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Messages - zero10
1
« on: May 08, 2018, 10:15:03 AM »
The IPhones appear to connect to the access point (scores) fine, but nothing gets them from there into the timing computer. I thought it was DNS giving problems, but even going direct to the IP address wasn't working.
As far as internet access via phone, remember that this has to be available at *every* event, not just events where we have a particular person with a phone available.
And, so far, the one person who came over to my place for testing (thanks Stephen!) wasn't able to duplicate the problem 
Yeah - with iPhones once the phone figures out the network doesn't route to the internet it stops giving it traffic even though the link stays up, and even if you're trying to access an address that is "local". Using IP addresses instead of a domain name may fix this just because the phone may have less chances to figure out something is afoot but likely the phone will figure out rather quickly and it will end with the same frustrations.
2
« on: May 07, 2018, 02:35:05 PM »
Are you having the problem with iPhones where they won't stay associated to the wireless network because it doesn't route to the internet? There is some documentation out there on how to avoid this problem but basically the answer is don't try - the methods are ever evolving and it seems the Apple devs frown on non-internet-connected-wifi quite strongly.
When I was working on this my vision was to run a web service that basically watched a directory and parsed the csv score files posted there. Every time a file was touched it would regenerate static HTML pages containing a nicely rendered version of the scores (I was trying to minimize server side complexity, so it was just a nodejs process and nginx basically). I then ran a light weight service on the netbook that similarly watched the scores file directory for changes, waited 2-3 seconds (because I was having concurrency problems, though likely that can easily be worked around) then it read any changed files into memory to help avoid locking issues and synchronized the files from memory to the web service using rsync.
This did require an internet connection, obviously, and my solution there was to plug my phone in by USB so it would stay charging and use it as a mobile hotspot. It is my understanding USB cell modems are reasonably cheap and operate with very little intervention, and the areas where we operate typically have good cell reception.
I am certain this approach is contentious and I recognize that but I personally felt like it was the best way to go. I had a semi-working version of this and had a very alpha scores site running for a little while but there have been new scoring methods introduced since then and the championship scoring did complicate things. Data usage was modest - If I recall correctly it was about 5-10 MB for one event at Westerner Park.
With this approach it would benefit significantly from having the file change / upload process get notified directly by mjtiming and the data would ideally be handed off directly instead of using the disk as a middle man to avoid file locking / consistency problems. Basically when a score file is to be written it should send a signal and include the raw data rather than making the watcher application scrape it back off the disk. Oh, also, our netbook had an SSD in it for performance / battery life reasons.
3
« on: February 01, 2018, 04:11:16 PM »
Maybe we all need to remove our plates when participating in an autocross event? What's to stop insurance companies from "spectating" our events and canceling policies of anyone participating within that insurance company? I guess the same applies to anyone going to Castrol with a street vehicle. You know, because a "speed contest" is the devil and will kill everyone in a big atomic explosion right?  
Not to nit-pick, but why would removing your plates help? I don't believe insurance companies can look up your information from your license plate, and I've certainly never had my insurance company or broker ask what my license plate is (because you have to insure before you can register...). Covering VIN numbers on the other hand might make more sense?
4
« on: January 31, 2018, 12:29:56 PM »
I had the same problem with TD MM, I mentioned (perhaps stupidly) when insuring my Focus that it was for very limited mileage as it's "basically just for driving to and from events".... bad idea. They all but dropped me on the spot and made all kinds of threats. To retain coverage I had to promise to not even drive any of my vehicles to an event, or to participate in them at all (even if I were driving somebody else's car). They actually wanted me to state that I wouldn't even go as a spectator but I refused and they let me stay anyway. I was so mad about their response that I immediately called up a well respected broker and set about changing insurance companies despite the new policy costing me about $200/year more than my old one (total $200 more across 3 vehicles).
Up until now the mentality has always been: Don't let your insurance company find out!
Now it sounds like that might be bad advice... perhaps a better idea would be: Plan ahead and be honest
If you ever have a policy cancelled on you and later have to get new insurance, you will see why it is a bad idea to lie to your insurance company, even if it is lying through omission.
6
« on: September 28, 2017, 01:05:35 PM »
Tangentially related question: At U.S. Nationals, they use concrete to patch the track surface wherever it's breaking up after every run day. Could we get permission from Westerner to do the same? It seems like a win-win, since neither party wants the pavement to break up more than it has.
I did at one point ask Westerner whether we would have the option to pay or hire contractors ourselves if we desired repairs beyond what they deemed necessary and as I recall the response was that they did not want that to happen. I didn't specifically ask about concrete but I don't think that would get a different answer. Perhaps they could be convinced but I haven't spent the time trying as it hasn't proven to be necessary yet.
7
« on: September 28, 2017, 10:20:31 AM »
Schedule a minimum number of events there in order to keep the venue but do not 'engineer' attendance by requiring travel to those sites for the championship. This will show you the real desire of people to go there and YYC. People have skipped non-champ YYC events in order to go to 'required' champ events in Red Deer and FtMc so the effect is doubled and this year's attendance numbers aren't necessarily representative.
Honesty with the other venues would be a reasonable approach. "We have a great local venue for a limited time and need to take of advantage of it for our membership. Therefore we need to cut back dates for 2018...but we will be back!"
If Westerner does not plan to maintain the lot it's not going to last much longer.
A couple thoughts on this: Forcing travel to other venues encourages variety and my belief is that variety is beneficial to the sport and to our members even if the travel is a little inconvenient. I don't believe a commitment to book more dates in the future carries significant value to Westerner Park, I feel like they are more interested in the RDSCC than the Calgary clubs and that a temporary reduction in bookings at the venue would certainly become permanent. Westerner does not plan to put any serious money or work into that lot in the short term, but they have directly stated that WHEN they repave that lot it will no longer be available for rent at anything close to our current pricing ($400-ish per day, they are suggesting it would be 4-digits). It is not going to last much longer, probably a few more years and it will be too severely degraded to continue simply patching the holes.
8
« on: September 27, 2017, 03:10:46 PM »
I really think this is a discussion that's better suited to the AGM and/or the Monthly Club Meetings...
- Westerner venue was managed by the CSCC not by us so the future of that venue is in their hands
I think it would very prudent to offer to take over the Westerner bookings from CSCC going forward. Chris was unable to find a replacement before moving, and CSCC has multiple openings in their leadership going in to yearly elections, including Solo Director.
If SASC doesn't step in here I suspect no one will, which means no Red Deer venue for 2018. That location seems to take a lot of extra coordination due to other events happening there.
I should probably chime in here. Correct - I was unable to find a replacement before leaving and I believe the position will sit vacant through the upcoming election. As for future use of the venue - I absolutely agree that Westerner Park is a use it or lose it venue. If it is allowed to sit unused by us for a year it will likely not be available again in the future. The reasons for this are 2-fold: 1) Westerner Park knows this is not making them a lot of money, renting the lot for these purposes is seen as a bit of a charity thing, they give back to the community by subsidizing our hobby 2) The RDSCC would likely be very interested in any additional available days. I believe they have not been getting as many dates as they would like, and they have been taking weeknight rentals to make up for this. If we weren't there to book the weekend days I expect they would really like to have the lot for as many of them as possible. It is my opinion that we cannot let our interest in this lot lapse. If the Autoslalom Director position sits vacant through the upcoming CSCC election then I would like to speak with some of the SASC executive about taking over the lot.
9
« on: September 22, 2017, 02:30:09 PM »
We put an SSD in the CSCC timing laptop, I found the machine MUCH more responsive, boot times and windows updates times were massively improved and battery life went up about 90 minutes as well. It would certainly help with this problem but I feel like the real solution would be plugging the web server directly into the timing application - a much more complicated task. If the two didn't rely on writing then reading back the files from disk this problem would basically not exist. The timing application would update an in-memory timing data structure then when an update comes along do an atomic swap for the new one so that you never get a half-updated set of data.
I'm over-simplifying the problem obviously, I guess what I'm saying is... put in an SSD, it helps a lot, but if that isn't enough it's major application rewriting and that probably isn't worth the trouble.
10
« on: August 14, 2017, 04:03:23 PM »
A quick note - you cannot change wheel widths in HS, so you need to keep the width of the factory wheels but can up/downsize 1 inch in diameter. So if the factory wheels are 18x7 then you can do 17x7 only.
I have personally crammed 225/45R15 tires onto 15x5.5" wheels - though you are going to have a lot less sidewall so that might restrict how far you can pinch them.
My advice would be to stay in HS as long as possible. I moved to STF and regretted it. I made the change while chasing more front camber in an effort to reduce tire wear, I never found enough camber and wish I had just stayed in HS.
11
« on: August 03, 2017, 12:13:12 AM »
SOLD!
Thanks everybody for helping me find a buyer! I can't believe so many people were talking this car up to other people! Probably would have been a way easier sell before the season started.
12
« on: July 24, 2017, 02:33:16 PM »
I can't think of anybody who doesn't already know about this forum so I'd say open it up whenever you like!
13
« on: July 24, 2017, 02:14:54 PM »
Where's the link?
If you are a paid-up member of SASC, you should have received an email last night. Or actually are you a member of CSCC? I passed on info to Chris but maybe he has not passed it on yet?
Otherwise, I'll open it up for the general public later today.
R
Unfortunately we do not have a mailing list for CSCC members. I could send it out to everybody through MSR but I believe about 90% of the people who attend our events also attend yours and I'd just be spamming them. Can we just throw the link up on our forum?
14
« on: July 22, 2017, 06:12:08 PM »
Zack - the price is not super firm it was a best guess at what I thought the value would be. I'm sending you an email right away.
Stephen - So tempting but 50-60% life RE-71Rs for a challenge event?... We'd have to bring more tires!!
15
« on: July 14, 2017, 10:37:32 PM »
Camber bolts are not legal in Street class unless explicitly documented by the vehicle manufacturer as an authorized repair method for non-competition purposes.
For most cars that means they're not legal, but in the early 2000s at least, Toyota made camber bolts available for a number of their cars for collision repair purposes, so on those cars (including the Celica and MR2 Spyder) the Toyota bolts are legal.
Well, today I learned! Section 13.8.B Both the front and rear suspension may be adjusted through their designed
range of adjustment by use of factory adjustment arrangements or
by taking advantage of inherent manufacturing tolerances. This encom- passes both alignment and ride height parameters if such adjustments are
provided by the standard components and specified by the factory as normal
methods of adjustment. However, no suspension part may be modified
for the purpose of adjustment unless
And Section 13.8.E If offered by the manufacturer for a particular model and year, the use of
shims, special bolts, removal of material to enlarge mounting holes, and
similar methods are allowed and the resulting alignment settings are permitted
even if outside the normal specification or range of specifications
recommended by the manufacturer. If enlarging mounting holes is spe- cifically authorized but no material removal limits are specified, material
removal is restricted to the amount necessary to achieve the maximum
factory alignment specification.
If the factory specs the bolts or modifications as a normal method of adjustment you can go as crazy as you want!
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