What
is Laps Free ?
Laps Free is software designed for a PC running
Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME & XP. The software is designed
primarily for the timing radio controlled model cars but might
have other uses such as timing model boats, hovercrafts or slot
cars. Laps enables a racing event to be managed easily, functions
have been added to automate processes and make life easier on
the user.
Why
is Laps Free, Free ?
In
every sector of the software market there is free software, there
is no reason why this should not be the case with timing.
If you really like our software and want to make a donation then
please contact use.
How
do I Reprint the Results & Lap times ?
Open the html file that corresponds to the race
you want to reprint, (i.e. Heat 2 Round 4 will be called h2r4.html)
and print it from the web browser. Information about HTML files
is in the manual. From version 0.04 the last race can be re-printed
but only before the next one is setup, this is done via the button
on the race screen.
Can
I record my own sound files ?
The sound files can be changed, record your new
files and replace the originals, make sure that the files are
of WAV type (mp3 or any other file type will not work).
Why
does it take so long to close the setup screen ?
When the setup screen is closed the settings are
saved, if you have McAfee VirusScan it checks the ini file that
is written, it does not cause any problems however. Users without
McAfree VirusScan should not have a problem.
How
do I restart or end a race early ?
This is in the manual, but its been missed by
quite a few people. All you have to do is right click on the race
screen and a menu will appear giving these options.
Can
I start a race without a ten second countdown ?
Make sure that '10 second countdown beeps' is
un-ticked for the classes that you don't want beeps for, the race
still then start immediately when you press the start button.
How
can I manually make the heat/races ?
Each driver has an id number, in the 'Tables'
screen enter these id numbers into the grid where the driver is
required. id numbers can also be moved around the grid as desired(even
once racing has started). The id number is not the same as the
Database ID, but the id given when the driver is entered into
the event.
Can
late racers be signed in ?
Just enter the drivers details or transfer them
from the database,Go to the 'Tables' screen and enter the late
drivers id number in the grid where required.
Can
races be in a different order ?
This was missed in the manual until v0.04, to
change the order of the races go to the 'Tables' screen, hold
down the left mouse button on the race number that needs to be
moved and drag it to the required location.
Frequency
Selection problems ?
Some Windows XP users are experiencing problems
selecting frequencies in the second column of the list, moving
the column to the left hand side allows you to select the frequency.
This is not a problem with our code but the compiler that is used,
a fix is provided in version 0.06 (see manual/user guide).
How
do I run a race by laps and not time ?
Laps Free can run races by laps just like an F1
race, in the setup screen under 'Times' there is a box called
'Max Race Laps', for a race by time this will be 0. Enter the
number of laps required and the race will end when this number
of laps is completed.
In
F1 there is a limited time to complete a race, this is the same
in Laps Free, if the race time is set to 5 minutes and the laps
required in 'Max Race Laps' haven't been completed the race will
still end. Therefore the race time should be set much greater
than the required time to complete the laps.
What
can be done with external hardware ?
External hardware (called RCio in the software)
can be connected to a serial port. Laps Free generates output
for upto eights lights, scoreboard and also takes input from external
environment sensors.
What
lights can be controlled?
Eight lights can be controlled by Laps Free, F1
style start lights can be used for grid starts while traffic lights
can be connected for rolling start qualifying (especially useful
for nitro cars).
How
much information can be shown on the scoreboard?
Laps Free provides the following output for scoreboards: