paver

If you use it with a roll bar mount:
1. does it have a wide enough angle to show what your hands are doing?
2. is it too much of a pita to turn it off/on?
3. is the exposure ok?

I think I know where to get a roll bar mount that will work and the Duel bluetooth external gps should make it possible to mount the phone there and still pick up, but I don't want to buy this stuff if the answer to 1, 2, or 3 is no.

Cogito_Ergo_Zoom

Questions 1 and 3 really have more to do with the iPhone's native camera, not HLT but I think the answer is yes to both of them. Not as good as what you get with some of the stand-alone camera systems but very respectable IMHO.

2) Not at all. You'll need to select "Video" before you mount it but then it will begin recording each lap automatically as soon as you pass the start / finish line which is triggered automatically by the GPS.

I'm also using the Dual external GPS and they work very well together.

montoya

If you have Hans it will need to be turned on early, but doesn't start video until you are on the track. iPhone is ok for depth of field, you may have it wash out in bright light. Here's a sample:

paver

Thanks guys. That is exactly what I need to know. I'm gonna give it a try.

deputydog95

For under 10 bucks, it's as good as it gets.

paver

I got the $19.99 version so I can video. Also added these so the gps accuracy is a lot better and I can video from the rollbar instead of the front windshield. More $ but hopefully it makes for a pretty good setup that's still not much money.

Cogito_Ergo_Zoom

I've got the same exact same set up with the addition of an OBD II reader, which you might want to consider if you want throttle position and gear overlay as well.

paver

Who makes that?
Does it just plug into the obd port?

Asquared

I just bought one this week

It plugs into the OBDII port and connects through bluetooth. It sticks straight down, so I am a little concerned about accidentally kicking it with my left foot on the track. Haven't come near it on the street, so it might be a non-issue.

I bought the same external GPS listed above. Monday should be the first day using both.

I was pretty happy with the standalone unit, but I really like adding the OBD data (note, from my playing around with it this week, there is a bit of a delay because of the bluetooth, but still useful to have).

Without an external GPS, the MPH seemed off by a lot at the end of the straights (circa 10 MPH versus 2 MPH less than indicated speedo, which is where I typically put the error), I think that is because of the low cycle rate and precision on the internal GPS. I was reading the HLT forum, and "Harry" suggested that you can get an improved MPH by selecting "Calculated" under expert settings. Haven't tried that yet.

All in, with a Ram Mount, I'm in the system for about $250, but I can move it from car to car (eg, if a friends wants to try whole system in their car) and and I figure I can use the OBDII reader for the wife's car (I already have a durametric for the P-cars). Personally, I think this will keep me from buying a full-on data set for years (until I become a good-enough driver to be able to benefit from a higher end system, which is likely to be never).

Caution, this uses a LOT of memory. A 30 min session created a raw video of about 3-4 gig, and each 2:45 lap with data overlay created another file that was about 500 mb. I pretty much had to wipe all the videos and audio books off my iphone, but they are easy to reinstall later. I would overlay best couple of laps from each session and delete the raw video to free up room. With that, I could get through a full track day without running out of space.

QUESTION: How are people mounting the Dual External GPS? I assume the dash mount that comes with it is useless. I was thinking about using the velcro strap and attaching it to the roll-bar under the back window, but I haven't tried to see if that is feasible or not.

paver

Does the external gps need to be plugged in to a charger while in use?
For mounting, I may try some 3m industrial strength velcro. Just stick a piece to the dash and a piece to the back of the dual. It's super sticky. That's my plan until I have in hand and see what the other options may be.

Cogito_Ergo_Zoom

Yes, it's easy. Just pop the cover right off in the footwelll and plug it in.

I'm using the Kiwi:
I think there are drawbacks to both the GoPoint and the Kiwi. It's not a perfect system and you will experience issues with both from what I've seen and experienced with the Kiwi myself. I went with it because I figured I'd leave the bluetooth channel alone to handle the GPS refresh and use the very wideband (by comparison) Wifi to handle the OBD II data.

FWIW, I think the lag issues have more to do with the fact the you're slamming the iPhone's processor with HD video, bluetooth, and Wifi data processing tasks simultaneously, in addition to all of the other "normal" background tasks the phone is running in parallel. Even for a state of the art smartphone, you're asking a lot of it.

I've been putting the Dual GPS on the back shelf behind the seats. It doesn't slide around and there's no risk of it coming off the dash and distracting you at the wrong moment.

Horstair

The XPS-150 DUAL GPS lasts me about 3-20 min sessions or a morning (I turn it off in between sessions but I think it turns itself off after a while). As far as "mounting" goes, I simply "wedge" it into the far left corner on the dash underneath the windshield. It has stayed there expect once when I overcooked a corner :-). The underside of the DUAL GPS is quite sticky but it would depend on the car whether it moves around just laying there, I guess.
I use an Ipod 4 with 16GB memory and have to manage space aggressively. Some of my track friends actually take a laptop with them and after overlaying a few laps, they'll save the raw video on the hard drive so if one decides later to overlay a few more laps, you can reverse the process. With an Iphone or an Ipod with WiFi availability at the track, you can also save your raw videos on Icloud right at the track. The other challenge is battery power on my Ipod 4 which actually -with Harry's latest Rev.- doesn't last as long as the external GPS, maybe 2 20 min sessions at most but I think I left WiFi on last t-day...
Otherwise, Harry's is an incredibly cheap way of getting some driving info. I would love though to get some of the functionality of the new BMW M-Power App...

deputydog95

$10... $20... $50.... Cheap either way compared to a true data system. And does a great job considering the price.


Why don't you guys just a put a big 64g SD card in your iphone like I do on my galaxy?

Horstair

Andrew, get with the program Apple doesn't allow SD cards...

deputydog95

It was said "tongue in cheek" and meant as in an inflamatory statement against
Crapple iFail users

I may also suggest just swapping batteries when your phone gets low. Oh way, you can't do that either.

Android/Samsung FTW!!!!