need some help with an AIM SOLO, I've owned for 5 years

[blacksheep-1]

reading through the tutorial, looked some stuff up on line, seems that if you are to run an autocross you need to program in a "start" and "finish" point. It tells you how to go to the start line and program the "start" point, but nothing about a "finish" point. The last time I had this out was at west palm, I just handed it to the team engineer and asked him to figure it out.
Any help is appreciated, also found it humorous that it has a list of racetracks pre loaded, but none that are actually anywhere I'm at..how convenient.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I am with you Black, we have had a hassle setting up the AiM system in mine ( and the new camera) and it is obvious that we are neophytes in getting stuff all connected. Wondering if , because the system is quite popular with their cameras , if we have a Superior Techie coming to the Mustang Roundup in October. Just thinking there may be some of us willing to pay someone to fine tune and adjust our systems, and that could maybe even help pay for their entry --- or they could be a small Sponsor? Just thinking outside the box , as figure with some folks coming from around the US , we may have an expert in the midst?

 

[bob]

?????

 

[blacksheep-1]

thanks, the first issue that I have is the damn thing just turns on and blinks "AIM" until the power is turned back off, no other info is on the screen

 

[Dave_W]

Wondering if... we have a Superior Techie coming to the Mustang Roundup in October. Just thinking there may be some of us willing to pay someone to fine tune and adjust our systems, and that could maybe even help pay for their entry --- or they could be a small Sponsor?

You could try contacting AIM US and see if Roger Cadell has the date open to do one of his data collection/analysis classes.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I just want to get the damn thing to start and stop, and I'll look at the numbers on the unit, I don't need all the star wars crap. Maybe there is a phone app or soemthing

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Thanks Dave W., they were going to have one this March , but the Virus bug caused them to call it off. Hopefully they will have another some time this year, though I would love to just find someone in the area that was a computer genius. I am on the same page as BS 1 -- just start and stop and get me info on a full race . The rest of the time Blacksheep and I are ignoring the damn gauges , blinking lights , etc. because we forgot our damn bifocals before the race!!

 

[blacksheep-1]

I think mine must have taken some kind of eternal dump, I've charged it for 48 hoursm hit the power button and it comes on with the AIM logo, then flashes to model number and flashes back off, it just does that over and over, no menu or anything

 

[bob]

That's a problem. If lucky the AIM guys can just reflash it for you. Maybe next time you are working with the Pheonix crew at one of the SCCA races see if the AIM guys will be there. Often I see an AIM van in the paddock. They are always at Runoffs and you can sent the unit to them.

 

[Dave_W]

From a Rennlist thread about the same reboot loop problem, Peter Krause said, "Send it in to Roanoke or Lake Elsinore." "likely the battery is tired and at threshold voltage to boot the device. Let them fix it. Seen this two or three times out of a few hundred units." and it's usually a one- to two-day turnaround.

Solo DL reboot loop? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

Data Acquisition and Analysis for Racing and DE - Solo DL reboot loop? - Just took my GT4 out of storage and thought I'd get the Solo and SmartyCam HD reconnected. I plugged in the Solo first and it's stuck in some sort of reboot loop. It boots for about a second or two, then shuts down for a...

rennlist.com

 

[blacksheep-1]

From a Rennlist thread about the same reboot loop problem, Peter Krause said, "Send it in to Roanoke or Lake Elsinore." "likely the battery is tired and at threshold voltage to boot the device. Let them fix it. Seen this two or three times out of a few hundred units." and it's usually a one- to two-day turnaround.

Solo DL reboot loop? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

Data Acquisition and Analysis for Racing and DE - Solo DL reboot loop? - Just took my GT4 out of storage and thought I'd get the Solo and SmartyCam HD reconnected. I plugged in the Solo first and it's stuck in some sort of reboot loop. It boots for about a second or two, then shuts down for a...

rennlist.com

well done, thanks for that

 

[blacksheep-1]

That's a problem. If lucky the AIM guys can just reflash it for you. Maybe next time you are working with the Pheonix crew at one of the SCCA races see if the AIM guys will be there. Often I see an AIM van in the paddock. They are always at Runoffs and you can sent the unit to them.

if their ever is another race..lol IMSA tentatively scheduled for late July

 

[Dave_W]

Back to the original question, going off memory, for autocross (or hill climb) you have to set the track type to "open course" as opposed to the normal road course or oval "loop" - that then lets you input separate start and finish points. I've got an Evo 4S but the Solo should be the same, as it uses the same software. Best way I've found to set the points is to use a smartphone to get the GPS coordinates of the start & finish when walking the course in the morning, and load those into the system before the first run.

Otherwise, just estimate the start line location and set the finish line to your official elapsed time later in the data. Use the lat Gs and/or track map to fine tune based on turns closest to start & finish in the course - e.g., if there was a turn just before the finish and your first estimate puts the finish in the middle of the turn, move your start & finish points in the data/map accordingly. It takes some trial & error but it's not too difficult.

 

[blacksheep-1]

the problem is, and why I'm trying to get this up and running, is climbing in and out of this beast between runs to check the times instead of just staying in the car .My back is pretty well trashed and I can't use the back brace in the car, so it's a chore

 

[bob]

Can you use a cellphone ap? I thought there were a few of those?

 

[Dave_W]

Turns out Solo is much easier to set start & finish line than Evo, since it's got the GPS and battery in the unit. In the setup menu, you want to use Race Mode: Speed; Track setting should be Circuit for road course (start/finish at same place) or Point to Point for autocross. Bring the Solo to the start line, scroll to the Track page (it should display "OK: Start GPS Marker") and press the OK button to set the start point. In Point to Point type Track, walk to the finish line and press OK again to set the finish point. That should do it.

The Track Width setting in the setup menu gives the circle diameter from the start/finish GPS points that can be an actual start/finish in the unit. It's how far away from the spot you hit the OK button that the unit will still trigger a start/finish. Be aware that "GPS drift" comes into play - depending on the number of satellites it's using, signal strength, etc., the GPS coordinate you set in the morning may end up being a couple feet away in the real world at the end of the event.

Then again, as Bob says, if you've got an Android phone or (better yet) cheap Android tablet all the cool kids in autocross are using SoloStorm now. At a minumum, it uses the phone/tablet accelerometers and a Bluetooth GPS unit. Or get the RaceCapture hardware and have high-res GPS, 3-axis accel, 3-axis gyro, CAN/OBD channels, etc. But then you're up to the price of a SoloDL. From what I've seen from friends, SoloStorm is very good for quick analysis in autocross, especially comparing codrivers between runs. https://www.petreldata.com/product/solostorm-autocross-data-logger-for-android/

 

[blacksheep-1]

well in IMSA and PWC we had all the star wars crap, steering input, brakes, accelerometer, throttle, g meter tire pressures, 360 degree camera, everything. The engineer, on the Porsche, who had literally a stunning resume' pretty much told me to take it all with a grain of salt, it's important, but just a reference in time, .so all I really need is a simple timer. the rest just gets in the way.

 

[blacksheep-1]

From a Rennlist thread about the same reboot loop problem, Peter Krause said, "Send it in to Roanoke or Lake Elsinore." "likely the battery is tired and at threshold voltage to boot the device. Let them fix it. Seen this two or three times out of a few hundred units." and it's usually a one- to two-day turnaround.

Solo DL reboot loop? - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

Data Acquisition and Analysis for Racing and DE - Solo DL reboot loop? - Just took my GT4 out of storage and thought I'd get the Solo and SmartyCam HD reconnected. I plugged in the Solo first and it's stuck in some sort of reboot loop. It boots for about a second or two, then shuts down for a...

rennlist.com

well done, sent it in, replaced battery, downloaded whatever they download and it's back up and running