Quote:
Originally Posted by msendit
I run a SOLO 2 DL, but no SmartyCam (I use a GoPro + RaceRender for overlays instead).
Pros:
- everyone around me seems to use some AiM datalogger (various solos, dedicated dashes, etc). That's really the big one and the main reason I got one too. Most of the racers / fast people have a ton of data at a lot of paces and don't mind sharing it. One of the ways I've improved the most is asking someone more experienced something like "Hey, I'm trying to break 1:XX, happen to have data around that pace?". Many times it's a very different car (read, a miata), but you can still learn a lot even from that.
- when it works, it's conveniently set-and-forget. I still have a bad CAN connection (long story), so dealing with that has caused me lots of a pain, but that one's on me. When you plug it in the OBD port, it's as easy as it gets and just works.
- the predictive timing is pretty good. Just make sure to mount it somewhere close -- the screen is a little low-contrast.
Cons:
- the software is downright terrible. Windows only, with a UI stuck in the early 90s. Not to mention, slow. Still baffles me how downloading a 2 MiB data file from the solo over WiFi takes something in the minutes.
- you can't just step out of the car and get immediate feedback. You have to fiddle with a laptop, wait ~forever for the data to download, etc. As DYoung mentioned, a trailer with a dedicated laptop might solve this. Because of this, I also run Harry's and usually only look at the Solo data at lunch or when I make it home. For a quick, "I lost a full second at T5", it's hard to beat a couple of taps on a phone after you pull into the pits.
I haven't tried the SmartyCam, mostly because: (i) it's expensive; (ii) video quality is meh (720p@30fps is pretty old by camera standards now); (iii) it overlays at the time of recording and you can't change it after (your RPM channel was dropping data today, tough luck, there's a giant tach showing 0 in your video now); (iv) it uses the same terrible AiM PC software.
GoPros aren't without issues either, but at least they are so popular that there's often workarounds for them on the internet.
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Great info. Thanks. How do you trigger the GoPro to start recording? While I'd love to spend less than half of what the SmartyCam goes for and get better resolution too, I am wondering if giving up the auto-on integration with the SOLO 2 DL would be a regret later on. Can you give some more detail on how you use the GoPro when starting a session, how charging/power supply works over an entire weekend, etc.? Sorry, not too familiar with the GoPro cameras...
I'm hoping to hold off on the video altogether for now in hopes that AiM is working on a 1080p unit at a lower price point. Wishful thinking probably!