ProCoach

Yes. Only mod I’d make to the above is I place the camera 6”-8” to the right of vehicle centerline in the plane or the main hoop and aim 10-15 degrees down from horizontal, aimed towards the center of the front bumper cover.

Be sure to set your Menu>Settings>Accel Cal>Select on level ground after you’re happy with the preview and then back out using the center button.

Geneman

Thanks peter. what does the accel cal>select>ground level do? in my case, the remote box is mounted on the tunnel near the gear shift. so it is " ground level. i assume the accelerometer sensor is in the box, not the pencil cam unit itself

jwasilko

Peter: You're a snappy dresser and all, but we'll have to agree to disagree on this one :-)

ProCoach

Having the car on level ground allows the accelerometers in the background of the video to be centered, which is important. This is true for anyone running a SmartyCam, especially if you're going to use RS3A-beta to look at SmartyCam generated data.

ProCoach

Fair enough, Jeff!

It's nice to have a choice! I have one in my sports racing car just so I can capture the exciting wheel-to-wheel action!

Difool

I’ve been using the SWAngle feed in a control on the video, since I can’t always see the SW easily in the vid (need to set my exposure, the inside of the car is often too dark). I agree the linear bar widget isn’t as intuitive as a rotating steering wheel animation. Please suggest to AiM that we all want a SW widget for the video data display! 😀

ProCoach

Before the bar came out, I like the number.

Matt Romanowski

If you use beta, you have the video and the actual angle from data in it. The data tells you way more than the video for steering.

ProCoach

Both, is best.

txbdan

I had my first outting with the SmartyCam this past weekend. It was connected to my Aim Solo 2 DL which was hooked up to my Cayman's canbus. Everything worked perfectly!

720p res is a little disappointing if you're used to using GoPros, but it does the job and working with the smaller/lighter files is a lot faster and easier.

Also, the mic is picking up terrible wind noise. I saw a few threads on that so i'll read up.

ProCoach

The best solution in 997/987/981/991 closed cars with street exhaust is the external mic jack 3.5mm CAN cable between the logger and the camera and the Racelogic RLACS133 mic, which has a 2.5 meter cable itself and is the best audio output match for the expected input of the SmartyCam. Sounds MUCH better than the internal mic. I have plenty of mics but waiting on my stock order for the cable.

4K, by itself, is easy. That file size, tho...

Even 1080p is a very big challenge to render animations ON to the video in real time.

Also, the resolution is only part of the issue, a better codec (H265) with lower native resolution is better than a higher resolution with a crappy codec. Many more factors than just a number.

Plus, I can coach better using 4K, said no ProCoach, ever!

I can coach better using metrics ON the video, available twenty seconds after you return to the paddock, said EVERY pro coach I know.

Glad you have a good solution now.

Matt Romanowski

I agree with Peter. There are a lot of technical problems with moving a camera like the SCHD to 4k, not to mention availability of the sensor element in appropriate quantities and price.

txbdan

Not really. I've done lots of work in robotics and computer vision and you can overlay real time rendered graphics on 1080p video real time with a $35 raspberry pi. Motorsports is a small market, but its also a market quite willing to support high margin products. If you think about it, Aim's business plan is literally selling 10yr old technology at a premium price.

Martin S.

I am ecstatic about the performance of my SmartyCam HD, Rev. 2.1 with 84 degree field of vision (FOV). I too have the AiM SOLO 2 DL hooked into my CAN bus system. I mounted the camera between the seats...it's in a 2015 Cayman GTS. There is literally nothing to fuss with. Start the car, the SOLO 2 DL goes on as does the camera. It won't record anything until I exceed X (pre-programmed) miles per hour. You look at the results exemplified in my video, and then ascertain if it's pricey...besides what seamless choice do you have being that you already have a SOLO 2 DL The wind noise is horrendous so turn down the volume. I think I have that fixed.Just for fun, look out to 1:17 and you see a Corvette launch off the track...thank God he didn't shoot across the track and nail me. I'll be back in a minute with the link.

In my experience, there are four (4) AiM dealers in the US that offer high-quality service and support: Peter Krause, Matt Romanowski are 2 of the 4. They support Rennlist to the nth degree. I have a good solid dealer in Paso Robles, CA at Veracity Racing Data, 10 miles from my home. I have another dealer in N. Hollywood. Those are the only four (4) I know of. If you buy from anyone else, it may be the roll of the dice, could be excellent, could be the pits.

You could sell your SOLO 2 DL and go to a V-BOX Lite, Peter sells these. You'll have two cameras...do you need to supplement with a rear-facing camera? If you are wheel to wheel racing, it's a good idea. V-BOX Lite can be wired into your CAN bus, as far as I know. Talk to one of the dealers mentioned, they'll set you straight.

VIDEO:

ProCoach

Martin, thank you for the kind words.

I have just sent several mics to Ellen at Veracity that, together with the 3.5mm mic jack cable between the S2DL and the SCHD in your car, will fix that problem.

Make sure after that is installed that the audio gain settings are turned off internally and in the middle for the externally mounted mic.