first derby

[mifd118]

hello, i got volunteered as committee chairman of our newly formed cub scouts, we have been running about 12 months. we live in a very small isolated community in northern michigan and just purchased a 2 lane track for the boys to take part in the pinewood derby.
i have absolutely no experience as a scout and never even heard of these scout activities till now, but i am learning as i go and doing what i can for the boys.
the track we have is just two lanes bare bones and i have been looking for a way to determine the winner in case of close finishes. we simply cant afford nor can we justify the cost of a timing system. a simple light or mechanical indicator would do but i dont know where to start. i tried a search on the forum but failed to find anything, perhaps im not familiar with what to look for.

 

[derbychip]

there are some threads here on making your own timing system

 

[mifd118]

thanks derbychip, thats what i have been looking for. perhaps im not using the correct search terms as i havent been able to find these threads.

 

[DEW36]

See if this works for you.

http://www.pinewoodderbyonline.com/post/diy-arduinobased-timer-6952101?&trail=15

 

[Vitamin K]

The Arduino link already posted will give you a very good DIY timer. An even cheaper, somewhat lower-tech option can be found here (you use parts from two digital watches) http://waynesthisandthat.com/pinewoodderbytrack

 

[Crash Enburn]

What Vitamin K said... /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif

I just dug through Wayne's website to find the new hiding place for that stopwatch timer, found it, came back here to post it, and realized that VK had already done it.

 

[Obsessedderbydad]

Use John's rules. Dont fall into the trap of scouts where they try and make it "fair" for everyone. Just stick to the rules John has for BASX and everything will be fine.

 

[bracketracer]

hello, i got volunteered as committee chairman of our newly formed cub scouts,

In our Pack, we call that being "voluntold"! lol

 

[HMH Racing]

That's funny.

 

[Vitamin K]

Use John's rules. Dont fall into the trap of scouts where they try and make it "fair" for everyone. Just stick to the rules John has for BASX and everything will be fine.

I agree with not trying to make it "fair", because this often translates to "make the winner pretty much random". BASX rules could be a good starting point, but I don't see see a reason to ban fenders on Scout cars, if they really want them.

Also, a lot of Scout rules stick to graphite. Arbitrary, perhaps, but common.

 

[ngyoung]

Yeah I would use the BASX wheel and axle rules and exclude the limit on fenders. It has its purpose for this league but for scouting it isn't necessary.

 

[IAE Racing]

Go the the 5Kids website, someone help me post the link please. There you will / should -been a while since I've looked. A very detailed instruction of hosting a workshop. If you've never raced, there will be lot of new terms. Feel free to ask these guys pointers. You've already taken the right first step by finding this forum, It'll a little time but we'll be ready to help you on the next step.

 

[Vitamin K]

Go the the 5Kids website, someone help me post the link please. There you will / should -been a while since I've looked. A very detailed instruction of hosting a workshop. If you've never raced, there will be lot of new terms. Feel free to ask these guys pointers. You've already taken the right first step by finding this forum, It'll a little time but we'll be ready to help you on the next step.

Linkfaerie is at your service. http://5kidsracing.webs.com/cubscoutworkshop.htm.

It's a great site to explore, btw.

 

[IAE Racing]

Thank Linhafarie.

 

[derbychip]

Yeah I would use the BASX wheel and axle rules and exclude the limit on fenders. It has its purpose for this league but for scouting it isn't necessary.

only issue I see here would be the ability to inspect wheels (2.4 gram) easily

 

[Vitamin K]

Yeah I would use the BASX wheel and axle rules and exclude the limit on fenders. It has its purpose for this league but for scouting it isn't necessary.

only issue I see here would be the ability to inspect wheels (2.4 gram) easily

It is tricky. I've built wheel weighing rigs, which work, but add time to the inspection process.

What I'd do is add a rule that cars in the winners' circle will have their wheel weight checked and prizes withheld if they're illegal. And make sure as heck that everybody knows it up front.

 

[Knotty Racing]

What ever rule you have, might I suggest that you have an inspection plan to easily check it, otherwise it's not worth having in my opinion.

 

[ngyoung]

The wheel weight really isn't something I think you need to inspect unless you see someone blatantly thinning the wheels. Maybe exclude that and just say no removing material on the inside to reduce weight.

At 2.4g you really can't do much other then true the treads and cone the outer hub. I know having a rule that you don't have a means to enforce can lead to people not following said rule. For this one you can usually visually inspect the inside of the wheels and feel with your finger if it has material removed.

 

[IAE Racing]

The wheel weight really isn't something I think you need to inspect unless you see someone blatantly thinning the wheels. Maybe exclude that and just say no removing material on the inside to reduce weight. At 2.4g you really can't do much other then true the treads and cone the outer hub. I know having a rule that you don't have a means to enforce can lead to people not following said rule. For this one you can usually visually inspect the inside of the wheels and feel with your finger if it has material removed.

+1 Suggesting this weight gives people an idea of what type of wheel thy can buy, if allowed to do so. Last year I was able to sort a set just between 2.4 ad 2.5. Where I'm headed is it would give room for an out of box set that is well prepped to compete. if you went with 2.0s I'm not sure if the best prep OOB could keep up forcing everyone to buy wheels. Might be good for the venders.....

 

[IAE Racing]

I'll try to not over soap here. Most importantly, KEEP IT FUN!