RaceCapturePro SoftwareOperation

First time use

Installing the RaceCapture/Pro drivers

When connected to the computer over USB, RaceCapture/Pro appears as a virtual serial port.

• Windows users will need the proper drivers installed. Download the drivers and unzip them to a directory. When you connect RaceCapture/Pro to your computer using the USB cable Windows will prompt you to install drivers- specify the directory where you downloaded the files.

Installing RaceAnalyzer

Download the version of RaceAnalyzer that matches the firmware in your RaceCapture/Pro. firmware. If unsure, just try using the latest version.

Minimum System Requirements

• Windows XP or later
• Pentium IV 1GHz
• 1GB RAM
• 10 MB Disk space

Setting the Serial Port

Run RaceAnalyzer by finding the icon under the Start Menu program group. Once the program is running, you can set the serial port the MJLJ is connected to by clicking Tools/Configurator Options.

<<screenshot of Tools / Configurator Options>>

• To find out what COM port Windows assigned to RaceCapture/Pro, open Device Manger by finding 'My Computer', right-click and select Properties. From this window you will be able to access Device Manager.

Expand the 'Ports (COM & LPT)' to see the list of installed COM ports.

<<Replace this with screenshot of RaceCapture/Pro listed under COM ports>>

Once you're certain which COM port was assigned to RaceCapture/Pro, select this value in the options dialog.

Configuration Perspective

The configuration perspective allows you to read and write the RaceCapture/Pro configuration settings.

To enable this perspective, click the wrench icon in the RaceAnalyzer toolbar.

Reading Configuration

To Read the current RaceCapture/Pro configuration connect the RaceCapture/Pro unit to the computer over USB and then click the "Read" button at the bottom of the window.

GPS Configuration

GPS Installed

Check this if the GPS unit is installed on RaceCapture/Pro.

Start/Finish Line and Split Time targets

RaceCapture/Pro can track Lap Counts, Lap times and Split Times by specifying a target on the earth using GPS coordinates.

To set either the Start/Finish or Split time target specify the latitude, longitude and target radius in the Start/Finish Line section.

• PROTIP: You can fetch the start/finish line GPS coordinates using google maps or similar.

The GPS target is defined as a circle with a radius. Currently this radius is in degrees of latitude/longitude. Future versions of software this will be converted to an actual radius measured in distance (feet or meters). We currently recommend a value between 0.0001 and .0005 degrees, which is about 30 to 60 feet radius, depending on the latitude of the target

GPS Channels

Channel	Description
Latitude/Longitude	Position on the earth. It's recommended you specify the same sample rates for both channels.
Speed	This is ground speed in MPH as measured by the GPS module.
Time	Time of day, expressed as seconds since midnight.
GpsSats	The number of GPS satellites in view - an indicator of GPS signal quality. Usually this channel will be disabled.
LapCount	The number of laps detected by RaceCapture/Pro since the start of the datalogging session. The Start/Finish Line target configuration must be set to use this feature. We recommend a sample rate of 1Hz on this channel.
LapTime	Indicates last lap time. This also requires a configured Start/Finish line target, and also 1Hz on the sample rate.
SplitTime	Indicates the last calculated split time, which is the time elapsed between the Start/Finish line and the Split Time

Analog Inputs

RaceCapture supports 7 0-5v analog sensor inputs, and 1 internal analog input (channel 8) dedicated to measuring battery voltage.

Each channel can be set with channel name, units, sample rate and a way to configure how the sensor is scaled to a real world value.

Channel Name

Select channel name for your analog input from the drop down list, or you can specify your own channel name up to a maximum of 10 characters.

• We recommend selecting from the standard list of channel names when possible to be most compatible with the current and future features of RaceAnalyzer and related software.

Units

Specify the units for your channel, such as Degrees, PSI, Volts, etc.

Sample Rate

Select the sample rate for the specified channel. You can select any combination of sample rates for the channels you enable.

Logging Precision

This configures the precision of the values written to the log file. The default logging precision is usually a good starting point.

Advanced Settings

The advanced analog settings allows you to map the raw value read by the sensor to a meaningful, real-world value that will be written to your log files.

To configure the scaling click the Advanced [...] button for the channel you're working with. You will be presented with 3 options:

• Raw Value

This writes the raw value read from the analog-digital converter (ADC) right to the log file, without any processing.

• Simple Linear Scaling

This applies a linear scaling multiplier to the 0-1023 raw value read from the analog input. The default scaling of 0.0049 provides a 0-5V value that will be written to the log file.

For example: 512 raw value * 0.0049 scaling = 2.5V

• Mapped Value

This option allows you to create a 5 point map to describe a non-linear sensor curve. Linear interpolation is performed between the points on the map to provide smooth conversion across the range.

You can use this option to log real world values from devices such as temperature sensors, fuel level senders, oil pressure sensor, and more.

Configure the Scaling Map by editing the values in the table above the graph.

• • The row labeled Raw in the table represents the value read from the analog input port. By default, the points are equally distributed across the range, but you can change the values to change the shape of your curve.
  • The row labeled Scaled in the table represents the value RaceCapture will map for the corresponding raw value. You can specify a positive or negative floating point number here.

Pulse Inputs

RaceCapture/Pro supports 3 pulse input channels which can be used to measure RPM, wheel speed, injector pulse widths, and other signals which produce a square wave or periodic pulses.

Channel Name

Select channel name for your pulse/timer input from the drop down list, or you can specify your own channel name up to a maximum of 10 characters.

• We recommend selecting from the standard list of channel names when possible to be most compatible with the current and future features of RaceAnalyzer and related software.

Units

Specify the units for your channel, such as RPM, MPH, etc.

Sample Rate

Select the sample rate for the specified channel. You can select any combination of sample rates for the channels you enable.

Logging Precision

This configures the precision of the values written to the log file. The default logging precision is usually a good starting point.

Advanced Settings

The advanced settings allow you configure the way the pulse is logged- either in rate, like RPM, or in duration, like milliseconds. You can also configure additional options for further tuning the pulse input capabilities.

• Pulse Mode

Select the mode in which the logger should process the measured pulses. You can select RPM, Frequency, or pulse durations in either milliseconds or microseconds format.

• Timer Options

This setting configures the internal sampling rate for the timer that measures the input pulse. A smaller divider represents a faster sampling rate, which will allow measurements of faster pulse rates / higher frequencies. For most applications the default CLOCK / 128 should be used. Note: in the future this concept may change to sample rate measured in Hz

• Pulse Per Revolution

When measuring rotational speed, like RPM or wheel speed, you can specify the number of pulses generated for each rotation. For example: A wheel or shaft speed indicator may produce just one pulse per revolution; RPM measurement via cranshaft position or ignition pulse may produce 4 to 36 pulses per revolution.

Accelerometer Inputs

RaceCapture/Pro provides a high precision 3-axis accelerometer to measure vehicle dynamics plus yaw sensor to measure angular rotation suitable for measuring understeer and oversteer conditions. You can configure the channel mappings to accommodate various mounting positions as well as configure the neutral, zero value of the system after mounting.

Channel Name

Select the name of the accelerometer channel from the drop down list, or you can specify your own channel name up to a maximum of 10 characters.

• We recommend selecting from the standard list of channel names when possible to be most compatible with the current and future features of RaceAnalyzer and related software.

Units

Specify the units for your channel- in this case, G (for G-force)

Sample Rate

Select the sample rate for the specified channel. You can select any combination of sample rates for the channels you enable.

Mode

You can invert the selected channel to allow for mounting upside down (Z and X axis inversion) and backwards (X axis inversion)

Mapping

You can map the physical accelerometer axis to the logged channel. For example: If RaceCapture/Pro was mounted vertically on edge, parallel with the length of the vehicle, you would:

• Map AccelX to the accelerometer Z axis
• Map AccelZ to the accelerometer X axis
• and AccelZ would remain mapped to the accelerometer Y axis.

Zero Value

You can manually change the neutral / zero value for the accelerometer and yaw channels.

Coming soon: The firmware has the ability to auto-calibrate the zero value; RaceAnalyzer will have a feature to do this automatically

Yaw Channel

For best results with the yaw sensor we recommend mounting RaceCapture/Pro flat (either right side up or down) and as near the center of the vehicle as possible. If mounted upside down, be sure to set the yaw channel's mode setting to 'inverted'.

<<todo: add graphic of RaceCapture/Pro orientation for accelerometer channels>>