timer for test Pinewood Derby track
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I’m putting together a shorter one lane test track for a project to show how the weight distribution on a Pinewood Derby car can effect the times it generates. Does anyone have any simple ideas on how to get somewhat accurate timings for the runs? Most of the ideas I’ve seen online are for 4 lane tracks/etc. I don’t really need anything that complicated.
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I found a decent idea here
https://www.abc-pinewood-derby.com/android-timer.php
They are using an audio editor and making a distinctive noise at the start and when the car crosses the finish line.Then finding the time for the noises in the recording and determining the run-time for the car from that.
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Glad you found it! And thanks as I hadn’t even thought about The Pinewood Derby in 30 years. My cars were never very aerodynamic and therefore always lost!
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Yup, 30 years sounds about right. I remember cutting mine way down underweight, with a deep groove in the middle and then added a roll of pennies right up to the weight limit. I think I ended up 2nd or 3rd out of a hundred or more cars. I also remember getting reprimanded for swearing. When I won my first heat, it caught me off guard and I let out a “holy shit!” My parents were embarrassed/pissed! Haha, thanks for the old memories.
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Too funny. I did a science project 30 years ago for just that - how weight distribution affects the speed of a car. Used the Pinewood Derby track just like you.
If memory serves me correctly, we just used a stopwatch so the results were certainly not perfect.
Good luck! Thanks for the good memory…
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A cheap way to do it: http://pinewood.hmpg.net/
For about $40-60 this might work for you.
http://www.microwizard.com/downloads/instructions/K1_cheap_kit_instructions.pdfThis also makes for a nice Raspberry pi project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xQcbjkGq0A
https://community.particle.io/t/stopwatch-for-pinewood-derby/3486
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Thanks for the replies.
Using the audio editor works pretty good.We ended up putting a small metal bucket at the end to make a good bang when the test car hit it.
Initial testing went exactly as expected.
From slowest to fastest.
no weight / front / middle / back.
