Drag strip desperation
Like many folks I came here way of 3DBotMaker and my focus has been road racing. But I do want to do some drag races ... so I scrounged around the garage and have between yesterday and today I have drag strip with a dual car release. I used an old 1x12x7ft white pine board and then used 2 dowels and quarter inch thick wood strip to form the gate. A slightly bigger dowel is used for the guide the gate rides on, and an old surf fishing chunk of lead to help drop the gate.
All that works pretty well - now I need to get my end timing gate to span 2 lanes. Have a good laugh.
Discussion
Dude...no laughing here...if you look at my Elevation Trail Build Thread you will see how I rigged up my start gate...if it works...and is consistent...that's what matters...I bought a JLHKrafts start gate that for whatever reason won't reset anymore with the button...but it drops fine. That was when I had grand ambitions with regards to building a road course, but when you work with what you've got it'll keep you coming back for more
- I bought a JLH Krafts too. Ok as a starting gate but not consistent or reliable enough to give consistent times for testing. I will have to either replace it or modify it. — Zamak_Speed_Shop
Great engineering on that! Love the weight to drop the pegs. My whole journey into this hobby started just like this...some track, some cars, and a plank. A good reminder that you don't have to start out with all the bells and whistles.
Also good to see a classic drag strip...something that is sorely lacking around these parts.
Thanks for all the thoughts - for me it's all about 2 things: racing and keeping the wife happy. She's a little concerned about my recent (and continuing) deep immersion into die cast cars. Which has now migrated into the garage and is taking up a bit of space. So this track has to be temporary and storable when not in use. But like my little road track, it's main job is helping to test cars prior to being sent to a race.
My wife has allowed me to set up track in garage as well, so i need to be able to take down also as she uses the garage for art stuff. Just got to make it all join up now!!!
Great start abbeynormal. If you're handy with electronics I can share the Arduino finish timer I created.
- Hey thanks for the offer - I’ve been a free-range geek most of my professional life and already have Arduino kit working. I recently set it up to accumulate successive runs and produce and average time value. — AbbyNormal
Your start gate looks better then mine. I might have to switch to wooden pegs.
- When in doubt - drill a bigger hole. That’s a pro tip right there — AbbyNormal
- Word — JBlotner42
looking good so far! Function over form... if it works, send it!