Design Race Track Safety Lighting

[MikeInVegas]

Short background story, I help run the local go kart track and this year we are putting in a track safety lighting system that the starter can control from the flag stand.

We're going to divide the track into 6 zones, and at the beginning of each zone we'll put up a par64 led light. Obviously the idea is to be able to switch those lights from green, to red, to yellow, all from a single console.

Right now we're in the testing phase so we have purchased 2 lights, some DMX cables, and an Elation DMX Operator. The controller is based on the recommendation of the guy at Guitar Center after telling him what we're doing.

I've got it set up, but the operation is pretty involved. I'm basically using different banks for different zones on the track so that when we want to light up zone 3 and 5 in yellow, the other zones stay green. So that scenario is one of 18 which will allow us to have one or two cautions, and the rest green.

Hopefully you can see the confusion setting in!

Ideally what I'd like to be able to do is have my fixtures on individual buttons, and then have red, green, and yellow as scenes. We would start the race under all green, and if there was a caution in turn 4 I could quickly select fixture 4 and then press the yellow scene button, leaving all the others at green. Then when the caution clears, select fixture 4 again and press the green button.

Is this possible with the type of controller the Elation is, or is there a different type I should be looking at?

Thanks for any input.

 

[TimMiller]

What lights did you purchase? How many dmx channels and what does each channel control on the fixture?
What I am thinking is the scene setter may be a better option. What I would do is tape out the board so you have the 1st 3 faders for green yellow and red for zone 1. The next three for zone 2 and so on. You can patch any if the 24 channels to any dmx address so you can skip any strobe functions in the lights. You can then setup program scenes in so that you have control of each zone then control of all of the zones at once.

 

[MikeInVegas]

What lights did you purchase? How many dmx channels and what does each channel control on the fixture?

I got Venue Slim Par64's. They are 3 or 7 channel fixtures, I have them set to 7. The channel control is pretty normal with 1-3 being RGB, then the other 4 being different things like strobe, afde, etc.

To make it easier for the drives to recognize a yellow, I'd like to have the yellow be a flashing yellow.

 

[JChenault]

Well
Our product could be set up to give you a page of buttons on a touch screen. Say one button to turn all green, six sets of buttons ( red, yellow, green ) for each zone Etc. This would be a very easy and intuitive control for your operator.

If you are interested shoot me a PM

 

[DrPinto]

I'm concerned about the fixtures you're using. The lights are not made for outdoor use. Rain and dirt would ruin them in no time. They may also be difficult to see in direct sunlight. I would go with simple colored outdoor flood light bulbs and waterproof sockets from the local hardware store or home improvement center.

 

[Wood4321]

I'm concerned about the fixtures you're using. The lights are not made for outdoor use. Rain and dirt would ruin them in no time. They may also be difficult to see in direct sunlight. I would go with simple colored outdoor flood light bulbs and waterproof sockets from the local hardware store or home improvement center.

I concur 100%.
You need to make sure you are using fixtures that are rated for outdoor use. Any sort of fixture with electronics such as a LED par will not last long with any sort of moisture.
Not to mention the safety issues.

 

[MikeInVegas]

I'm concerned about the fixtures you're using. The lights are not made for outdoor use. Rain and dirt would ruin them in no time. They may also be difficult to see in direct sunlight. I would go with simple colored outdoor flood light bulbs and waterproof sockets from the local hardware store or home improvement center.

I concur 100%.
You need to make sure you are using fixtures that are rated for outdoor use. Any sort of fixture with electronics such as a LED par will not last long with any sort of moisture.
Not to mention the safety issues.

Very valid concerns for sure. We'll definitely look into outdoor rated fixtures if this works. Luckily here in Vegas we don't have much rain to worry about since it basically only rains about 5-10 times a year for a grand total of 3 inches of annual rainfall! It's the heat that we have to deal with! Also we don't race in the rain.

So assuming this works, and we get some outdoor rated fixtures, is there any way to achieve what I was asking in my original question?

As far as the visibility in daylight, we have a practice day tomorrow and we're going to set up one of the lights to see how well drivers can see and react to it.

 

[Morte615]

I am a little curious why you are using theatrical fixtures for this and not just traffic style fixtures. Any decent Kart supplier could set you up with the lights and control system that would do exactly what you want. Probably cheaper and easier to control also. When I used to work at an indoor kart track we had all of our tracks linked to a single computer that could control the lights (and kart speed) at each track individually, as well as each track having a control for just that track. I can't think it would be that difficult for a provider to hook it up so each "light" is controlled individually.

This is a link to the website for hte company that did our installation, though this was in 2004, so quite a while ago. J&J Amusements :: Traffic Control System
The timing setup was done by, SuperSport Timing - Home they may have something that works also

 

[MikeInVegas]

I am a little curious why you are using theatrical fixtures for this and not just traffic style fixtures. Any decent Kart supplier could set you up with the lights and control system that would do exactly what you want. Probably cheaper and easier to control also. When I used to work at an indoor kart track we had all of our tracks linked to a single computer that could control the lights (and kart speed) at each track individually, as well as each track having a control for just that track. I can't think it would be that difficult for a provider to hook it up so each "light" is controlled individually.

This is a link to the website for hte company that did our installation, though this was in 2004, so quite a while ago. J&J Amusements :: Traffic Control System
The timing setup was done by, SuperSport Timing - Home they may have something that works also

Our estimated cost is under $1,500 including cable, controller, and fixtures. Plus with a 2 year warranty on the lights we can walk in to Guitar Center and get a replacement light on the spot. This is a non-profit charity that uses the proceeds from the racing to bring under privileged children out to the track to let them experience racing for free.

Overall using theatrical lighting is cheaper and much more simple to set up, with the exception of how to control it which is sounding like it may be impossible to do it how I was originally hoping to.

 

[Morte615]

Well if you want to use theatrical lighting, but still want a "dumb" interface (something that anyone can use) I would probably recommend using an Arduino with a DMX shield on it. This may seem a bit kludgey but at this point anything you do will be. And the Arduino is something like $35 so pretty cheap. You can place the Arduino in a project box with buttons and program each button to trigger each light as needed. The programming involved is pretty easy and since it outputs DMX any DMX based light will work. I figure the hardware side of the control project could cost around $100-150.

I would also recommend placing the lights in 3 channel mode, you probably won't get a good yellow out of it, but will make programming easier. I would probably look for a RGBA fixture to give you a decent Yellow. If you want the Yellow to flash that can be done in programming by just taking it from 0-100% with a second or so in between. Personally I think if you use it as a strobe then it will be too fast and possibly cause problems with people susceptible to strobes.

If you would like to talk more about this, I would be glad to help out I would even be willing to build the control box for cost of parts.

 

[Wood4321]

That 2 year warranty will be void if the fixtures are not rated for outdoor use, even with little to no rain.
I would be very surprised if those fixtures survived any sort of rain whatsoever.
Please keep this in mind. They easily could be a complete waste of money!

 

[MikeInVegas]

That 2 year warranty will be void if the fixtures are not rated for outdoor use, even with little to no rain.
I would be very surprised if those fixtures survived any sort of rain whatsoever.
Please keep this in mind. They easily could be a complete waste of money!

Read above, we don't race in the rain. It's different here in Vegas when it comes to the rain, it's either pouring rain for 10 minutes, or it's 100* outside! And I already stated we'll switch them all out for outdoor rated fixtures just in case.

 

[josh88]

Right but if they are installed and it does rain, whether you are racing or not, or they can't take the heat, the warranty won't be worth anything because they aren't outdoor fixtures. I feel like I'm used to seeing out door par fixtures with colored lamps ( like dr pinto mentioned) because those are going to be far cheaper to replace and far more durable out in the elements. I'm thinking it would be easier having more lights ( like the traditional traffic light) rather than a single color changing light because its a simpler matter of lights turning on and off. Also from what I remember most places caution the whole track rather than only sections of it, which makes control a whole lot simpler too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Les]

I think that going to your municipal surplus yard and seeing if you can get some retired traffic lights would be an awesome (and cheap) idea. I'd get the old incandescent ones, not the LED models. Then, connect them up to remote relay packs. Just an idea - I think that your concern of direct-view visibility of the theatrical LEDs is a valid one. Traffic lights have visors for this purpose.

 

[Morte615]

One thing to think about also is power, is there power at all the locations or are you running it yourself? One question is this a permanent track or a temporary one, only set up for races?
If this is temporary I can see wanting to make the system easy for whoever sets it up, they may not know how to wire a relay system when setting up. And for something like that DMX can be good.

 

[MikeInVegas]

So here is what we ended up with:

10 LED Par64 Fixtures
1 Enttec USB-DMX Adapter
Q Light Contoler Plus

We're going to drop DMX cable along the fence line each time we use the system. The lights will mount to a moveable pole that is light enough to give way if someone hits it. This way we can also move the lights to different positions depending on which of the 6 track configurations we are running. We have a DMX signal booster that we can use inline if it's an issue, and have a terminator for the last fixture.

Power for each light will be via an extension cord to a nearby overhead light that we use to light the facility for night races. Each light will be within 20-25 feet from an outlet allowing us to run a 25 foot extension cord for each light.

The system breaks down to 6 safety zones, 1 grid light, and 3 F1 style start lights. All of it is run from QLC+ running on a Mac, and on top of that an iPad can be used via VNC to control QLC+. Here is a snapshot of the current layout:

The main control via the Start Control area. We light the track all yellow, then go green on the grid. Once all the karts are on track, we go red on the grind. As the karts come around for a rolling start we press start and that lights all the zones green except for the grid which remains red. If a kart joins the race late we can control his access to the track with the grid buttons. If there is a caution in a corner, we use the local yellow (F1 style), and when it's cleared we touch green in that zone and we're back to all green on the track. We can run local yellows in as many or as few corners as we like without effecting the other green zones.

For one of our classes we do a standing start (F1 style) where they each take a starting position on the track. There are 3 starting lights above the track, and when the drivers are signaled via a flag, they the light then take over the track. Start light one lights up red, followed by start light 2 and 3, then at anytime from 1-5 seconds the three red lights go green signaling the start of the race. As those lights go green, all the zones on the track go green.

The interface as shown about is still going to be tweaked. I'm going to place a track map in the background and then move the button around so they correspond to the correct areas of the track. That way no one has to remember what zone is where, they just have to look at the map and touch the correct light. I also need to remove the individual zone reds since there is no such thing as a local red.

We tested out one light this past weekend and the drivers all said they could see it extremely well. We were out there at 2:00pm and as you pass the light it's so bright that it's extremely hard to miss it. It's bright enough that we'll probably have to dim them for the night races. All the drivers were also able to see the three different colors, and noticed the flashing yellow.

I should also note that the entire system (except the poles) breaks down and gets stored in two road cases that I set up to store the lights and cables in. Then it goes in the back of my Hummer and stays safe and sound in the garage until the next race.

 

[irace]

I know this thread was a few months ago but if your looking for Track Safety Lights I would totally just check these out RaceAmerica - Intelligent Track Safety Lights

RaceAmerica designs and manufactures Hardwired and Wireless Track Safety Lights for both karting and real full size tracks.

So here is what we ended up with:

10 LED Par64 Fixtures
1 Enttec USB-DMX Adapter
Q Light Contoler Plus

We're going to drop DMX cable along the fence line each time we use the system. The lights will mount to a moveable pole that is light enough to give way if someone hits it. This way we can also move the lights to different positions depending on which of the 6 track configurations we are running. We have a DMX signal booster that we can use inline if it's an issue, and have a terminator for the last fixture.

Power for each light will be via an extension cord to a nearby overhead light that we use to light the facility for night races. Each light will be within 20-25 feet from an outlet allowing us to run a 25 foot extension cord for each light.

The system breaks down to 6 safety zones, 1 grid light, and 3 F1 style start lights. All of it is run from QLC+ running on a Mac, and on top of that an iPad can be used via VNC to control QLC+. Here is a snapshot of the current layout:

The main control via the Start Control area. We light the track all yellow, then go green on the grid. Once all the karts are on track, we go red on the grind. As the karts come around for a rolling start we press start and that lights all the zones green except for the grid which remains red. If a kart joins the race late we can control his access to the track with the grid buttons. If there is a caution in a corner, we use the local yellow (F1 style), and when it's cleared we touch green in that zone and we're back to all green on the track. We can run local yellows in as many or as few corners as we like without effecting the other green zones.

For one of our classes we do a standing start (F1 style) where they each take a starting position on the track. There are 3 starting lights above the track, and when the drivers are signaled via a flag, they the light then take over the track. Start light one lights up red, followed by start light 2 and 3, then at anytime from 1-5 seconds the three red lights go green signaling the start of the race. As those lights go green, all the zones on the track go green.

The interface as shown about is still going to be tweaked. I'm going to place a track map in the background and then move the button around so they correspond to the correct areas of the track. That way no one has to remember what zone is where, they just have to look at the map and touch the correct light. I also need to remove the individual zone reds since there is no such thing as a local red.

We tested out one light this past weekend and the drivers all said they could see it extremely well. We were out there at 2:00pm and as you pass the light it's so bright that it's extremely hard to miss it. It's bright enough that we'll probably have to dim them for the night races. All the drivers were also able to see the three different colors, and noticed the flashing yellow.

I should also note that the entire system (except the poles) breaks down and gets stored in two road cases that I set up to store the lights and cables in. Then it goes in the back of my Hummer and stays safe and sound in the garage until the next race.