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 LED Starting TowerT
he LED starting tower is probably the most unique thing at Vargo Speedway. It is scratch built and controlled by a custom version of Trakmate®. Aside from its other scale function
as a pedestrian bridge, the start tower controls the race. It contains 28 different light emitting diodes, going through 14 wires, all connecting to a 15 pin moniter plug in one leg of the tower. The
track table contains the receiving end of the connection, making for easy removal of the tower from the track
. The entire structure is protected by a large shield
which is also removable. Each lane of the track has a bank of LED lights overhead in the tower. At the top of each bank is the orange staging light that tells you when you
are within range of the start line. Next are three yellow starting lights that drop in sequence to the green LEDs' below them. If anyone jumps the green at the start*, it
is detected by the infra-red sensor in the track, and that lane receives a red light and is penalized one full lap. Once
one lap is completed, the red LED automatically goes off, the green goes on and the computer starts counting laps and time on that lane.
(*Red light penalties are only possible if the relay function is not controlling the track)
The bottom of the start tower also contains 4 Infra-Red LED senders
, constantly pointing infra-red light downward into each LED lane sensor of Trakmate. The car breaks the invisible beam and signals the computer. This is much cleaner than an overhead light above the track sensors.
Trakmate®:
This entire project was conceived by our club, and Daniel Groulx of
Trakmate®
worked with us to develop the system. Our version of Trakmate® was written specifically for the tower, and Daniel helped me with the circuit
schematics. Instead of four starting "beeps", the program outputs a signal for the 3 banks of yellow and final green
LED's. The red false start LED's receive the individual penalty lap signal for each lane. It's a lot more wires coming out of the PC plug, so it gets kind of complicated. You can read some old testimonials from our club at the
Trakmate® web site.
Track Power Relay and Call Buttons:
Additional to the system is a relay control for the track power, which is looped through kill switches at each end of the track for "track calls". The relay system is custom built and separate from the Trakmate® system. The 9v relay
taps off of the green light output signal of the start tower. A main track control switch allows the track to be turned on
manually or controlled by the computer. The track condition lights of red, yellow and green around the track are also
controlled by the relay box. In computer mode, the track is off when there is no race in progress and the red track condition lights are on around the track.
I tried to dig up as many plans and circuitry drawings as I could find. I think everything is listed here. I have been
asked a couple of times if I would build one of these for the public, but I would have to charge an unreasonable price
just for all of the hours involved. If you're pretty good at electrical stuff and can solder, you should be able ot build this
on your own. Hell I 'm no expert but I can read Radio Shack books. The plastic work is pretty simple too. You'll have to talk to Daniel about custom written versions of Trakmate®
. I believe the programming costs were about $200. The system has worked perfectly since 1998 or so. One or two of the 28 LED's on the tower go in and out once in a
while, but I believe that is due to loose soldered connections in the plug inside the leg. The LED's themselves really take a lot of abuse and keep on working. It's a great set up. |
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