GPS

[Terrie_Tavis]

I need a large screen GPS for the Nevada 1000. I would like some recommendations for a good, yet simple to understand unit. How much do they run??? I will need to mail order it since I probably won't get a chance to go shopping for one, and it needs to be sent directly to my chassis builder to install.

thanks

www.tavis-racing.com

BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[AP255]

Call Scott at PCI Race Radios they have it all and can st you up easy.

 

[firedog]

I agree, call Scott...I have heard that the Lowrance GPS does NOT have an average speed function. I heard this from a fellow racer, could be wrong though. I know that I would want to have an average speed function in a GPS that I was buying, might be a question worth asking.

 

[Terrie_Tavis]

Thanks, its on order

http:// [url]www.tavis-racing.com [/url]
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[TimHayosh]

I haven't got the avg speed function working on my Lowrance 3000MT...yet. I contacted Lowrance about this a while back, but haven't acted on it yet. Their answer was to turn off "Position Pinning". I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

From the (minimal) experience we have had in using this large screen unit, I can't imagine how/when/why you would use "average speed" during a race. Your needs may be different.

$0.02

Happy motoring, Tim

 

[firedog]

well you can always go back to the race times from last year at a particular race and see what the avg. speed was that won the event for your class. You can then gauage your performance while racing (keeping track of your avg. speed) and by using radio communication with team members find out if your projected avg. speed is working or not, do you need to pick it up a little or not. Also helps out in testing, can you run at the speed that is required? Just another tool that helps out and is easier than calculating the miles and then getting your avg. speed.

 

[TimHayosh]

My point is that you can't see what "Avg. Speed" says when you are driving off road. If you wanted to slow down or stop to read it, then you could see it. Sort of defeats the point of driving fast doesn't it? IMO, the only time this unit is viewable/useable is at night or when not driving off-road. This is not a fault of the unit, you just can't read stuff that's bouncing violently in front of you.

Happy motoring, Tim

 

[Terrie_Tavis]

Tim, Is it hard to read because of day light or the actual shaking of the car? Also, is yours mounted on the dash, or the visor?

www.tavis-racing.com
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[pciscott]

The Lowrance MT3000 has the average speed, max speed, voltage, trip time, trip distance, altitude, local time and about 10 other useful features. If you are tight for space we have the globalmap 2400 about the same size as the old 1600. The main reason for the new GPS systems is because they hold 10 10,000 point savable plot trails verses 2 3,000 point trails on the 1600. In the past most plot trails for races were made with between 4 and 10 dots per mile which showed you where you were going, but lacked the detail to know exactly what is in front of you. The new mt3000 and 2400 have much more detail, In fact I just finished prerunning the Baja 500 and have a plot trail of over 16,000 points with a 50 dot per mile rate so you will know exactly what is in front of you. I also added 200+ danger icons with most of the gotchas and tricky spots on the course. This unit is like having scrolling rally notes and when used properly will up your average speed. I have this plot trail available for download email me if you need it. Note to all 3000 GPS users check your software version of your unit under system setup, 2.2 is the most current and will fix any average speed problems you were having along with adding a volt meter. You will need to bring your unit by or see me at a race to have it upgraded. I put a special chip in your card slot and it auto updates your unit. Remember the GPS downloads are for help in the race only DO NOT DRIVE WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE OR YOU COULD HURT SOMEONE. Good luck at the 500. Terrie thanks for the order your unit shipped out today to Lothringer.

God Bless America

Scott Steinberger Trophy Truck #7

 

[JCA]

I have two Globalmap 3000's. Mounting in the race vehicle high by the visor is a must. Keeps the glare off the unit. Easy to read map and "danger" icons but the smaller readouts on the side would be difficult to read in the ruff but the co-driver should be able to check the readouts on a short section of smooth or in a slow area. Going through Scott and PCI is the best way. They are at most races for support and if they have a plot they are always willing to share.

J.C. Andrews
Andrews Racing
www.andrewsracing.com

 

[firedog]

All I can say is that my co-driver has plenty of opportunities to look at the GPS and relay the needed information to me during a race without slowing down to read it. I think that it is a great tool.

 

[Klaus]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.lowrance.com/Marine/Products/GM3000MT.asp>Lowrance Globalmap3000MT</A>

 

[jeff]

I know this might sound kind of geeky... but what about taking one of those virtual reality headsets and connecting it to the GPS. Most of those headsets can be run on low voltage and I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to trace all the signal outputs of the GPS LCD screen to the headset. Sort of like the Marine Corp heads up units they are working on.

Another idea... one that actually works... I thought of this a couple years ago when I got to sit in Jeff Cummings Suburban. All those screens and no way to keep track of them and keep your eyes on the road. Now for those lucky enough to have co-riders you can always have them maintain a watchful eye on all the electronics... those that solo don't have that luxury. My idea would require a few modifications and some programming to existing hardware and software. While I did build a working version out of an old laptop (connected via the serial port) I'm not sure if it could be done with just a current GPS unit. With all of the shock and weather proof methods of data storage available these days you could build a small add-on system that would survive whatever you threw at it. The basic idea is this... take the data and apply a unique tone for each type of point you create when prerunning. A gotcha would have a certain tone or even a spoken word (my prototype used words). You could record the information as you prerun and then have it replay at race speed when you are actually running the course. As you run the course you basically get a narration of what is coming up as you drive. It compares the current location of the vehicle with the data already gathered - it just reads off the next point 10-15 seconds (or any time period) ahead of planned arrival. If you get off course it could alert you with a specific tone and then start right back up where it left off when you got back on the course. You can keep your eyes on the road and still know that something ugly is coming up... it would be easy to create tones for a PIT, a high speed zone or ??? The only problem would be an increased reliability on something that might just kill you. Everything has it's downer. If I had more electrical engineering knowhow I'm sure I could make it smaller and more bulletproof and maybe even use an existing GPS to do it... Kritter could probably round up some Pomona EE geeks to build something pretty sweet for less than $1000 bucks.

 

[Terrie_Tavis]

Thanks Klaus for the link. I won't get a chance to see my GPS til we pick up my car from Lothringer's the day before tech and contingency. I down loaded the manual. This way I'll get a chance to study it before the race. Better than trying to figure it out DURING the race

www.tavis-racing.com
BAD ASS TOYS AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS!!!!!!

 

[Kritter]

Terrie: I can go voe rto the shop and play with it if you want! Jk

Kris

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dmsrace.com>www.dmsrace.com</A>

 

[Vtr_Racing]

Those GPS units sound nice Scott. Wish they wee available to us when we were running. Very nice to program those for the racers in the 500. Nice feature. Very cool...
Marc

Speed Safely

 

[FABRICATOR]

Interesting Jeff. Depending on the accuracy, a series of tones could relay even more information, such as how close, how bad, or even what type of obstacle is there. Although more distracting, lights could also work. Nice to see someone thinking outside of the bubble!

<font color=orange>The best ideas are the ones that look obvious to the casual observer.</font color=orange>

 

[pjc]

Better...

Have the GPS speak in an English accent like Collin MacRae's navigator.

Seriously, in the 2001 1000, when I rode as "noisey ballast" with Scott, the 3000 box was awesome. I distinctly remember one time when we hit a silt pile by Laguna Salada and we were physically blinded. It was like someone dumped a trunkload of silt in the cab. Witht he GPS, I was able to call the turn out and we split that scene.

PJCinLV

 

[Kritter]

"we split that scene"

Pat is that equivalent to "we shook the spot"

Kris

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dmsrace.com>www.dmsrace.com</A>

 

[Dave_G]

Jeff,
About two years ago I put together a real time GPS mapping system for the Sheriff's aviation division to monitor search aircraft out over the desert. In a nut shell, we basically transmit the lat lon ascii text on a 2 meter radio from the aircraft every three seconds. That signal is received at the base station and fed into the computer which shows the aircraft moving in real time on a topo map program. I can tell where any particular airplane is at any time within 3 seconds of position. Same can be done with a race car and monitored from the main pit if need be. During the Baja 2000 I ran the command post for one of the major teams from my home computer and communicated with the chase crew via sat phones. I also had the capability to monitor the cars position, speed, and progress during the entire race. That's how RaceDez got some awesome real time updates at the very end.

Ain't GPS technology wonderful!

Dave

"I know it all, but I can't remember most of it..."