December 15th TSCC Fentress NAB Official Thread

[98sr20ve]

December 15th TSCC Fentress NAB Official Thread
keep it ON TOPIC. This is #2 of 4 in the Winter Four series held by Tidewater Sports Car Club.

TSCC (http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.com/)

Registration/Access List (http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.com/prereg/index.htm)

You must be on the access list to get in to participate or view the event. Should be fun as always.

:hi: Dave, I beat you to it. :hi:

[trip]

fentress :( i will miss the acu... i guess me and my acu spoiled ass will be there.

[tecnic1]

yeah, whatever...I guess I'll drive.

[roadRacer]

Don't sound so enthused....

[tecnic1]

I'm sorta over it for now....
I realised that for what I spent autocrossing this year, I could have probibly hit one more track weekend last year. IMO that would have been a lot more fun then the 12 or 13 autocrosses I drove.

[lightningd]

Originally posted by 98sr20ve

:hi: Dave, I beat you to it. :hi:

it's all good. we gotta try to keep this shit organized. it gets old seeing 5 threads of the same event. knowhaimean. anyways, i'll be there.....i'm number 36. some mofo in a acura legend took my 35. but it's all good, a legend is really a 4th gen accord. hehe. i'll be there ready to stay on top my points lead.....yikes

[jetroc0088]

42

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by lightningd
we gotta try to keep this shit organized. it gets old seeing 5 threads of the same event. knowhaimean. yikes

Agreed. Glad you started the trend. Keeps it all in one place.

[Eric16v]

41 here (3rd heat)

[jetroc0088]

I might need a car for this event as well.

Dana said she might not mind going but she would not want to stay all day as usuall.

Maybe Dana can leave early in my car and I can rid with some one else.

But, oh no then she has to take the trailer home by herself.

[Slammed Sentra]

im number 68 :D

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by jetroc0088
I might need a car for this event as well.

Dana said she might not mind going but she would not want to stay all day as usuall.

Maybe Dana can leave early in my car and I can rid with some one else.

But, oh no then she has to take the trailer home by herself.

So are you saying you want to drive someone elses car. I dont get it. If all you need is a ride home that is cool I can give you a ride also.

[Eric16v]

means he wants to drive mine. Chris, why don't I drive yours this time around? oh, wait, only if you are running stock brakes. I don't want to be in SM.

[trip]

man i forgot to fing register 51 right here :(... man they should make a age pax for real. i gotta race against all of these old farts.

[roadRacer]

Originally posted by trip
man i forgot to fing register 51 right here :(... man they should make a age pax for real. i gotta race against all of these old farts. Yeah, all of us old farts should get an advantage in the PAX index...

[lightningd]

whether old fart or young fart, it's all in the scent ;)

[DSC]

My 18 was taken :( so 81 it is...
kart racing the 14th, auto-x the 15th gona be a fun weekend.

I'm signed up for the dec 8th auto-x also but I assume I can still be considered novice on the 15th since it'll only be my 2nd auto-x???

[jetroc0088]

Originally posted by Eric16v
means he wants to drive mine. Chris, why don't I drive yours this time around? oh, wait, only if you are running stock brakes. I don't want to be in SM.

That is right.

We can both take my car. That is not a problem.
But we might have to change the brakes back and forth.

Dana will go and race I am sure. But, she had told me she did not want to stay all day.
Those teachers don't like to be out all day on Sunday.
And you know her feeling about the trailer.

[lightningd]

Originally posted by DSC
My 18 was taken :( so 81 it is...
kart racing the 14th, auto-x the 15th gona be a fun weekend.

I'm signed up for the dec 8th auto-x also but I assume I can still be considered novice on the 15th since it'll only be my 2nd auto-x???

yeah, you'd still be a novice. there's no certain number of autoxes that makes you not a novice. i guess it's based on if you know what you're doing or not. i picked it up really quick, and only chose novice for the first two races. i felt i was really comfortable w/ what i was doing after then.

[roadRacer]

Originally posted by lightningd
yeah, you'd still be a novice. there's no certain number of autoxes that makes you not a novice. i guess it's based on if you know what you're doing or not. i picked it up really quick, and only chose novice for the first two races. i felt i was really comfortable w/ what i was doing after then. TSCC's rules used to say 6 events, but pretty much they ignored that and let anyone that wanted to call themselves a novice enter novice. I think if someone had won novice class 3 times in a row by a big margin someone might come over and sorta politely suggest that they move out of novice. Idea of novice is for beginners to not feel so completely outclassed. It used to be that everyone was using R compound tires and a novice would come out with street tires and be 10 or 15 seconds off the pace and think they had done poorly when they might have actually done pretty good for a novice in street tires.

[vbspec]

52 and 59
Me and my Pops.
Hey everyone who posted (Steve, Brett....) on my camber question, Thanx. It sucks because I have to wait untill Xmas to get my GC and other stuff. Oh well the Jan. race isnt to far off..
We'll see how the stock Spec is one more time. Pray for no rain!
Michael

[lightningd]

Originally posted by vbspec
Pray for no rain!


rain is fine for me, hehehehe.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by vbspec
52 and 59
Me and my Pops.
Hey everyone who posted (Steve, Brett....) on my camber question, Thanx. It sucks because I have to wait untill Xmas to get my GC and other stuff. Oh well the Jan. race isnt to far off..
We'll see how the stock Spec is one more time. Pray for no rain!
Michael

If you and pops are running the same car, you really shouldn't be in the same heat. technically, you can't. There's supposed to be something like 15 minutes between runs on a car, but that's SCCA shit.

[Eric16v]

Originally posted by turbochad
If you and pops are running the same car, you really shouldn't be in the same heat. technically, you can't. There's supposed to be something like 15 minutes between runs on a car, but that's SCCA shit.

I thought it was 6 or 7 cars and 5 minutes?

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by Eric16v
I thought it was 6 or 7 cars and 5 minutes?

His father drives a CRX and he drives the Spec V.

[turbochad]

that's fine then. It just get's to be a pain when the same car runs twice in the same heat. But if they are running different cars, who cares :)

[DSC]

Do you have to run with your windows down? Just wondering about the rain...leather and all, bla.

[turbochad]

Nope. I sure as hell didn't last event! In all honesty, the rules are pretty lax. Basic Tech inspection that looks for very obvious things. wheels bolted on/no broken studs (seen it before), seats and belts bolted in (seen that one violated before), seat belts installed, battery secure (probobly the biggest thing to fail peoples car), and free movement of throttle linkage. That's about the end of the tech rules.

On course. Brain Bucket for all occupents, closed toe shoes, and shirt, pants/shorts whatever (which really isn't enforced either).

[Boosted2003]

Im comin this time i cant wait until weekend jsut hope i cna get my fuse panel problem solved so i dont have to wig the fuse if the car cuts out drivin down to get to fire back up.. ?:)

[trip]

someone take me off the list... exams on monday and mommy are gay. i mean its only my future right?????

[StreetEvo]

anybody wanna meet up at like 8:45-9:00am sunday, for breakfast at the McDonalds on the corner of Centerville and Mount Pleasant?

[tecnic1]

I'm actually getting excited for this...

[turbochad]

Getting excited for Fentress? :) I'll be out there on Saturday freezing my ass off helping setup. Atleast I don't have to tow the trailer, especially after what happened last month when I went to get it.

[Eric16v]

I'll be on my way back for Summit Point on saturday morning.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by Eric16v
I'll be on my way back for Summit Point on saturday morning.

Rub it in :mad:

One of these days I'll be able to afford to do track events.

[Slammed Sentra]

im down for meeting at macdonalds at 9am....anyone else?

[lightningd]

i'll try to wake up

[trip]

so how was it? anoyone home yet?

[vbspec]

Sorry to say to any TSCC members but they need to get there shit together!!!!!. Too many times cones were hit and they announced "Clean run!!!". Thats bull!! We got a shirt this week, ya hoooooo, I think that money could have bought walky-talky's. Also the order was screwed up I was moved to the first, my number was 52. I heard people talking that they moved it around so that the members were in the same heat. I'm not sure but it looks like that may have been what happened. I was told that it was because of noise. If that was true why did the yellow Mustang run and a blue Mustang that were both loud as shit!!!!. And on top of that, in the 4th heat a cone in the schacane(sp) was moved and it went from low speed to a straight shot. I pointed that out and they said "What do you want us to start the heat over?", thats a bab attitude to have. This is the second race in a points season, to not have to break in a schacane definately speeds you up. I just think things are run better by other clubs. And whats weird is that its the same people run at all the events. Any way the course was fun but, some stupid stuff happened today.

Micahel
DSX SpecV

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by vbspec
Any way the course was fun but, some stupid stuff happened today.



Agreed. Normally that is not the case so hopefully it will be better next time. I didn't hear about the cone moving. Oh, well so much for comparing peoples times from the last heat.

If anyone cares these are my times
DNF, 45.357, 43.735, 44.745.

[vbspec]

Hey Steve your car was HOOKED UP!!
My Dad and I are sitting here trying to chose all of his mods. Looks like he's going into CSP. The CRX doesnt go in STS, its a 2 seater. Oh well.

here are my times
51.589+2, 48.792, 47.838, 46.841
DSX SpecV

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by vbspec
Hey Steve your car was HOOKED UP!!


Thanks,


My Dad and I are sitting here trying to chose all of his mods. Looks like he's going into CSP.

Sounds like fun. Maybe start a thread and get some ideas. I looked at the rule book and it seems pretty basic. Basicly Suspension and engine and brakes bolt on stuff. Lots of good choices for his car. I am not a Honda guy so I don't know the in's and out's of Honda. I do know that Ground Control and Truechoice both have excellent struts/shocks and coilover systems for the Hondas (about everyone make a good one for honda). My next setup is going to be either the Truechoice Koni double adjustable or the GC Avanced Design System.

Tracy wants a ride in your car when you are racing. She says you drive so smoothly she wants to see what that is like. I guess I drive to jerky or something. Who knows. :rolleyes:

[StreetEvo]

Hey, just so you guys know, TSCC does have 2-way radios. We use them at ACU-4 alot b/c of how big the race area is. It's mostly b/c of the inattention of the people that were in the camper doing timing and announcing. It's not always like it was today. I've been racing with TSCC since Feb. and this is the first time it's been this bad that I can remember. The only real re-occuring problem that I can think of is with the sign ups. I mean a lot of people that sign up hardly ever make it. A lot of people didn't show today so everyone got moved around.

my times from today
49.708, 49.468, DNF, 48.546
STS-N

[vbspec]

It would be one thing if it was moved up in a sequence.
Like if 5 cars didnt show in the first heat run the next 5 numbers from what would be the second heat. How big of a deal is that. Last time at Little Creek they ran the first 30 numbers, which were only 14 cars. then everyone else, 30 cars. So the people who ran in the first heat had to work the course for 2 hours, oh yeah it was raining and cold. I'm not bitching just pointing things out, that common scence could change. I was also told the walkie talikes were club members not the clubs, but I maybe wrong. I have organized R/C races here in VB at HobbyTown USA, and I know how confuseing things can get. But unless things get totally stupid I'll be there I'm hooked!
Michael

[Axelerate]

Sorry I missed it, but I had a death in the family and I had to go to a funeral on Sunday. It was really a great day for racing though.

It has been a bad month for me, but hopefully I'll be able to make it to the next event at Pungo.

[Eric16v]

my times
45.194 +1
45.210
45.448
44.8?? +1

I felt slow, but I had just gotten back from Summit Point, so anything under 100 mph (in the rain and snow) seems slow.

[lightningd]

my best was a 45.8XX. after PAX i'm like 0.8 behind Kienen (who had FTD) in the stang, so i'm hoping for a top 5 finish.

as for the TSCC, yikes! I got my work assignment in the trailer. I don't mean any offend to anyone, but they're system is just plain shit. i have no idea why they have a timer system that's run by a windows computer. ODR has a whole separate timing system, right?

using a separate timing system, and Excel, that could run soooo much faster, and basically error free. it almost makes me want to start my own organization. and then when i get home, it would take less than 5 minutes to post the results. it seems like they are trying to reach around the earth, just to wipe their ass. after the winter 4, unless there are any events at ACU, i don't think i'll be racing w/ TSCC again.

oh also. apparently there was a cone out there. (the one that was part of a slalom in one direction, but just passed when you were going perpindicular to the slalom). i heard for two ppl that you had to stay on the inside of it, but other ppl said you could go on the outside (which made for a better line) that totally sucks b/c it wasn't clarified, leading me to another point....

fentress sucks for course design.

i will only be racing there 2 more times, just b/c i happen to be doing ok in the points. hell, even in certain braking zone, my frame was scraping over the seams/cracks in the pavement, and it's not a very soothing sound to the ears.

anyone want to get an organization together? of course, where would we race? I'm pretty sure Greg from ODR has contacted all the obvious places. and has had no luck

[Eric16v]

Just remember, everyone is volunteers and it take alot more than you think to run an auto-x. You should goto Nova and do an auto-x there. They do 160 cars in the morning and 160 cars in the afternoon. Talk about being fed through a machine.

At TSCC, the computer is the official time, the slips are for convenience. If you can write a better program, then volunteer to do it.

Besides, running the timer is pretty easy once everyone is in the computer.

[solo2cvc]

I understand your frustration with the system at the last event. I have raced with TSCC, ODR, & VMSC and there are pros and cons to all of them. Every time I get really frustrated I try to keep one thing in mind, these clubs are run by a handful of core people (TSCC - 6, ODR - 4, VMSC - 15) who work very hard to get the event off the ground.

As far as the timing system goes, it is only as good as the people running it. I worked one event as announcer and we kept having "timer malfunctions" because the person running the computer kept deleting the entry list. I announced the 3rd heat of this past event and the person running it knew exactly what she was doing. We only had 3 timer problems because people kept walking in front of the beam.

I wish I could devote more time to the club but my time is very limited, as it is with many people. The local clubs went through a period of time when it looked like we wouldn't have any sites to run on. We are very lucky to even have Fentress and Pungo (both WWII airfields which explains the conditions).

The best thing to happen to these clubs is having people like you and your clubs coming out and participating. The number of entries per event have gone up tremendously because of this. If you or any of your members want to help make things run more smoothly, it would greatly appreciated by the core group who put on the events.

BTW, you're kicking butt in STS with your Accord.

[tecnic1]

cool...beno posted...
we are definately approaching crediability now...

[98sr20ve]

It is easy to complain. I complain but in the end I really don't car that much. If you care that much then join the club and get involved. I am in the process of deciding exactly which club to join and to actually put some time in other then course work. I am very busy now but I think its the best way to insure the ongoing success of the group/groups I relie on to race. I also saw some things that bothered me. I am not going to post them because in the end I really dont care. Its just a race and if I take it too serious it ceases being fun.

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by lightningd
oh also. apparently there was a cone out there. (the one that was part of a slalom in one direction, but just passed when you were going perpindicular to the slalom).
i will only be racing there 2 more times, just b/c i happen to be doing ok in the points. hell, even in certain braking zone, my frame was scraping over the seams/cracks in the pavement, and it's not a very soothing sound to the ears.


He clarified the cone in the drivers meeting. I heard it clear as a bell. "That cone doesn't matter just don't hit it."
As far as the course is concerned your car is too low. The course is not great but it is what we have. Its also racing. Part of racing is having a car that is set up right for the courses. Thats life.

[lightningd]

ok..

1) i came off a little hard the other day b/c i was tired and very irrated. i don't have any hard feelings on anyone.

2) i wasn't complaining about the course as a thing that someone can fix. i was just saying, it sucked scraping the gound

3) if i missed the statement about the cone during the meeting, then i did, and that's my fault. but others there too, including the guy on the computer and bobby in the porshe (911?) didn't hear it either.

4) if you take it too seriously, then yeah you won't have fun. but for the ppl that were waiting in line, or working the course for 2-3 hours, that doesn't seem too fun either does it?

5) i maybe could right a program if i knew how the timer inputted info into the computer. I FORGOT TO SPECIFY that the program they were using was a DOS program. using excel and a separate timing system if can work so much better. maybe sometime i can show the organization what i mean. for now though, w/ my street car, i dunno how much i want to compete at fentress. i still do drive the same car and tires to work/school/etc. but maybe we can set up something w/ the organization and i can show them. how would i do so.

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by lightningd

4) if you take it too seriously, then yeah you won't have fun. but for the ppl that were waiting in line, or working the course for 2-3 hours, that doesn't seem too fun either does it?


I am getting a little tired of spending all day at the event also. That is why I am looking at picking a club and running on a 2X a month basis. It gets frustrating to see time wasted that could be saved if things were done better. I keep reminding myself that everyone is wanting to race and go home. They have been fine tuning this stuff for a long time trying to make it better. I am sure if I ran things I would make mistakes and people whould be posting about that also. It is hard to keep that perspective on things. Dave, you really should join a club and after getting to know people offer to help with the timing and program writting.

[lightningd]

Originally posted by solo2cvc
BTW, you're kicking butt in STS with your Accord.

Sorry, i was at school and rushed my post. thanx for the props. i can't wait to get my new motor in there. more 'butts' will be getting kicked, hehehe :devil:



Originally posted by 98sr20ve
I am sure if I ran things I would make mistakes and people whould be posting about that also. It is hard to keep that perspective on things. Dave, you really should join a club and after getting to know people offer to help with the timing and program writting.

and yes, if i ran things, i would make mistakes also, but i would also show the ppl out there that i'm trying to get things better, and proving it. but i didn't see much iniciative from the group in the trailer. at one point, after the realllll long delay. i sat there for 5 minutes while they were just shooting the shit, and i was like, "are we ready to go yet?" and they're like "oh yeah, send 'em off." It just didn't seem like they were 'caring' enough. of course, that's just the vibe i got.

beno, once again, if i have my idea for a method, how do i let them know?

[solo2cvc]

The person you want to contact is Curtis Staples. He is the club president of TSCC. I PM'd his e-mail address to you. Tell him your ideas and how you could help. He is very receptive to people wanting to help out.

[turbochad]

I've got a few comments to add to the pot here...

First off, if you have comments about the club, leadership, or the way things are run, please feel free to speak up. You can tell me, you can email me, you can email the club mailing list (if you are not on it, hit the web site or tell me). What I would not suggest is flamming. The club is run by volunteers, many of us put in a fair amount of hours.

So, I'll start with a few comments I read. Lightningd: The software we run is called Accucros. There are a few reasons we run it. It run's in DOS mode for a reason, because DOS allows applications to have better control of the system clock and is not a multitasking software like Windows. If it ran under Windows the timing would not be as accurate as it is. The software also allows us to do things like run two cars at once and multiple laps (both of which we've done before). You're idea of Excel and a timer has a few functional problems with it. For one, pax'n it would be a pain, plus you add another point in which human error could come in to play and that would be recording scores from the timer to the spread sheet. It really would make it a bigger pain in the ass. Most of this weekends issues were caused by the person running the laptop at the time. That is definatly something that needs to be addressed and I mentioned it to Curtis this morning. Part of those issues were compouned by the fact that the machine being used wasen't the normal machine we use.

The site: Compaired to ACU4, Fentress blows ass. But it's in about the same condition that Pungo is. They are both WWII era concrete. I can tell you why your Accord bottomed out, you slammed the shit out of it! But you are right, the site is not the best. But it's better then nothing, which was the case last year when us, ODR, and BCC had no place to autocross. If you have some ideas about alternative sites, let me know, I have an information packet already to go to present to the owner of the site. Sites are really difficult to come by. (and this is not a slam session on you, I'm just trying to answer questions).

Organization: Yes, Sunday was more unorganized then usual. I've spoken to a few people about that and we are going to change a few things. I'll outline them after the business meeting. I've been asking the question for a while now why the hell we don't use the radio WE ACTUALLY HAVE. They are in the damn trailer! There's 8 of them!! I think I'm going to make a point of personally bringing them out at the next event.

As for results being posted late. This is usally do to the fact that someone has to go through by hand and double check all the information. There are always atleast a dozen people that signed up with one class and ran in another for one reason or another.

I think that was the majority of the comments. If you have any more, I or Curtis (as well as the others) will be more then happy to hear them and discuss them.. There have been a few changes based on my suggestions, etc.

Last thing in this marathon post..

There is no real membership to TSCC. The membership drive we do is basically this: You pay for the autocrosses upfront and you get a perment number plus a break on the cost. That's it, there are not any real dues. You can show up to the business meetings reguardless. The business meeting is probobly the best place to bring up suggestions comments. I'm usually there, Curtis is there, Bill, Zig, and Bridget.

Okay, I think that's it. Sorry for the book.

[tecnic1]

I think we all appriciate the effort everyone from both organizations put into these events.
Fentress kicks the shit out of the stoplight assassin bullshit we were all doing before we got into autocrossing.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by tecnic1

Fentress kicks the shit out of the stoplight assassin bullshit we were all doing before we got into autocrossing.

Yeah, but the stoplight assassin thing was fun the other day. In a rare evening outing in the Talon the other night I had a Jetta try to take me at a light. bad move :)

[roadRacer]

I will tell you that what you have suggested we had before. I have been around since we timed mostly by stopwatch (or an analog clock and a tripcord like used to be used in full service gas stations). We have been through many revisions. I wrote a couple of the previous versions of timing and scoring software, and Tom upgraded and revised them along the way. The current system is a little cumbersome in my opinion, and I just don't like the results output (Of course the output from my system was perfect :) ) but it does solve a great many problems. I think we are at a point to where if we set up a LAN at an event with one node for timing, one for registration, one for scoring/printing it could be a great system, but something like that usually falls on its face when the one or two people who have taken the time to really get to know the system are out of town. I have just always avoided getting to know the current system for some reason, but I am sure everyone has been at an event where we had to hold up the event because we had a databse problem that nobody except Chad understood, and he ran to McDOnalds or something to grab lunch.

Make suggestions after/between events. Comming to the meetings are great times to do this, but follow it up in writing with an email to Curtis or whoever. Don't go shouting out ideas in the middle of a momentary crisis at an event. When those happen extra ideas are usually more of a distraction to the people trying to solve the problems.

Accept that there are times that there are problems that you may not see. Often it seems like everyone is standing around BS'ing, but there may be a problem in the timing truck and they are just pushing buttngs getting it all ready. Just be patient. I know it is hard when it is 20 degrees outside, or 100 degrees, or it is looking like it is going to start raining and you want to get this next run in just before it rains, or whatever..... Trust me when I say that when it looks like nothing is happening.... there is a problem that is being corrected somewhere. Sometimes it is Chad has not gotten back from lunch, or there is an entry card that is lost and must be found before the timing truck confusion starts. Just be patient. The more uptight you get about it the worse the next run is going to be.

[turbochad]

Calvin makes a few good points. I too personally hate the way that the data is generated from Accucros. And that's an option. I've been bitching about it for a while because I want to see ALL my runs, just not the best. I'm working to change that now (litterally actually, I have a couple hundred lines of perl written).

A suggestion that I made to Curtis today was this. Radios, radios, radios. I think there should be one at every corner station (usually 4). One in the timing truck, one at registration, one for me (since I do know the computer and scoring best), one for the OD (usually Zig, Terry, etc), and then one for Curtis (he's the president, he's the final say).

Curtis suggested we do Run Boards. LARGE run boards. That way people see when/where they are running. Plus post all the times. I also want to break out the paddack boards again to make that alittle more organized.

Jesus I'm getting long winded.

[roadRacer]

As I recall we have the radios right? We have bought several revisions of them over the years.

The corner station boxes are still in the trailer aren't they? Each of them used to have a stationary radio in each with a rechargable drycell battery that was good for more than one event. The problems were that they needed to be recharged before each event and it was sometimes a pain. In addition we had traveling radios for the "event officials" basically what Chad described.

The club goes through cycles of people. It sort of seems that lessons learned from one group of people don't necessarily get carried over to the next group of people.

[turbochad]

apparently :) Curtis told me that we have the boxes. Apparently TSCC used to have actual CB's. I know now we have the little Motorola radios. If they need to be recharged, it shouldn't be that big a deal. As it is Curtis takes home the beams so they can recharge, Zig and Bridget take the new helmets home so they stay nice, hell, I'll take the radios.

[lightningd]

Originally posted by solo2cvc
The person you want to contact is Curtis Staples. He is the club president of TSCC. I PM'd his e-mail address to you. Tell him your ideas and how you could help. He is very receptive to people wanting to help out.

thanx


Originally posted by turbochad
I've got a few comments to add to the pot here...

So, I'll start with a few comments I read. Lightningd: The software we run is called Accucros. There are a few reasons we run it. It run's in DOS mode for a reason, because DOS allows applications to have better control of the system clock and is not a multitasking software like Windows

ok, that is very understandable. windows sucks for time, just watch the seconds as a CD plays. But isn't there a who separate system out there used just for timing? i could swear ODR uses it. it's not connected to any PC, it is its own separate unit.



Originally posted by turbochad
You're idea of Excel and a timer has a few functional problems with it. For one, pax'n it would be a pain, plus you add another point in which human error could come in to play and that would be recording scores from the timer to the spread sheet. It really would make it a bigger pain in the ass. Most of this weekends issues were caused by the person running the laptop at the time. That is definatly something that needs to be addressed and I mentioned it to Curtis this morning. Part of those issues were compouned by the fact that the machine being used wasen't the normal machine we use.


ok, spending the last two hours, i've came up w/ a template. it takes a mere 2-3 minutes to just take the list off of prereg, and put it in excel. PAX is automatically put in. it is dumb-user safe, as all the formula's are protected from being changed. only editable fields are the number/name/car/class/pax ratio/penalties. whoever is on the comp, just has to input numbers. it automatically lists the best time, and using the best time, it gives the PAX score. all racers of a heat can be seen on one screen. if you need to change the order, a simple copy and paste.

more knowledgable ppl can, find out class standings, and pax standings on the fly, and add more than 15 cars per heat (but why anyway?) if this system were in use, i'd still recommend another person logging it on paper. oh, you need a print out?? just select the cells and print those only.



Originally posted by turbochad
The site: Compaired to ACU4, Fentress blows ass. But it's in about the same condition that Pungo is. They are both WWII era concrete. I can tell you why your Accord bottomed out, you slammed the shit out of it! But you are right, the site is not the best. But it's better then nothing, which was the case last year when us, ODR, and BCC had no place to autocross. If you have some ideas about alternative sites, let me know, I have an information packet already to go to present to the owner of the site. Sites are really difficult to come by. (and this is not a slam session on you, I'm just trying to answer questions).


I find no fault in TSCC for fentress. fentress still sucks though, heh. I'll start a thread on places to race, and see what we come up with.



Originally posted by turbochad
Organization: Yes, Sunday was more unorganized then usual. I've spoken to a few people about that and we are going to change a few things. I'll outline them after the business meeting. I've been asking the question for a while now why the hell we don't use the radio WE ACTUALLY HAVE. They are in the damn trailer! There's 8 of them!! I think I'm going to make a point of personally bringing them out at the next event.

good. i've heard ppl complaining about the 'tent' now catching how many cones ppl hit. i also think the grid must be attempted to be in order. a print out can be given to the grid worker so he has an idea of what he's doing.


Originally posted by turbochad
As for results being posted late. This is usally do to the fact that someone has to go through by hand and double check all the information. There are always atleast a dozen people that signed up with one class and ran in another for one reason or another.


results can be posted in a couple of minutes. we can call those the "unofficial results" then go back and double check everything w/ what was written down on the time sheets.

[Slammed Sentra]

i seen his program tonight........its good.

[vbspec]

the beach combers corvette club had a board out at the last race. It was cool! No PA needed just a radio to a station and they post it on the board. You finish your run and go check the board, its help you check your time VS others!!! It was cool as crap.

Michael
red DS SpecV

[trip]

Originally posted by vbspec
the beach combers corvette club had a board out at the last race. It was cool! No PA needed just a radio to a station and they post it on the board. You finish your run and go check the board, its help you check your time VS others!!! It was cool as crap.

Michael
red DS SpecV


yeah i liked that also... good call

[roadRacer]

Originally posted by turbochad
(litterally actually, I have a couple hundred lines of perl written).
??? Nothing takes a couple hundred lines of perl...... You should re-think how you are doing it. Should be about 20 lines of execution and most of them formatting the output.....

[roadRacer]

Eeeeeeekkkk sorry I injected all this geek crap into a car forum.. Please forgive me. Somebody start talking about sway bars, R-compound tires or spring rates... please....

[lightningd]

Originally posted by vbspec
the beach combers corvette club had a board out at the last race. It was cool! No PA needed just a radio to a station and they post it on the board. You finish your run and go check the board, its help you check your time VS others!!! It was cool as crap.

Michael
red DS SpecV

that's a great idea. after a heat, my setup can print the results of the heat, and they can be written on the board. maybe if we had something like the PGA tour, you could move ppl around, when they change places, but that's might be a lil' too much.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by roadRacer
??? Nothing takes a couple hundred lines of perl...... You should re-think how you are doing it. Should be about 20 lines of execution and most of them formatting the output.....

Not true. There's a little more to it then you think. It's actually not a couple hundred lines for this part. When combined with the rest of what I'm doing it's that large. I've converting from the raw Accucros data to HTML. While I could do it with just simple formatting, that's just no fun, I'm doing the hardway so that it will do a few other cool tricks. I'm a nerd like that.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by vbspec
the beach combers corvette club had a board out at the last race. It was cool! No PA needed just a radio to a station and they post it on the board. You finish your run and go check the board, its help you check your time VS others!!! It was cool as crap.

Michael
red DS SpecV

We used to do that! I don't know why it was stopped. I talked to Curtis the other day about reinstating it. I liked it to. Because after the heat we put the boards up at registration and everyone could go look at the times. Maybe I'll go out and buy some new white boards this weekend. Or make some.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by lightningd
thanx
But isn't there a who separate system out there used just for timing?



Yeah, but it really sucks. It's very flimsy.



ok, spending the last two hours, i've came up w/ a template. it takes a mere 2-3 minutes to just take the list off of prereg, and put it in excel. PAX is automatically put in. it is dumb-user safe, as all the formula's are protected from being changed. only editable fields are the number/name/car/class/pax ratio/penalties. whoever is on the comp, just has to input numbers. it automatically lists the best time, and using the best time, it gives the PAX score. all racers of a heat can be seen on one screen. if you need to change the order, a simple copy and paste.

more knowledgable ppl can, find out class standings, and pax standings on the fly, and add more than 15 cars per heat (but why anyway?) if this system were in use, i'd still recommend another person logging it on paper. oh, you need a print out?? just select the cells and print those only.



That sounds great, but there are few issues. One, that would require running windows and Excel. Add to that a 13" laptop screen and the cramped quarters of the "winnie".

There is nothing wrong with the software/hardware we run now. Seriously. If you want to see it, I'll be more then happy to show it you, it works quite well, plus we already have it. Most of the time the issue is people that don't know what they are doing are running it. And they are computer-illiterates to begin with. This all basically comes down to I need to take hold of the timing and scoring system to make sure that someone that knows what they are doing is sitting there. Like Amy. We never have problems when Amy is running it, or christopher.



good. i've heard ppl complaining about the 'tent' now catching how many cones ppl hit. i also think the grid must be attempted to be in order. a print out can be given to the grid worker so he has an idea of what he's doing.


This is pretty much the same idea Curtis and I had. Calvin had a good point, it seems that things learned by previous people didn't get passed to the next people. I plan and doing a bunch of new stuff at the next event to make things run a little smoother. Radio's being the biggest one, plus I was thinking of before each heat, a 2 minute speil with the course works to make sure they understand the way things should go.

[98sr20ve]

I would be happy to learn to run the system. That way you have another backup.

[lightningd]

on the stand alone timer....


Originally posted by turbochad
Yeah, but it really sucks. It's very flimsy.




i've been informed of how the system ODR uses, and it's great for my purpose. at the next beachcomber's event, i'll present it to Greg and see what he says and if he likes it. apperently, you would like to stick with your system, and do not want to even try anything else. that's cool then.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by lightningd
on the stand alone timer....

i've been informed of how the system ODR uses, and it's great for my purpose. at the next beachcomber's event, i'll present it to Greg and see what he says and if he likes it. apperently, you would like to stick with your system, and do not want to even try anything else. that's cool then.

I agree 100%. For the system ODR/BCC uses, your solution would be ideal. But in the case of TSCC, it's not. I'm not knocking what you did, I just don't think it's the right solution TSCC.

I think this whole thread got a little out of hand. I don't think the event problems are with the computer. Sure, there have been a few times were the computer has caused a delay, but I was at an ODR event where the last 2 heats were canceled because of timer problems. The reason TSCC got the computerized setup was because the old timing system broke.

I think the majority of the event problems just deal with organization. All things I've either addressed with Curtis (since we work together and it's much more fun to talk about the club then actually work) and hope to try at the next event. Also, there is a new feature in Accucros that I think would registration go a LOT quicker.

[lightningd]

well, i might be able to offer my services, as i do have manager experience, especially with a 'in a hurry' basis. you need the right ppl doing the right things. i see breaking a pin on a PS/2 for the mouse as something that that person shouldn't be doing. i see a lot of things that can be improved greatly. i'm too tired to do any of this now, but if i feel i have a say in something that won't be taken as "just the guy w/ the accord" then i would be willing to help out.

how come the results aren't posted yet? 1000 lines of perl?

[turbochad]

Originally posted by lightningd
well, i might be able to offer my services, as i do have manager experience, especially with a 'in a hurry' basis. you need the right ppl doing the right things. i see breaking a pin on a PS/2 for the mouse as something that that person shouldn't be doing. i see a lot of things that can be improved greatly. i'm too tired to do any of this now, but if i feel i have a say in something that won't be taken as "just the guy w/ the accord" then i would be willing to help out.

Right on, then help. Make suggestions. Offer to help, do whatever. No one is going to blow you off as "just the guy w/ the accord" and I don't know why you'd think so. If you think that's the case because I don't think your excel spreadsheet would work for us, then by all means pitch it to Curtis or Zigler, won't hurt my fealings.



how come the results aren't posted yet? 1000 lines of perl?


Good Question. I don't have them. I left early since my mother was in town.

[lightningd]

....
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yawn
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results
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yawn

[RatedV]

i wanna autocross..........whats up dave

[turbochad]

No shit. email curtis and ask him what the fuck is up with those.

curtis.staples@bankofamerica.com

[lightningd]

results

http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.com/results/data/Dec2002.txt

finished a slow ass 9th. great day for jerry, finished 3rd in PAX.

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by lightningd
results
finished a slow ass 9th. great day for jerry, finished 3rd in PAX.

You need a good dose of perspective. Lots of people would love to get 9th.

[turbochad]

I did pretty well considering i was on street tires. I only saw I think 1 or 2 people with faster street tire runs. God I need to get some race tires!

[98sr20ve]

Originally posted by turbochad
God I need to get some race tires!

Didn't you get some Hoosiers?

[lightningd]

Originally posted by 98sr20ve
You need a good dose of perspective. Lots of people would love to get 9th.

yeah, but i was first in points :)

if you don't set high standards, you can't get to them.

if you don't have a goal, how do you achieve it?

gotta redeem myself in a week.

[turbochad]

Originally posted by 98sr20ve
Didn't you get some Hoosiers?

still working on that. My hookup is on his way to kill Saddam.