Data Logger

[cstreit]

Well Tim, guess what the wife just ordered me for my birthday?

Woohoo!

[TimT]

Cool for you Chris.....does your wife have a sister that is single?

my ex just didnt understand... I told her its all adrenalin and endorphins...


one thing that is amazing about the DL-90 is that when you go for out a run you just hit the "sample" button and it will record data until you hit "sample" again

It records about 90 mins of data

Then you dump all your runs into your laptop and have some brews and analyze

[Jack Olsen]

What sort of cable does it output through. I'd get it, but I'm on a Mac, and would have to either go buy a PC laptop for this one thing, or find a way to get the data into the Mac laptop, and then run a PC emulation program. Anyone ever taken a stab at this?

[TimT]

Jack the output is by serial cable (RS 232) Macs still use that dont they?

The software is windows based though

[Jack Olsen]

They can fake being Windows machines just fine, but their ports are all USB and Firewire now.

[TimT]

WTF?
Ok
Jack you go figure it out, the DL-90 has a serial output. I have heard thats a pretty universal method of data transfer ( slow perhaps)

[cstreit]

Jack,

They make USB to serial adapters...

I'm just starting to play around with the software from their website....

Esther is the patron saint of race car wives...

[Jack Olsen]

I think the accuracy comes from the computer interpolating/reconciling data from the GPS and accelerometers.

I just ordered one.

(But I still want something that will show speed/brake/throttle on my lap videos.)

[cstreit]

You just ordered a DL-90? Like just now?

Have you played with the Software yet?

It certainly is in it's infancy, but you can get some nice analysis out of it. It takes some work, but it's there... They will be getting a LOT of feedback from me... the poor ba$tard$. I've been working in software for 15 years so I know the biz...

I'm fooling around with the lastest version now... It's improved but still somewhat unstable.

Tim, how much time have you spent on the software yet? I can't find an easy way to overlay speed and g-forces in a corner for several laps... Have you?

(I'm beginning to wonder if I have to break out the programming manuals again, Yikes!)

[Jack Olsen]

Yes, I ordered it. I'm not married to Esther, and I don't want to be faced with the new, higher price later.

And I'd like to possibly use some of its sensors for the digital lap video display we've been talking about in the other thread.

My car is out for weeks, still, so I'll wait for the Streit-ified version software, if need be.

Ideally, you'd be able to make it generate something like this:

[cstreit]

Jack...

Here's an example that's similar. You can define your own transition points. Those points can be measured in a graph or spreadsheet later. The color shows the acceleration or decelleration... You can also have it show Yellow vs. black for braking vs. accellerating to analyze braking points....

THe thing that is difficult for me to far is comparison lap to lap...

[cstreit]

Here;s an example where you can see (in black) when the driver releases the brakes, and that he is doing some trail braking.

In your case you could easily tap into the throttle position sensor and hook it up to the analog input...

Oh... One advantageous thing... If you do a screen record of the output of the track map replay, you could syncronize it with a video-editor to your in-car video... THen you could play a movie with the video, and with the acceleration/brake dashboard and track map right next to the actual in-car video, producing a double width video.. That would get you what you want in the end...

[k9handler]

crap....you guys suck! Now I have another toy I absolutely must have, the wife is never going to forgive you. Ha Ha...thanks for the info and the graphic display capability. Even though I will not be running the big track events, this would really help me get better at the local autox and then maybe one day I will brave the track!

[cstreit]

K9... Sorry dude... But it IS really neat huh?


In this case you can see that (for WHATEVER reason) The speed at the exit of turn 1 does not dictate the speed at the entrance for turn two (before braking). I would guess that this could mean the driver is lifting early (which could be determined by the TPS)... Strange this...

[jpachard]

Jack, I have a G4 laptop running OSX with Virtual PC 5. I run a few high end CAD programs on it with no problems. You should have no problem running this software on it. The only snag is the serial port. I have had problems in the past with Virtual PC seeing serial connections. Why they still use serial is beyond me, they should also include a 5" floppy to install the drivers....

[cstreit]

Jack... Here is one... Just wanted to follow up with you to make sure I was on the level with that one...

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=102007

[k9handler]

this is just really cool stuff...add this DL-90 with the accelerator and brake indicator lights (like Jack is looking into) and you can post some pretty cool "lessons learned" videos and even handouts if needed!

[cstreit]

Okay, with something like this Jack you'd be set...

[thabaer]

Chris,

Is there a good story behind that litte black squiggle coming off of the hairpin in your first track map ?

And of course I'm asking because I wonder if the DL-90 can help you determine the cause....

[cstreit]

From the looks of the data run, I think it's a pit area or some such thing... You can see the car driving through it slowly...

I dunno, this is just some sample data, not actually mine...