Logging active display on C127

[the_bluester]

Yet again posting for a friend. We have most of his setup sorted out, he has a vanilla C127 setup (As in, without display creator)

What he would like is a display on the dash which shows weather or not the logger is currently running. In the standard build of the dash, are the "Number" positions only able to display numerics? Given the logger running output is a yes/no, will that display in those positions?

If it will not, will it display in the bottom section of the dash? If it will not display alphanumeric data there I will suggest he goes back to my first idea of using the channel to light a dim green LED in the alarm LED area of the on dash shift lights.

[David Ferguson]

First of all, make sure you have turned on the logging status channel "Logging Running". this is found under Functions->Logging->Status Channels.

You can then use this channel in any display selection, for example on the bottom line of a display, or in a user condition or alarm. All of those can result in the current logging status being displayed. The normal numerical representation for a boolean status is on/active will have the value of 1, and off/inactive will have the value of 0.

[the_bluester]

That might be it, I will have a look at his configuration when I get home and check if it is enabled, I can not remember. A pity it will not display a yes/no, but 0 or 1 will do.

[Stephen Dean]

You could also give this a try using the status lights on the side of the dash.

C127 Logging running.JPG (77.88 KiB) Viewed 18973 times

C127 Logging stopped.JPG (61.85 KiB) Viewed 18973 times

I don't have a C127 available at the moment to test this, but I can't see why it would not work.

[the_bluester]

The light was my first idea but the owner of the dash would prefer it on the main display.

Is there any way to have it display Yes/No rather than 0/1? I was even thinking about making it generate an alarm to display on that line (Two alarms possibly) with an alarm generated by a "Logger running = no" condition displaying alarm text "No" and a separate alarm for "Yes" displaying in the same location. The alarms would never be generated together given they are mutually exclusive.

But as with many things in a dash so configurable, there may well be a much simpler way of generating that text for display, is there one I have missed?

If there is no non-roundabout way to do this, could that be a feature request. Generation of a Yes/No logger running output for display as plain text in any of the normally configurable positions?

There is one thing to be said for all the work I am doing on my mates car, when I get my own C127 and PDM (Hopefully in the coming months) I should have put most of the learning time into his setup and have my own up and running quite quickly.

[the_bluester]

A follow up question, if I set a "Beacon" button up for him, is this an input which will tag a GPS beacon location for him when he takes the car to a new track so that the dash will begin calculating lap times, running, last, predicted etc?

If that is not how I should set that up, what is the best way to go about it, his intent will be to use the GPS mapping only for lap times and not have a physical beacon and receiver on the car.

[the_bluester]

I am the asker of many questions today. If the session is reset, as well as resetting the session timer and number of laps, does this generate a new log file (As per some other manufacturers loggers) or do I need to tell him to download his logged data often unless he wants big messy log files containing the information of many runs?

If the session reset produces a new log file then I will create a new function for him to reset the session each time the car is started to break up the log files into more useful chunks. for what he is doing there is currently no real benefit to having a running session time for a practice session or similar.

[David Ferguson]

Nothing creates a new log file, except downloading that data.

As a driver, I find the session timer extremely useful. I can make decisions, like to I have enough time left in this session to come in and make a change. Or if a black-flag-all presents itself, should I get ready to go out again, or is the session essentially over, and I can get back to the paddock to work on the car.

With your C127, the GPS data for all the tracks is loaded all the time, and lap timing occurs automatically. There is no reason to have a button-pushing mechanism, unless you just want to make it work that way.

Good Luck

[the_bluester]

EDIT: Rephrase my question. If I create a new track map in i2 from GPS data, including a beacon location, after making sure it is saved in the appropriate spot, will the dash manager software load that to the dash? The "Circuit" we were at on the weekend is on an airfield and is not included in the list of tracks from Motec. Which does not surprise me. It is a formal track with track license from CAMS but it set up only a couple of times a year for sprint days. It is on the RAAF base at Sale.

If creating that track map in i2 means it will be permanently loaded as well then we will reassign the beacon button to do something else as it is not much of an impost to go out for a few data collection laps to build a track map, place the beacon in i2 and be done with it. Just about anywhere else he will take the car is included in the tracks list. The only other one I can think of that is not listed is the Bryant Park hillclimb in Gippsland.



One thing is for sure though, finally getting my hands on his gear and working on it even for a limited time and seeing how it operates has sold me on actually getting my own. Streets ahead of my current IQ3 dash.

[David Ferguson]

The track map you create in I2 doesn't do anything with the dash.

Only the Dash Manager affects what's in the dash. To add a GPS location, you use the functions in "File->Edit Details.. then click the "Manage Venues" button. Here you can add/import and remove the tracks from the list the dash will use. When you transmit a config the details are updated.

Try using the "Help" button in the software -- usually there really is useful help found there.

If you were just to spend a few hours reading through that or the help topics, I think you would find that many of your questions would be answered.