display; while best times would be measured and displayed, they were stuck on the first lap, and no current lap/sector times would be displayed after the first lap, nor would the best lap or sector times update. Current times would only be displayed as zeros.

This was using a dash config (.hex) file written using earlier config SW (forget the version, but it was downloaded last summer).

From my SW install, using a more recent SW version (for dash config - sorry, don't have the rev number, but it was about 4-6 revs newer - they were all 1.40 or so), we created a new dash.hex file from a config I had around.

Downloading this into the dash fixed the problem; we were able to get lap sector times displayed properly, including best and deltas.

So the problem seemed to be related to a bad dash.hex config file, possibly related to an old version of the dash config SW...

Hope that helps someone...

[DavidW]

Tried again at a race meeting at Mallory Park yesterday and still having problems with inconsistent display of lap times - sometimes it would record OK, but other times it missed the lap market for 1 or 2 laps and would record total time for 2, 3 or 4 laps. I'm interested by comments from 924RACR on power levels - my DL1 is powered from a regulated 12V supply, but actually seems to run at around 11.7 volts. I'm wondering if that is the cause.

From my tests with the car on the trailer it seems to work OK with engine not running, perhaps there is some interference or power interuption being developed by the engine or ECU.

I'm now using 1.40.7 Firmware and DASH.HEX file was created with latest version of DASH3 config software. i was using a 1 marker lap marker file created by the DL1 while on warm up lap - I'll check that on the Analysis software to check it works OK.

I've now posted a support request on this topic - RT1301907632

David

[924RACR]

If the dash continues to add up the time, you're not losing power; when the dash voltage dropped too low (in my case), it would reset/power cycle, and start timing fresh at the next sector/lap marker I passed.

So I don't see you having a power loss problem.

I think the only problem you have is that the marker you added on your warm-up lap was too far to one side of the track, perhaps not on the racing line, and so on some of your laps you were outside the virtual "gate" of GPS position.

I had exactly this happen when I once set a track marker in pit lane; the race line passed by on the opposite side of the front straight, and so, even though the track is quite narrow (at that point), it was wide enough to miss that lap marker on subsequent laps.

To fix this, I made a new lap file in Analysis using the track data, and made sure to string the lap marker across the whole start finish.

After that, I never had an issue with laps being added together.

HTH...

[DavidW]

Still not resolved this problem - I have rewired the DL1 directly from the cars power supply so now I get around 13.8V and the problems remained at my last race at Brands. My latest thought is that the GPS positional accuracy is not accurate enough due to issues with the antenna position / function / interference (despite logging at around 3m accuracy), so I have repositioned it on top of the roll bar and ordered a new antenna. In particular I was getting a lot of positional drift down the start straight as you come through the pits area - just where you want an accurate position to trigger the lap marker.

It would not record any laps using a LAP file genrated by Analysis, despite setting big width, and worked about 50% of the time using lap file with a single marker generated by the DL1 on the first lap.

So far still not had a response from support on the issue I reported despite sending them lots of data. If it doesn't work at next race I will have to think about a different solution for lap timing.

[Dan in Saint Louis]

I was getting a lot of positional drift down the start straight

Wild guess -- is there any chance that you are using accelerometer data to interpolate position between GPS readings? If it is not dead straight on the car axis it could "move" you sideways.

[DavidW]

Maybe the accelerometers are part of the problem. I am occasionally getting the message " The logger is mounted at an angle of greater than 10 degrees to the horizontal measurements may be inaccurate" when I process the data in Analysis, which is puzzing as the DL1 is firmly attached to the car in a horizontal position so cannot vary between runs. It's been suggested that this message may indicate an intermittent fault with the accelerometer. This message appears on the Run where I have the big positional drifts appearing. If I tick the option "When calculating a map of the track DONT combine the data with accelerometers" in Analysis Options, then the track maps are drawn without any positional drifts.

However as far as I can see, this processing only takes place in the Analysis software and not in the DASH3 - at least there are no options to alter it.

Maybe I need to get the DL1 back to Race Technology to have it checked out. The car did have a bad shunt about 18 months ago where it was stationary across the track and was hit at the front end spinning it round and ripping off the RH front corner - this would have resulted in an acceleration much greater than the 2G rated level which may have damaged it.

[924RACR]

Yeah, I'd think you'd better have it looked at!!!

Have you looked at any raw data sitting still? That should tell you pretty quickly and clearly if you have an accelerometer calibration problem. Just take a 5sec trace sitting in the driveway...

[Dan in Saint Louis]

Just take a 5sec trace sitting in the driveway...

That won't detect longitudinal misalignment (ie: it ain't pointed straight ahead).