Metronome Beeper
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:53 pm
There has been some interest in the "Beeper" or metronome I built to aid the caller timing for the 3-1 leg of a lap.
I have sent out a few of the chips to those who have asked and I thought I would put the info here for others to peruse!
The beeper was originally developed in the '80s here in California, as we were racing Q500 and QM15 without lights. This meant that the timing was critical to flying both good times and not getting cuts.
The idea is to give 4 audio beeps with the timing adjustable to fine tune the interval. The 1...2...ready...turn most are familiar with.
the original used a couple of 555 timers and some logic along with a Sonalert alarm beeper, and frankly was a pain in the a** to build.
When I started racing again in 2012, the old beeper still worked but the design wasn't tweakable to the current course requirements.
So here is the new design - which uses a Texas Instruments MSP340 Microprocessor a couple of switches and a speaker. Quite simple to build for those who dabble in electronics gadgets.
I have sent out a few of the chips to those who have asked and I thought I would put the info here for others to peruse!
The beeper was originally developed in the '80s here in California, as we were racing Q500 and QM15 without lights. This meant that the timing was critical to flying both good times and not getting cuts.
The idea is to give 4 audio beeps with the timing adjustable to fine tune the interval. The 1...2...ready...turn most are familiar with.
the original used a couple of 555 timers and some logic along with a Sonalert alarm beeper, and frankly was a pain in the a** to build.
When I started racing again in 2012, the old beeper still worked but the design wasn't tweakable to the current course requirements.
So here is the new design - which uses a Texas Instruments MSP340 Microprocessor a couple of switches and a speaker. Quite simple to build for those who dabble in electronics gadgets.