RC Transponder Used For Karting?

[goslo]

I race karts competitively and it is essential to have a personal transpoder on your kart for timing and scoring purposes. Unfortunately mine loosened and fell off during a race and suffered some damage rendering it useless. Seeing is how a replacement one is $300 I was curious if anyone thinks a radio controlled one would work instead. I understand I would also need a reciever pack to power it, but what about a reciever? Any feedback what so ever is greatly appreciated since the next race is approaching quickly.

P.S. The replacement transponder I'm considering is like this.

 

[Rockcrawler]

I doubt the AMB would work. Even if its the same type of system, you will have trouble getting it to count because they have to be so close to the wire that crosses the track.

 

[goslo]

Thank you, Rockcrawler for your response. It's good you pointed that out because I wasn't aware of the proximity needed for operation."thumbsup"

Does anyone else have any opinions, thoughts or suugestions?

 

[Mello_Yello]

Thank you, Rockcrawler for your response. It's good you pointed that out because I wasn't aware of the proximity needed for operation."thumbsup"

Does anyone else have any opinions, thoughts or suugestions?

Don't quote me on this, but, if proximity is an issue, wouldn't you be able to just mount it lower? Or would that defeat the purpose of this by taking the chance of it getting destroyed being so low?

 

[XSRCdesign]

I'm just guessing, but if there was a cheaper solution for your application.

I would assume that it would already be being used in that application.

R/c transponders are very small, but very finicky when it comes to how close it has to be to the wire it is crossing, not to mention i would assume you would spend more on the electronics to make it work in your application, than just buying the correct transponder.

 

[Difuser]

The height should not be an issue but the software and its signal programming will probably be the one that gets you. i've seen the signal received at 12-14" off the track surface which is plenty for your kart.

If it is AMB for the Karting they use different signals for all of their transponders so that you have to buy one for each category raced.....

 

[racerx]

What transponder are you trying to replace? If you are running the TranX160 from AMB I would go to there website and go to the support page download the repair form, fill it out and follow the instructions to send it in for evaluation and repair/ replacement. Just like many of the electronics we use in our crawlers they can be repaired for less than a new replacement unit. I know I would check into repair before I made a decision to try something it wasn't designed for. The one's for R/C are not near as robust and would become damaged far easier than the one designed for your application.

JMO though, do what you want.:lol:

 

[binaryterror]

If it is AMB for the Karting they use different signals for all of their transponders so that you have to buy one for each category raced.....

AMB is a bunch of monopolistic bastards!

 

[goslo]

Don't quote me on this, but, if proximity is an issue, wouldn't you be able to just mount it lower? Or would that defeat the purpose of this by taking the chance of it getting destroyed being so low?

FIA/ASN rules and regulations state that in order for it to be legal it would have to be mounted in center of the rear of the seat no less than 20cm from the ground. If I were to mount it lower my kart wouldn't pass tech and therefore would be disqualified. Thank you though for your suggestion."thumbsup"

I'm just guessing, but if there was a cheaper solution for your application.

I would assume that it would already be being used in that application.

R/c transponders are very small, but very finicky when it comes to how close it has to be to the wire it is crossing, not to mention i would assume you would spend more on the electronics to make it work in your application, than just buying the correct transponder.

Unfortunately many of my fellow karting competitors aren't aware of radio-controlled racing or the hobby in general fo that matter. As for spending more on electronics for my application, I wish that was the case but when your yearrly kart budget of $2000 dollars goes to entry fees, tires, fuel, repairs, spare engines and chassis there is little left for electronics. Thank you as well for your suggestions and opinions."thumbsup"

What transponder are you trying to replace? If you are running the TranX160 from AMB I would go to there website and go to the support page download the repair form, fill it out and follow the instructions to send it in for evaluation and repair/ replacement. Just like many of the electronics we use in our crawlers they can be repaired for less than a new replacement unit. I know I would check into repair before I made a decision to try something it wasn't designed for. The one's for R/C are not near as robust and would become damaged far easier than the one designed for your application.

JMO though, do what you want.:lol:

Unfortunately time is of the essence and if I send it off for repairs chances are it won't be back in time for the next race. And seeing is how I live in Canada it would probably be held at the border like most unfamiliar electrinic devices. It is extremely crucial that I compete because failure to do so would cause me to lose points and distance myself at a championship. But thank you racerx for your opinion."thumbsup"

Also does anybody know whether or not I'd need a reciever. Seeing how no one has mentioned it I'm assuming you don't need one but if I would need one don't hesitate to let me know. Thak you."thumbsup"

 

[racerx]

It would work with the appropriate battery w/o a receiver. The receiver just supplies a regulated voltage so you would need to know the max the transponder could handle, and as long as the system is working on the same signals as the r/c one I guess it would work but if they are tuned to different Freq. then it is a no go.

 

[K_B]

Just don't exceed 6V for the battery and you're good, so a 5-cell pack wired direct to the TP would work. Also, proximity shouldn't be an issue. I put our timing loop at the backside of a BIG double (dumb for sure) and everyones read fine, even when they crossed the loop while still about 3 feet or so in the air. And the loop is buried about 6 inches in the dirt.

 

[Krawler Freak]

K B what system are you using, at the track i work at the loop is 6in down and we are getting 15 hits on average per car witch is really low!

(we have amb with rc scoring pro

 

[K_B]

We're using just the regular ol' AMBrc system (Not the current AMBrc3) with Sparc2 software. I never pay much attention to how many hits I'm getting as long as the laps get counted. The only time we start getting weak hits is usually when the battery-powered house transponders start to get low on juice. But the personal transponders generally read pretty strong. I would imagine that certain elements in the dirt may screw things up, like maybe a high iron content or something like that...