RaceCapture-Apex

Overview

RaceCapture/Apex is a pro-motorsports grade real-time telemetry system with mission-critical features.

Product Brief

Download full specifications and features

Guides

• Jump to quick start guide
• Hardware Installation guide
• Real-time Telemetry guide
• CAN bus / ECU sensor guide
• Lua scripting guide
• Sensor guide
• SensorX sensor breakout board assembly guide
• CoilX Tach interface to ignition coils guide
• GoPro control guide
• General troubleshooting guide
• Data Analysis in Podium to become a faster driver
• Automating Tablets/Phones for use as Dashboards Guide

How To

• How to: Submit a new race track
• How to: calibrate and configure an analog sensor
• How to: enable OBD2 channels
• How to: enable sequential shift lights
• How to: get best GPS data
• How to update firmware
• How to export to RaceRender
• More FAQs and How-To's

By Car

• Vehicle Guide

By Sensor Type

• RPM

Reference

• Log file reference

STL file for replacement access door

Use this STL file to create a replacement for the access port. Use a flexible resin or filament for proper operation.

File:Rc apex door.stl.zip

Quick Start

Powering Up

Powering via 12v

Connect 12-24v and Ground to the connections on the connector according to the pinout in the [[RacecaptureApex_hardware_install]|ardware installation guide]].

Testing on the Bench

You can power RaceCapture/Apex with just the included USB cable. Simply plug one end into your computer, and the other end into the USB connection on the rear of the unit behind he access door.

• Note: When powering only with USB, the voltage reference output will only be at approximately 4.7 volts, which can cause a mis-reading of sensor values. When precise sensor readings are required, provide 12v power directly via the main connector.

Launch the app

On Mobile

• Google Play
• Amazon App Store
• iTunes

• Not sure what tablet to use? See our list of recommended tablets

Connect to your RaceCapture system

Bluetooth (Android Only)

In Android Settings, pair your device with the RaceCapturePro bluetooth adapter.

• Note: Default bluetooth pin is 1234. You can change this later under the Wireless setup in the RaceCapture app.

WiFi (iOS or Android)

In your mobile device WiFI settings, connect to the RaceCapture WiFi network.

• By default, RaceCapture will setup a WiFi network starting with 'RaceCapture', with no password. You can immediately connect to this network.

Once the Wireless configuration is set up, launch the RaceCapture app.

Verifying Connectivity

The RaceCapture app will guide you through a brief automated setup and tour. During this process the connection to RaceCapture/Apex will be verified.

{{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrx4w1Y_rc}}

Windows / OSX

Download and install the latest version of the RaceCapture software.

Windows Requirements

• Open GL 2.0 graphics support is required

USB Drivers

• Windows 10: Windows 10 has built in drivers that support RaceCapture. No separate driver installation needed.
• Windows XP, 7 or 8
  • USB driver installation: A USB driver will need to be installed. See the driver installation instructions below.

OSX

• USB drivers: OSX has built in drivers that support RaceCapture. No separate driver installation needed.

Connecting and running

Once the RaceCapture software is installed, plug RaceCapture/Apex into your computer via USB, then launch the RaceCapture software.

RaceCapture App Tour

System Status

Access the system status pages through the top left menu. The system status offers information on GPS status, current WiFi state and more. You can also get a copy of the RaceCapture application log for diagnostics.

Dashboard Mode

To view your dashboard, touch the dashboard option on the main screen.

Customizing a gauge

Most gauges can be customized for the channel and setting visual alerts. Touch the gauge you wish to customize, select the channel you wish to monitor and optionally configure alerts.

Navigating dashboard screens

You can navigate between dashboard screens by swiping left or right, or press the arrow buttons in the lower corners of the screen.

Track mapping and predictive lap timing

RaceCapture/Apex offers predictive lap timing, which relies on a robust track detection system leveraging hundreds of track maps worldwide.

How it works

• When GPS receives a lock, RaceCapture will search for a nearby track.
• If a track is detected with one configuration, it is automatically selected.
• If a track is detected with multiple configurations, the RaceCapture app will prompt you for which configuration you're using.
• If no tracks are detected nearby, the RaceCapture app will offer the ability to create a track on the spot.
  • If you're not able to immediately create the track, you can do so later under Setup.
• Track not found? Submit the track to us and we'll get it into our online database.

Setup Mode

You can configure all of RaceCapture's options under the setup page.

When the RaceCapture app detects the connected hardware, it will read the current setup from the device.

• The setup information is presented as a series of pages, by topic.
• When you change something on a setup page, you'll need to Write the changes back to the unit - they do not take effect immediately.

Explanation of buttons

• Save: Save the current RaceCapture setup to a file, for backup.
• Open: Load a previously saved setup file.
• Read: Read the current setup from the RaceCapture device.
• Write: Writes any updated changes back to the RaceCapture device. Note: when you see the write button glowing / pulsing, it means there are pending changes to write back to the RaceCapture device

Race Tracks

On the Race Tracks page you can create a custom track, which will be included in the library of track maps for automatic detection. To create a custom track, turn off 'Automatic race track detection' and then press the add (+) button. You will be presented with an option to create a circuit or Autocross (point-point) style course. Follow the on-screen instructions to create your track.

GPS

The GPS page allows you to adjust the GPS sample rate and enable/disable various channels.

• Note: We highly recommend you keep the default channels enabled for proper operation of analysis and lap timing.
• 10Hz is the recommended sample rate for the best balance of performance / accuracy. Getting the best GPS performance

Race Timing

These enable the lap timer and predictive lap timer. Leave these 'on' to enable these features.

Analog Sensors

Here you can configure and calibrate your analog sensors.

Accel / Gyro

The recommended mounting orientation for RaceCapture is square with the chassis.

• You can re-map channels by re-assigning the physical axis to the mapped channel.
• Once defined, you can calibrate the accelerometer + gyro by pressing the calibrate button, and then pressing the write button to write the calibration back to RaceCapture.

CAN bus

For OBDII operation, ensure the CAN bus is set to On.

• Common baud rates for OBDII are 500K and 250K. The default is 500K, which applies to nearly every CAN OBDII vehicle.

OBDII

You can select from a standard list of OBDII channels on the OBDII configuration screen.

Selecting sample rates

For channels that require a faster response rate, like RPM and TPS, we recommend 10, 25 or 50Hz. More slowly changing channels like EngineTemperature should be set to 1 or 5Hz.

• Note about unsupported channels: If your ECU does not support a channel, the value will remain at 0. RaceCapture will time-out waiting for a response from the ECU, which will affect the performance of other channels. We recommend removing all unsupported channels to ensure optimal OBDII performance.

Wireless

You can configure RaceCapture's WiFi for both Access Point and Client mode.

Client Mode

To enable client mode, specify the SSID and password for the network you wish to connect to and turn the client mode switch to on

Access Point Mode

To enable the RaceCapture access point, specify the SSID and a password.

• Note: If specified, passwords must be minimum of 8 characters. Leave the field blank to create an open network.

Real-time Telemetry

You can live-stream your data to Podium so you can compare and share laps and runs with your friends.

• RaceCapture real time telemetry setup guide

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Enabling Telemetry

• Create an account on Podium and create a device ID.
• Enter the provided device ID into the telemetry configuration page of your RaceCapture app
• Enable the telemetry option in the top level application preferences.

Diagnostic Logs

To view the log messages provided by the RaceCapture unit, you can enable the Poll log check box. You can copy the current log to the clipboard by pressing the Copy button.

• Note: These logs are useful for diagnosing issues with your RaceCapture unit.

Analysis Mode

RaceCapture will automatically record your session in the background while in dashboard mode. To view the data, enter the Analysis mode and load an existing session. The session will be automatically named with the local track or with a timestamp.

{{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi9nA2N87RY}}

Reviewing Laps

If the data contains lap times, the laps will be shown in the dropdown list on the right. Select the laps you wish to compare; the Speed channel is selected by default.

• Comparing additional channels: You can review additional channels by pressing the gear icon on the line chart.

Navigating data

Swipe across the data to compare various points correlated with the position on the track map.

• Zooming you can zoom the chart using a two-finger pinch gesture, or using the mouse scroll wheel or your laptop's trackpad scroll feature.

Selecting time vs distance

You can switch between time and distance data comparison by accessing the chart options, or pressing the -> or clock icon in the line chart.

Reviewing raw data

If your data contains no laps, such as data from a static test or dyno pull, the data will be present in one entry under the loaded session. Select this entry to view the data. The RaceCapture app will auto-select the Time dimension if it detects no significant distance traveled within the data.

Comparing laps / runs between sessions

You can compare data between sessions if they are in a coinciding location - just load multiple sessions and select laps between those sessions.

Exporting Data

You can export your sessions from your list of saved sessions.

Importing to 3rd party software

The RaceCapture log file format is plain CSV, which can be imported into 3rd party software.

• RaceRender provides native support for the RaceCapture log file format.
• DashWare has been used by RaceCapture customers - Rowan Hick has a write-up on Dashware integration.