Transponders in rc boats

[Buckshot]

Transponders have come a LONG way since the 90's.

 

[Wasted wages]

I'm just not clear on the whole 1 transponder per boat thing...can't it just be moved around from boat to boat ?

 

[SayMikey]

Now days everyone has a personal transponder powered by the same battery as the r/c car uses for power. I think it could work as long as the system did not need wiring strung halfway across the pond. In the air? or under the water? Both have issues

 

[Lenny Blake]

As you know. If someone doesn't try. We will never know .I am so please you try .in the case of transponders every will have to buy their own.the mylaps decoder box is the latest technology rc cars are using it .

 

[Lenny Blake]

The wire I use is 1/8 " stainless steel wire .
Most places I test is 100 ft .
Only Legg lake is 145 ft
And set 24 to 28 " above the water and pulled tight ..
Also a permanent pole in the pond
I will post some pics of equipment I made ..

 

[Greg Bonahoom]

I'm just not clear on the whole 1 transponder per boat thing...can't it just be moved around from boat to boat ?

You can certainly use one transponder and move it around from boat to boat but it is a pain because it plugs into the receiver. The local car tracks in my area that use this system typically have a few house transponders that you can rent for $5 per day.

 

[Danny King]

It’s always amazed how resistant to change people in this hobby have been. Yet it has been made up of all kinds of people with all kinds of skills that have never accepted things once thought to be impossible. Like no nitro boats will ever run 100 mph. No lawn equipment will ever be fast and no way electric will outrun them all. But all those have been totally debunked due To the efforts of many.
But we still race exactly the same way they did 40+ years ago, except with a fraction of the participants.

 

[P THOMAS]

I'm just not clear on the whole 1 transponder per boat thing...can't it just be moved around from boat to boat ?

I would think that you can just use a very small battery to power the transponder and move that to each boat you race. That would rid the need to open radio boxes and plug in.

 

[Bill Gibson]

Having raced R/C cars for a good bit i have nothing against using transponders.......but remember this......each transponder you purchase cost about 115.00(Mylaps) thus adding yet another cost to the hobby.......so i have to ask the nasty question........how does this in any way help to grow nitro boating? Or have we decided to just race our nitro powered boats until the hobby is dead??

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Seems like the least costly solution would be to get a 250mAh 2s Lipo and connect the transponder is a little waterproof case you can quickly demount from one boat to the next in your own fleet. Or run a servo extension out of the radio box and power the transponder outside the radio box. Just have to remember to move the transponder from heat to heat.

 

[Buckshot]

They are small and weigh almost nothing. Plug directly into any open channel of the Rx. I double sided tape to the underside of the radio box lid. For carbon lids I make a window so it has clear signal path. One transponder per boat sealed in the radio box. iMBRA rules say it must be within 25cm of the back of the boat.

 

[Buckshot]

If a transponder is going to “kill the hobby” then it is already “dead”.

 

[Mike Hughes]

When I was racing cars the best thing that happen was when they came out with the personal transponders. I own a couple of them. I would buy them for my boats. I dont usually run more than 3 boats a day. So it would only be a small investment and swap them around.
Mike

 

[TJ Hammons]

How does the system work? Is there a sending unit with a receiver creating a beam similar to the setup used for time trials?

 

[SayMikey]

How does the system work? Is there a sending unit with a receiver creating a beam similar to the setup used for time trials?

you must pass over or under a wire.Im sure a under the water setup would work if the retrieve boat drivers stayed away from it

 

[Terry Keeley]

I think the question is what is the purpose of going to the expense and effort to run a transponder system for our heat style racing?

When I looked at it thirty years ago it was mainly to call the start, counting laps wasn't an issue that I saw. For car racing and FSR enduro style boat racing that's it's main purpose.

I first saw a starting line string used at Evansville and it works very well, we use it at our Can-am race and have zero arguments on the starts.

 

[Lenny Blake]

Here's the reason why I'm going ahead with this technology.
Is to help the contest director. Meaning those people who put on race's.
There a lot of racers that think they never jump start. For me it will take the human factor out .
And there's not a lot of guys who want to be race announcers..

 

[Wasted wages]

Sure, let's take the human element out of boating too... just like baseball, football, etc.
does with instant replay... For some of us it's all about the spirit of the hobby.. Are all starts perfect? No, but that's the game, judgement calls are made, and I'm good with that.

 

[SayMikey]

I think the question is what is the purpose of going to the expense and effort to run a transponder system for our heat style racing?

When I looked at it thirty years ago it was mainly to call the start, counting laps wasn't an issue that I saw. For car racing and FSR enduro style boat racing that's it's main purpose.

I first saw a starting line string used at Evansville and it works very well, we use it at our Can-am race and have zero arguments on the starts.

That orange string Helped the c/d more than anything.

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

That orange string Helped the c/d more than anything.

I would really like to see this work for our hobby,
But yes, the orange string and clip board on edge on your nose and close your right eye.
Any part of a boat seen with the left eye means your over.