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Good evening all; we have had Laptimer 2000 and Brent Carlson's hardware for about 13 years. The dedicated PC tower died and was replaced with another PC. I have reloaded the Laptimer 2000 program, input all the previous settings, connected the hardware to the parallel/printer port and assigned it to LPT3. The software appears but no lane recognition registers when cars cross the sensors. Not sure if a driver is needed, nor do I recall any tips I may have received from Brent Carlson regarding reinstallation on a new device. I have attempted to contact Brent Carlson, but he is not responding. I must tell you, we have enjoyed the race management setup. Not having it is CRUSHING our fun factor. If anyone out there can help, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for input.
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Do you have the parallel port configured for LPT3 in Laptimer2000 and device manager of windows ?
I ask because the motherboard's parallel port usually default to LPT1.
device manager.gif
Are you using a USB to parallel port adapter cable ?
These cables have been problematic for others.
Mike
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Brent hasn't been around in a while, but possibly you'll find some sort of answer in this forum..Comment
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Mike and Wet Coast Racer, thanks for replying. Mike, I don't have the parallel port configured for LPT3. I am away from the track right now but will follow this path. I did try a USB to parallel port adapter on a computer I purchased when I first started wrestling with this issue. It didn't work so I returned the PC and purchased the one I have now. I will get back to you once I've addressed configuration. I hope it will be the ticket. Thanks again.Originally posted by mike SoCal View PostComment
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Does the new computer just have USB inputs? I recall that you would be unlikely to get a parallel to USB adapter to work. One way to resolve this if you only have USB inputs is to get a Trackmate interface board. You sensors can be plugged into the Trackmate board and the board has a USB output. A software driver needs to be installed for your computer to see the board. You would probably have to switch to using Trackmate software, but that can be downloaded for free.Comment
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Thanks Rich, haven't been on in a while so I apologize for the late reply. Actually, I have a parallel port. I purchased a new computer that only had a serial port and numerous USB inputs so I purchased the adaptor. That didn't work. I returned that computer and was able to locate a computer with the parallel port. I thought I'd be fine but once I hooked everything up but, no go. The computer and track is just sitting. Please tell me more about the trackmate setup. I have a Carrera sensor track that was set up by Brent Carlson to run with Greg Braun's Laptimer 2000. I am bummed that we have no electronic feature like we had with Laptimer for many, many years. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.Originally posted by RichD View PostComment
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With the Trackmate system there is an interface board that goes between the sensors and your computer. For race management a track call button and a track power relay can be connected to the interface board. The older red interface boards have a serial output and the newer black interface boards have a USB output. You should be able to connect the sensors that you have to the Trackmate interface. Brent Carlson has been MIA for a number of years and Greg Braun, who did Laptimer 2000, passed away several years ago. Besides the Trackmate software Race Coordinator, SlotTrak and Ultimate Racer software works with the Trackmate board. All of the software is available for free and will work with any Windows computer.Comment
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-and instead of using the little wall wart for my usb trackmate board, i just powered it off the track power supply. (prior to the track power relay of course.)Comment
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This is good news! So Rich, the Carrera track that Brent modified, and has a plug into the side, would remain the same?Originally posted by RichD View Post
All I need to do is connect a serial port to the red interface board and connect the other end, {serial} to the computer, download the software and we're set to go? What is a good place to get the interface board and what is a reasonable price? I am fine with either serial or USB connection. I appreciate your time on this.Comment
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You can get the red interface board directly from Trackmate, it requires a 12 volt adapter that can be ordered along with the board. I am using a laptop that only has USB ports, so I ordered a serial to USB adapter when I got the interface board. The black interface board with the USB output was not yet available at that time. The Trackmate software is a free download from the site, the latest version is 9.61, the software comes zipped, you can click on the downloaded file to unzip it, then install the program from the unzipped file. The software can also be ordered on a thumb drive.
The software is much more sophisticated than Laptimer 2000, but it is less difficult to set up than Race Coordinator. Here is an article on doing a typical setup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzL...ew?usp=sharing
You can install the software and run it in demo mode without having any sensors or the interface board connected to see how the software looks.
The red board has a DB 25 input connection and a DB 9 output connection. If the cable that you have been using with your SensorTrack has a DB 25 connector on the computer end you can use that, otherwise you would have to get a DB 25 plug and solder wires to it.
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Rich, this sounds like we will be back in business thanks to your guidance. I will purchase the red interface and continue to use the sensor track and 25 pin setup I've been using. Man, we owe you BIG time! I'll let you know how this comes together.
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