Eagle Car Data Recorder User Manual

Instruction Manual for the USB Car Data Recorder

Patent Pending

Document Version 2.6, Model # CDR-01

Thank you for your purchase! This instruction manual will guide you through the installation and operation of your Car Data Recorder.

Please read the entire manual carefully before proceeding. If, after you read the manual (including the Troubleshooting sections!) you have further questions or problems, please visit our web support page for additional support options, at http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Support/support.html. Note that the latest version of this manual is available in PDF form from the Support page of our website.

Intended Uses

The system is intended for use exclusively in model cars. Using the system for other applications is not supported. Further, using

the System in situations where its use or failure could result in loss of life, bodily injury or property damage is expressly prohibited.

Steps to Follow

Installation and use of the Car Data Recorder will be quite easy and enjoyable if you follow these few steps:

1. Read through the manual to understand the warnings, determine what parameters you want to log, etc.

2. Install the Recorder in your model, as described in the Recorder Installation section below. Pay special attention to the

polarity and plug-in location of the sensors, since some of the plugs will fit in more than one location!

3. Install and configure the Windows software as described in the Windows installation section below. Note that you will need

to bring your model near your computer for this step.

4. Bench and range test your model, and have fun!

Packing List

Your package should include the following: Car Data Recorder, 2 ‘Y’ Cables, 1 Temperature Sensor, 1 RPM sensor, 4 tiny magnets, Custom USB Cable, and CD-ROM.

Installation of the Recorder

NOTE: The recorder’s label has a handy color coded means of indicating the polarity of the various connectors. The red dots on the label, which are on only one side of the text corresponding to each input, indicate on which side of the plug the red wire should go.

Powering the Recorder and Connecting the Recorder to Your Model’s Servos and Receiver

First, determine if you wish to log servo positions. If you decide to log servo positions, you will be connecting the Recorder to your receiver via the ‘Y’ cables. In this configuration, the Recorder is powered from your receiver battery.

Installing the Temperature Sensor(s)

engine. Normally the highest temperatures are experienced near the base

cylinder head. Note that since various mounting locations and brands of

into the recorder as shown in Figure 1.

If you decide not to log servo positions, you can still power the Recorder from your receiver battery by connecting one of the Y cables from a spare receiver channel to the Recorder (or use your own 2-3 wire connector).

If you want to power the Recorder from a separate battery, meaning that you want complete electrical isolation between the Recorder and your receiver, you can power the Recorder with a small separate battery as described in the Installing Battery Backup Harness section below.

The Recorder includes two custom, heavy duty ‘Y’ cables with Universal connectors which install in line between your throttle and steering servos and your radio receiver. Connection of the ‘Y’ cables is simple: connect the center (male) keyed connector of the ‘Y’ to one of the 2 keyed slots servo slots in the recorder (see Figure 1), connect the remaining male connector one of the channels on your receiver, and connect the female ‘Y’ connector to the servo which you previously connected to that channel of the receiver. Note: It doesn’t matter which of the 2 keyed recorder slots you plug your ‘Y’ cables into – the Recorder Application will automatically detect which servos are connected where during application setup.

WARNING: Do not connect ‘Y’ cables to any other location on the recorder. Doing so may damage the recorder or other components.

Note: the Recorder, which draws only around 35 mA of current, draws power from the ‘Y’ cables. All standard receivers we are aware of hardwire the power and ground wires from the battery to the power and ground wires of the servos, so the Recorder is in reality directly connected to the battery.

Note: The ‘Y’ cables included should be electrically compatible with most of the currently available receivers, such as Futaba™, JR™, Tower™, and HiTec™.

The pinout of the ‘Y” cables is as follows: Black = ground, Red = power, White = servo signal

WARNING: It is your responsibility to make sure that your receiver and servos are pin compatible with the Y cables before connecting. Serious damage could result to your receiver, servo or recorder if they are not compatible. If your equipment is

not pin compatible, you should obtain the appropriate connector adapter from your hobby shop.

One temperature sensor is included with the Recorder – an additional sensor can be ordered separately. The temperature sensors are typically installed by placing the black wire loop around the cylinder head, and cinching it in place by pulling the two rubber stays snugly against the

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of the engine, but experience will dictate where your particular engine best reads heat. Other mounting arrangements are possible, such as obtaining a metal washer with a tab, carefully bending the tab around the sensor portion of the wire loop, and installing the washer under your glow plug, or installing the sensor under a dedicated tapped screw in the

temperature devices on the market will read differently, the most important aspect of temperature measurement is learning how your engine reads under various conditions, and adjusting based on relative temperature readings. Plug the Futaba style connector from the sensor

Installing the RPM Sensor and Magnets

Installing the RPM sensor and magnets is the most challenging part of installation, but is relatively easy once a good mounting location is determined. Refer to our website’s Car support page at http://www.eagletreesystems.com for pictures of example installations.

First, find a suitable location on your Car’s drivetrain to attach one or two small magnets and RPM sensor. Typically, on nitro motors the flywheel is an ideal location. On electric cars the driveshaft or one of the axles is the best place. This will of course vary with make and model of Car. Make sure the magnets are mounted on some structure that doesn’t “flop around,” as the magnets could hit the sensor in this case. The RPM sensor must be mounted so that it does not move around, and is within 1-2 mm of the two magnets as they spin. On

typical Car installations, there’s usually a place where the back of the sensor can be glued to a flat surface under or over the hub which has the magnets mounted. The Recorder kit includes four magnets, providing you with up to three spares.

Figure 2: RPM Sensor & Magnet

Installing Magnets

Once you have determined where to install the magnets, decide whether you will drill a hole so that the magnets will mount flush with the surface, or if you will just glue the magnets to the surface. Though somewhat more difficult and permanent, mounting the magnet flush with the surface is the best long term approach, since the mounting will be much more rugged, and the risk of imbalance due to not mounting the magnets exactly 180 degrees apart is reduced. In fact, if the magnet is mounted flush in another metal material, it is quite possible that no shaft imbalance will occur if you only mount one of the magnets total. If you decide to use only one magnet, make sure you double the gear ratio to “2” on the Calibrate Motor RPM page under the Tools menu in the app.

To flush mount the magnets, drill a hole just slightly larger than the diameter of the magnet size you choose, and of the same depth as that magnet. If you decide to surface mount the magnets, thoroughly clean this area and lightly scuff it to improve adhesion. Glue the magnets with the side marked with a red line facing inward (hidden), using epoxy, or other strong, suitable glue. It’s important that the red line on the magnets faces away from the sensor once the sensor is installed. The magnets should be glued 180 degrees apart to keep the shaft in balance.

WARNING: make sure that the magnets are glued sufficiently so that they will not detach and create a hazard, and always wear safety glasses when your engine is running! It is also a good idea to put a piece of heatshrink tubing or electrical tape around the magnets, to further secure them.

Using Existing Magnets Note: if your engine already has magnets mounted for some other purpose, there’s a good chance you can use them. Take one of the

magnets included with your recorder, and put that magnet up against the previously mounted magnet. If the red line of the Recorder magnet faces down so that the sensor can be mounted facing the side of the magnet with no red line, mount the sensor with the printed side toward the magnet. If the side of the magnet with the red line is visible when on top of the previous magnet, the polarity is reversed. This should work correctly if you install our sensor backwards (printed side of sensor away from magnets), though we have not tried it.

We are often asked whether existing magnets on spark ignition engines can be used. The answer is “yes” in most cases, if you can install the sensor near enough to rotating magnets. We have found that these engines typically have 3 magnets, with 2 magnets mounted with one polarity, and the other one with another polarity. The easiest way to use these magnets is to install the sensor with the printed side facing the magnets (as described below) then run the motor and see what RPMs are recorded after setting up the gear ratio. If the RPM looks like it is only half of the correct value, double the gear ratio value you entered, to compensate for only one magnet being in the right polarity. We have received problem reports of RPM reading errors when the RPM sensor is mounted very near the magneto of spark engines, so we recommend mounting it 180 degrees away from the magneto, or as far away as possible.

Installing the RPM Sensor Once the magnets are glued and completely dry, temporarily position the RPM sensor so that the side of the sensor with printing is

facing the side of the magnets WITHOUT the red line. The sensor now needs to be glued so that it is held rigidly into position.

Before gluing, put a small spacer (1-2 mm thick) between the sensor and one of the magnets to ensure proper spacing.

If desired, a small piece of brass tubing can be glued or heatshrunk to the back of the sensor to ease mounting and increase stability.

After the sensor is glued and completely dry, remove the small spacer and rotate the propeller to ensure complete freedom of movement. Also make sure that the sensor won’t vibrate and come in contact with the magnets during driving. If this happens, the sensor will be destroyed, and the Recorder could be damaged.

Once these steps are complete, plug the Futaba style connector on the sensor into the recorder as shown in figure 1. Note that a standard Futaba style servo extension cable can be used to lengthen the wire if needed.

Using Existing RPM Sensors

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Several of our customers have been able to use existing RPM sensors, such as governors or turbine sensors, with our products. The following steps must be followed:

1) Determine the “pinout” of the existing sensor. Compatible sensors will have Power, Ground, and Signal connections. The

Recorder’s RPM pinout, from left to right, is: Power (black wire), Ground (red wire), Signal (white wire).

2) Devise a “Y” cable to connect your existing sensor to it’s connection, and also to the Recorder’s RPM connection. NOTE:

Power for the sensor should come only from the connection the sensor is normally plugged into. So, only Gound and Signal wires should be routed from the existing sensor to the recorder. The power wire of the Y cable between the sensor and the recorder should be cut before connecting it to the recorder. This is necessary to avoid connecting the power of the existing sensor connection to the Recorder’s power connection.

3) Thoroughly test the system to make sure the sensor still works with whatever it was originally connected to, after Y’ing to the

recorder.

Installing a Secondary RPM Sensor

A second MODIFIED RPM sensor can be plugged into the unused servo port nearest the switch on the recorder, for measuring wheel slip or other parameters. This RPM sensor must be modified by swapping the red and black wires in the RPM sensor plug. Carefully pry back the plastic tabs that hold each pin in the plug, remove the red and black pins, and re-install them so that the pin order is RED, BLACK, WHITE. The second RPM sensor plugs into the servo port with the red wire to the right, nearest the edge of the recorder.

NOTE: for the secondary RPM sensor to work, there has to be voltage from 4.5 to 6.5 V supplied to one or both of the servo inputs (as shown in Figure 1). This is normally done with the Y Cables, a separate battery, or your BEC.

The second RPM channel is set up in the “Secondary RPM Sensor Setup” section under “Tools, Calibrate Speed from RPM.” Normally, if the second RPM is used for wheel speed, just enter a “1” in this field if you are using 2 magnets, or a “2” if you are using only one magnet.

The secondary RPM sensor is logged and displayed on the screens with the other parameters, as described below.

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Installing the Optional Battery Backup Harness

In most cases, the Recorder can be successfully powered by the Y cables from the receiver. If you have problems with recorder power during acceleration or steering, as described in the troubleshooting section, this can be remedied by adding a small backup battery to power the recorder. To add the backup battery, plug the larger end of the optional backup harness into the recorder. The backup harness is a two wire cable with a Futaba style male connector on one end, and a larger male connector on the other end. The large end of the backup harness plugs into the USB port of the recorder, with the red wire in the same place as the red wire of the USB cable (as shown in the drawing).

The backup battery must be at least 4.5volts to power the recorder. Power is only drawn from the backup battery when the voltage being supplied through the Y cables drops below the voltage of the backup battery, so if you use a 4.5 volt backup battery, no power should be drawn from it except for moments when the main battery drops below this voltage. Therefore, it is possible to use a very small pack (a tiny 4 cell pack or possibly 3 watch type batteries) as the backup battery. Note of course that the backup battery must be disconnected whenever the receiver is turned off, as it will power the recorder whenever power is not supplied to the recorder from the receiver. If you want to get fancy, you could add a DPDT switch in place of the standard receiver switch and turn off the backup battery whenever you turn off the receiver.

Removing the Recorder from your Car

When you remove the Recorder, your servos are still connected to your receiver so it’s not necessary to remove the ‘Y’ cables from the car to operate it without the Recorder. Be sure however that the connectors are kept from shorting.

Note: Additional ‘Y’ cables, RPM sensors and temperature sensors are available for purchase on our website if you wish to install and leave ‘Y’ cables in more than one car. This makes it very easy to use the same recorder with multiple cars.

Installation and Use of the Windows™ Application

Installing the Windows Application

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