Hey Ben,
Good to have you up and running! Let's take care of these
little kinks you are experiencing. Specific answers below.
bthatch@juno.com wrote:
>
> Byron and all,
>
> I've been busy the last couple years organizing and running Atlanta Solo
> II events and didn't have time to use my Geez until now. Yesterday I
> downloaded 5 runs and had the following problems.
>
> * The first 3 runs only showed about 35 seconds of a 60+ second run. I
> think this was because I punched "auto" just before these runs and pushed
> "stop" at the end. The rest of the runs I turned on the palm (m105)
> punched "auto" and just turned off the palm at the end of my runs.
It's perfectly acceptable to start a run with AutoStart and
stop it with the Stop button. But you really shouldn't have
to. Check your Options on your Palm. Be sure that your
AutoStop Threshhold is 0.10. The factory default is 0.05,
be we are finding more and more that 0.10 is just much
better as it allows the machine to shut off much earlier and
more positively. At 0.05, it's possible to park in a
different spot, and the unlevel-ness of the ground to keep
the recording going. Also, I like setting the AutoStop
Duration to 3 seconds. Again, it just makes it easier to
shut off.
My general settings for most cars are:
AutoStart Threshhold: 0.40
AutoStop Threshhold: 0.10
AutoStop Duration: 3
Minimum Run: 40
These numbers will work for about anything. Keep in mind
that any recording that is below 40 seconds will not be
saved, however, since we have 5 seconds in the AutoStart
loop (we keep the 5 seconds preceeding the breaking of the
AutoStart Threshhold, then trim it back programmatically
later), and we have 3 seconds in the AutoStop loop, plus you
start moving the car before the timer, and you don't stop
heavy braking and settle down to below 0.10g for a few
seconds after the timer, you can pretty well be assured that
it will take about a 25 - 28 second run on the course before
it will be too short to keep.
So check your options, and set them like this. For roll and
pitch, on a relatively stiff Corvette, try 3.0 roll, and 2.0
pitch. That should be pretty close.
We have encountered another thing that can cut your maps a
bit short. Pull up one of the shortened maps and click on
the Options speed button. Make sure that the Lapping
Options are set for Single Lap (if you are autocrossing) and
that the Initial Max Display is set to 360. If this is set
too low the software will trunacate your map. If you find
this to be the case, you may want to change it in your
Defaults file so that all new maps are automatically set to
Single Lap, 360 seconds Max.
To set this (or anything else) to be your default on any new
map you record, go to Setup | Map Defaults. This opens up a
run called Defaults. Anything you do to that run (Colors,
Charts, Size, Postion, Diary entries, Statistics
screen--anything at all) will become the standard for any
new run that you record.
>
> * The rest of the runs showed 67 seconds of a 61 to 64 second run. The
> maps really weren't representative of the course but the graphs seemed to
> show the lateral and acceleration Gs correctly. The summary and
> performance data were way off and my speed was showing up at 160+ mph
> several places on course (this was a Solo II course and I never got out
> of second gear in my Corvette).
As we've been discussing a bit lately, it's generally only a
happy accident if an unadjusted map is shaped like the
actual course. Typically, you need to go through the
adjustment process to bring the map into shape. This is
usually a very simple process, though.
The most normal error that occurs in mapping is that the
speeds climb continually through the course, and the result
is a map that is too straight. The first turn or two may be
slightly visible, but not much more, as the course begins to
take off for the far reaches of the universe. To correct go
to the Adjustments button (just to the right of the time on
the button bar) and lower the End Speed slider. Clicking
inside the bar will drop the setting by 0.010 per click.
Clicking on the small arrow at each end of the bar will move
it by 0.001 per click. Typical adjustments are in the range
of 0.040 or less, but if you see some extreme speeds, such
as 160mph, don't worry if you need more.
The procedure is to just move the adjuster a ways left, then
say OK and look at the map. You should begin to see the
course taking shape. If you go too far the course will
begin to be too curly, or even just tie itself into knots.
Then you need to adjust to the right, or up on the end speed
bar.
This one adjuster will usually get you a map that is 80-90%
correct, and once you have done it a time or two, you'll
usually be able to do this in less than a minute. The idea
is 80% correct on the map is fine if you are just trying to
use the map as a point of reference so you can know where
you were when the specific events happened. You'll usually
want to dig deeper into the charts from there, and the map
is really just an easier way to wrap your brain around what
you are doing and where.
If you really need a perfect map, you can get closer by
using all of the other adjustments, but it's a rare case
that it matters that much. I spend maybe 4 or 5 minutes
adjusting a map that I'm going to publish somewhere to make
sure it is as much like the course as possible. But my own
maps that I use for viewing, I get to that 80-90% accuracy
level and stop there.
>
> I need some help in fine-tuning my unit to be more accurate. Any help
> will be appreciated.
The best thing is the tutorial in the help screens. Go to
the Contents in the Help Screens,and click on Wizard
Tutorials. In there you'll find one called "How to Adjust
your Maps". It will usually take you about 30 minutes to go
through the entire tutorial, which goes into a lot of detail
on the secondary adjustments. Again, in the real world, I
generally adjust only the primary adjustment of End Speed,
and I get really good maps in a minute or less.
Try this with your runs you already have. Start by being
sure all of your adjustments are at zero. Then follow the
Tutorial. If you get stuck, don't torture yourself...call
me. If we need to I'd be glad to have you send me a run or
two, then work with you on the phone as we adjust them
together. This way you can see exactly how I would do it.
--Byron
888-909-0818
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ben Thatcher
> http://ApexBenefits.biz
> 86 Corvette BSP
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