14th-Nov-23, 10:58 AM
Referring to the above post and adding some details:
Upgrade 1/ Optically isolated USB port
The purpose of this upgrade is to add industry standard techniques which are designed to reduce risks of electrostatic damage and/or ground loop effects when using RS485 serial communications hardware. The approach replaces the ‘standard’ hard-wired USB-RS485 cable with an ‘off-the-shelf’ optical isolation module. Optical isolation means there is no physical electrical connection between the USB port and the internal workings of the APB so there is no route for electrostatic conduction or ground loops. In particular this should eliminate the APB problems associated with accidental ‘hot-plugging’ or ‘hot-unplugging’ which has been reported to damage APBs.
Upgrade 2/ High speed lap sensors.
These replacement sensors address the issue observed with the standard APB (firmware v1.009) where lap detection is unreliable for cars on ID6 when travelling at speeds in excess of 6.7m/s. Three users have reported experiencing this problem on real raceways (both routed and plastic). In each case a 4-four phototransistor upgraded sensor board has fully resolved the issue.
Although the APB has been around for many years it is interesting that new upgrade opportunities are still possible snd worth considering.
c
Upgrade 1/ Optically isolated USB port
The purpose of this upgrade is to add industry standard techniques which are designed to reduce risks of electrostatic damage and/or ground loop effects when using RS485 serial communications hardware. The approach replaces the ‘standard’ hard-wired USB-RS485 cable with an ‘off-the-shelf’ optical isolation module. Optical isolation means there is no physical electrical connection between the USB port and the internal workings of the APB so there is no route for electrostatic conduction or ground loops. In particular this should eliminate the APB problems associated with accidental ‘hot-plugging’ or ‘hot-unplugging’ which has been reported to damage APBs.
Upgrade 2/ High speed lap sensors.
These replacement sensors address the issue observed with the standard APB (firmware v1.009) where lap detection is unreliable for cars on ID6 when travelling at speeds in excess of 6.7m/s. Three users have reported experiencing this problem on real raceways (both routed and plastic). In each case a 4-four phototransistor upgraded sensor board has fully resolved the issue.
Although the APB has been around for many years it is interesting that new upgrade opportunities are still possible snd worth considering.
c
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