[Dr_C]

The preliminary spec I am working towards is:

1/ an expansion board which fits into the centre zone of the track section of the ARC PRO and which is powered directly from the ARC PRO.
2/ an expansion board which will communicate directly with the lane1/lane2 sensors.
3/ an the expansion board which will also communicate directly with additional lane3/lane4 sensors.
4/ an expansion board which will have up to eight opto-isolated sensor inputs for pit-lane entry/exit sensors and zone sensors.
5/ an expansion board which will have up to two opto-isolated uart comms interfaces for gantry lighting and other ancillary function control.
6/ an expansion board which will have a high speed WiFi comms interface for configuration setup and direct wireless communications with race management software - either running on a pc or smart device.

So that’s the plan... if it can be achieved... this should represent a useful hobbyist extension of the already amazing ARC PRO.

I have been busy building the additional sensors needed to implement this extension of the system.

c

[Dr_C]

   

Two of the new sensor boards designed and assembled over the past few weeks and which are designed to integrate with above approach.

c

[Dr_C]

This is only a hobbyist project... but I am making some good progress.

I am testing a prototype circuit which connects onto the sensor input channels of the ARC PRO expanding the available sensors up to a maximum of 12 which could correspond to a four lane start/finish line plus two pit lanes. The board can of course connect with the above shown sensor boards. Also the prototype board has WiFi connectivity for either large screen display (with web browser enabled TVs) or direct connection onto the race app smart device. Also there is a USB connection for control of lighting gantries and other track-side accessories. I will be building the second prototype on a commercially manufactured printed circuit board.

A fun project... properly taking shape at last!

c

[Dr_C]

   

Some more hobbyist progress... 10 of these prototype printed circuit boards are being manufactured. The design is intended to interface with the ARC PRO or APB or (hopefully) it can be used stand-alone as a WiFi enabled lap counter, WiFi trackside speedometer or for collision avoidance with lane changers... stacks of potential... and lots of new firmware to write over the coming months.

c

[Zippideedooda]

This really sounds like a setup for club racing. I am guessing that the four lane start/finish would eventually go to just two lanes to complete a lap of a somewhat large layout, like Spa or Nurburgring? Or is there a different purpose you envision?