2004 Pinecar Derby

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Livonia, Michigan

January 25 , 2004

Warning! Technical Track Talk

Infrared (IR) sensors were installed at the finish line.
IR emitters above the track and IR detectors in the track itself.
When a car breaks the light beam, it triggers a signal to the PC computer.

Sensor module circuit board after etching and drilling.

Wired up and ready to go! This box was mounted next to the IR emitters on the finish line tower. Besides the additional diagnostic lane sensor LEDs, a socket is available for selecting different lanes (with jumpers) in case of a bad lane or sensor during the race.

Green power, 8 red lane sensors, and the start switch LEDs active. The plastic case is an from an old power transformer. Almost all parts were in stock (I have a fabulous junk/electronics collection)

A micro switch was used on the starting handle rod to initiate the timing sequence in the computer.