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Old 10-02-2011, 06:01 AM   #1
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iPhone as laptimer--good enough?

Over the weekend at Mid-OH, between the rain drops, a driver in the next garage was using his iPhone with Harry's lap timer app to video the runs. With the app, it provides lap video, timing, a track map and indicated corner forces. you can also add a obd connection to pull in engine speed and other stuff tot he overlay.

From his iPhone the video looked great, but when I looked at a few other videos on the web,using the same app, the video looked a bit jerky or wavy to the point of being distracting.

I'd appreciate views of people that have used their smartphone as a laptimer regarding the quality of the video, accuracy of the timing and the details of their individual setup.
thanks for any help.

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Old 10-02-2011, 10:04 AM   #2
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Mike,

iPhone as lap timer is good enough if you get the TomTom GPS mount
I prefer MaxQData (CMS) over Harry's lap timer as it gives you predictive lap timing
But if you want HD video, like this: Boxster vs Shelby Cobra, Audi R8, Lamborghini Superleggera - YouTube
you'll need an HD camera like the GoPro I am using
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:25 AM   #3
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Looks good Chris--what all do you have for a setup?
How do you overlay the data onto the video?

I agree with the video quality--GoPro vs. iPhone--so I'm thinking GoPro for the video and just try to figure out how to get the data on top of the video; nothing exotic just speed and lap time to begin. Have you tapped into the OBD?
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:35 AM   #4
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detailed writeup can be found here:
Porsche Club of America Golden Gate Region • View topic - experience with GPS based lap timer system

a few errata to my writeup (please read the writeup first)
The 10 Hz GPS I intially used died and I replaced it with a - cheaper - 5 Hz unit which does the job just as well
The company (MaxQData) which made the PocketPC version then also created an iPhone version but then went out of business
I have their iPhone product and Harry's lap timer both installed on my iPhone and very much prefer their product, reasons being:
* faster, more accurate sampling points
* supports landscape mode
* predictive lap timing
Apparently CMS has taken over the product but in all fairness I never tried their version
Any GPS lap timing on the iPhone is limited by the fact that the sampling rate of the "location service" is limited to 1 Hz no matter how fast the GPS is that you have connected

I have added two pics which show my setup
The mount is a GoPro mount which I had laying around and you can see the GPS module sitting on top facing towards the sky
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2015 FIAT 500e "Nikki" my commuter car

Last edited by ChrisZang; 10-02-2011 at 03:48 PM.
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Old 10-03-2011, 09:01 AM   #5
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Thanks again Chris--more questions:

-Dell Axim(?) PDA? I take it it's purpose is to display the lap time and save the info?

-Unless I missed it, how are you overlaying your video from the GoPro with the data from the Axim?

thanks, Mike
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Old 10-03-2011, 07:28 PM   #6
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Yep it does both records the laps and displays the laps live
The overlay is described at the end of the link I posted above

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