aroundomaha
Ready to race!
- Location
- Nebraska
In case it is of interest, helpful, or people have better ways to do it, I'm sharing my relatively short journey to logging my autocross events. My goal is to use data acquisition to improve my autocross driving.
For my setup, I decided to use TrackAddict. I'm not competitive yet in my autocross driving so my goal is to get better. With that in mind, I decided against more expensive systems such as SoloStorm or RaceCapture. The components can be reused for SoloStorm, so there is nothing lost if I decide to move to that app later.
My pieces/parts:
Before I knew the details I bought TrackAddict Pro upgrade for my iPhone, but used the free version on my Android. I transfer the files via wifi to my iPad to look at them on a larger screen.
I didn't have the QStarz GPS for my first event and relied on the internal phone GPS. That's ok since it allowed me to get somewhat familiar with how to program the start and end points for the autocross course.
The good
Comparing runs is helpful, though I don't tend to look at them after each run. Both events I ran with TrackAddict were back to back, so I was staging again right after finishing each run. Capturing the video is nice, but for my use for that has primarily been to share them with people. I've found it useful to compare some of my first event runs against later events to see how my skills are progressing.
The Bad
My TrackAddict QStarz Tips
Here is what I found and recommend if this setup interests you.
TrackAddict: I didn't find getting the autocross course mapped intuitively obvious. I thought I had to map the course by walking it. Now I just mark the start and the end, then drive it. I like the app for now but may look at harder core stuff like SoloStorm if I become more serious about autocross later on.
QStarz Q818XT: The external GPS gave me fits for a couple of weeks. It turned out that the 10HZ rate for position data was overwhelming the rate I could ingest on my phone. This data overload resulted in the GPS connection to TrackAddict being unstable; often losing sync. There is a specific setting called "GV" that isn't needed for this application. Once I turned GV off by setting it to 0 (zero) the data rate went down to 20%. The result was that I quit losing solid GPS signal in TrackAddict. In the default setting I found the QStarz unusual at 10HZ. The next trick I did was to remap the 1 HZ setting to be 5 HZ. This gives me the option of having a fallback config in case 10HZ isn't working well for some reason. After making the modification to 10HZ mode and configuring 5HZ mode, I have not lost GPS sync during my testing.
Here is a shot of my setup with the QStarz dash-mounted via double-sided tape. TrackAddict shows perfect GPS and OBD sync (hard to see in this photo). After modifying the 818XT configuration I no longer lose sync, and both BlueTooth connections remain solid.
For my setup, I decided to use TrackAddict. I'm not competitive yet in my autocross driving so my goal is to get better. With that in mind, I decided against more expensive systems such as SoloStorm or RaceCapture. The components can be reused for SoloStorm, so there is nothing lost if I decide to move to that app later.
My pieces/parts:
- Samsung Note 8 (free since Samsung sent it to me for my work)
- OBDLink MX+ ($79.95)
- QStarz BT-Q818XT ($80.46)
- Panavise 809 mount ($29.99)
- Vanstar Tripod mount adapter ($7)
- TrackAddict Pro ($9)
Before I knew the details I bought TrackAddict Pro upgrade for my iPhone, but used the free version on my Android. I transfer the files via wifi to my iPad to look at them on a larger screen.
I didn't have the QStarz GPS for my first event and relied on the internal phone GPS. That's ok since it allowed me to get somewhat familiar with how to program the start and end points for the autocross course.
The good
Comparing runs is helpful, though I don't tend to look at them after each run. Both events I ran with TrackAddict were back to back, so I was staging again right after finishing each run. Capturing the video is nice, but for my use for that has primarily been to share them with people. I've found it useful to compare some of my first event runs against later events to see how my skills are progressing.
The Bad
- Technology can be distracting. At my last event the course was complex and I farted around so much with the apps and gadgets that my prep time wasn't focused. The net result was that I got 100% lost on my first run.
- Fidgety Tech: I had some difficulties getting both OBDLink and QStarz consistently synced via BlueTooth. I'd lose external GPS and have to manually get it synced again. When I did that it resulted in the OBDLink having to sync again also. I found the root cause for inconsistent GPS sync and will detail that below.
My TrackAddict QStarz Tips
Here is what I found and recommend if this setup interests you.
TrackAddict: I didn't find getting the autocross course mapped intuitively obvious. I thought I had to map the course by walking it. Now I just mark the start and the end, then drive it. I like the app for now but may look at harder core stuff like SoloStorm if I become more serious about autocross later on.
QStarz Q818XT: The external GPS gave me fits for a couple of weeks. It turned out that the 10HZ rate for position data was overwhelming the rate I could ingest on my phone. This data overload resulted in the GPS connection to TrackAddict being unstable; often losing sync. There is a specific setting called "GV" that isn't needed for this application. Once I turned GV off by setting it to 0 (zero) the data rate went down to 20%. The result was that I quit losing solid GPS signal in TrackAddict. In the default setting I found the QStarz unusual at 10HZ. The next trick I did was to remap the 1 HZ setting to be 5 HZ. This gives me the option of having a fallback config in case 10HZ isn't working well for some reason. After making the modification to 10HZ mode and configuring 5HZ mode, I have not lost GPS sync during my testing.
Here is a shot of my setup with the QStarz dash-mounted via double-sided tape. TrackAddict shows perfect GPS and OBD sync (hard to see in this photo). After modifying the 818XT configuration I no longer lose sync, and both BlueTooth connections remain solid.
Last edited:
