Wondering if anyone has measured how far the farmtek gear can reliabily reach? I regularly do about 400 ft shots from T/S to our finish gate using the 5dBi omni about 10ft off the ground to a yagi on the finish and never have issues even in rain.
A potential new venue (local racetrack) would require T/S to be located a minimum 800ft from BOTH the start and finish gates ... 1000ft would be better.
I'll go do actual field testing once weather warms up, but before I do just wondering if anyone else is doing really long shots with their farmtek gear. I did also email Mike @ farmtek.
Of course, if it rains it's going to be very detrimental to the signal, but I'll worry about that later.
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max farmtek distance?
- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current
http://michiana-bmwcca.com/autocross - AXti.me user since 4/23/14
- IT Director
- Autocrosser since 1996
- Current autox machine = '99 BMW M3, pretty stock, lots of rust LOL!
- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current
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@JasonPowell We use the yogi connected to the transmitting finish, and have ran on an airport that had a VERY long distance to the finish. I would say it was around 1200 ft, maybe a little more. Never tested those distances with rain, as it rarely does rain around here…
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axti.me User since November 2014 -
@JC sweet! Thanks for the encouraging info!
- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current
http://michiana-bmwcca.com/autocross - AXti.me user since 4/23/14
- IT Director
- Autocrosser since 1996
- Current autox machine = '99 BMW M3, pretty stock, lots of rust LOL!
- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current
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With the omni that high and yagis at the gates I don't think you'll have any problem at all with 1000 ft. I get 600-800 ft no problem with my omni more or less at eye level (stupid me ordered one with too short a cord).
Brandywine Motorsport Club Autocross Chair
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AXti.me user since 02 April 2015 -
Last season from speaking with Mike I received the following information.
The console itself has a range of 300ft in ideal conditions but anything around 250ft things start to get hairy. They sell Yagi antennas for $75 USD (includes cable) and advised that with two (one on each end) you can time a 1/4 mile drag race so that's an easy 1320 feet right there.
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Member - ThunderBayAutosportClub.com
AXti.me user since June 7, 2015 -
I don't know exactly what Farmtek includes in their $75. However, you can get the same yagi Farmtek sells a little cheaper from L-com:
HG909YE-NF ANT, YAGI 824-960MHz 9dBi $38.43
I also bought an extension cable:
CA-RSPNMA004 CA,195 RP-SMA PLUG/N-MALE 4FT $17.00
With shipping it was about $66 all together.
Brandywine Motorsport Club Autocross Chair
www.brandywinemotorsportclub.org
AXti.me user since 02 April 2015 -
The Yaggi kit from us (SPS) or Farmtek includes the parts you show above and the extension cable.
We started bundling the stand as well just to make it easier...http://www.soloperformance.com/Yaggi-Style-Directional-Antenna-for-Farmtek-Timer-Electronic-Eyes-with-Stand_p_12255.html
It all depends on each person or clubs piece it together versus save a few bucks limit is. The end result is the same.
The important part is to get the antenna's on both ends up off the ground quite a bit. If it is too low, the signal scatters off the ground. I suspect that this is sometimes the issues with range on setups without external antennas.
DaveW
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@DaveW said:
The Yaggi kit from us (SPS) or Farmtek includes the parts you show above and the extension cable.
Then it sounds like a good deal for a one-stop package.
Brandywine Motorsport Club Autocross Chair
www.brandywinemotorsportclub.org
AXti.me user since 02 April 2015 -
I spoke to Mike Weds. He strongly recommended getting another yagi and attaching it to the polaris timer at T/S ... the catch is the other 2 yagis need to be within 10deg off the axis of the yagi at T/S. If I position the T/S trailer on midway between I should be able to make that happen and the distance would only be 700' to each. http://take.ms/X35sj
Of course at 700 the omni and yagi's on the ends should also work. Will be a fun experiment :)- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current
http://michiana-bmwcca.com/autocross - AXti.me user since 4/23/14
- IT Director
- Autocrosser since 1996
- Current autox machine = '99 BMW M3, pretty stock, lots of rust LOL!
- Michiana BMWCCA Autocross Chair 2014-current