[bbkRob]

Sorry fellas, last Saturday I was up at 6am so today I sorta compensated.

There is always someone worse off than yourself, those poor souls on RaceChat won't get anything 'cos poor Harry got chopped on there yesterday!

I can't do much about.

Today I'm going to talk about the other bit of the system, the Decoder and reveal why Harry was not just a name I made up on the spur of the moment yesterday.

Harry is short for Harry the Hybrid. Hybrid means it will work on any AMB/Mylaps RC Decoder. That is the 2002 Red Box (RC2) decoder and the 2006 Buttons and Screen (RC3) one. The original RC1 Decoders were upgraded to RC2 by a factory update that enabled the USB port back in 2002. There is also a new RC4 Decoder. The RC4 looks like the RC3 but it has some new features.

Yesterday I mentioned the voltage and temperature data that is sent by Harry. You will need an RC4 Decoder to get this and of course some new race software. Or will you? Maybe not.

Since the introduction of the RC3 Decoder there has been the option to send passing data direct from the decoder to the Mylaps.com web site, provided the decoder was hooked up the internet. This connectivity is not uncommon in Europe, as is mains power and covered pits. It is not so common in the UK, so as a feature it did not make the headlines. With an RC4 Decoder hooked up to the internet, maybe via a Mobile Data Dongle, you will have access to that data via the internet, even if you are using non updated race software.

So, do all the clubs need to rush out and buy the RC4 Decoder? No, if you have an RC3 Decoder then it is able to take a free firmware update that can be downloaded. If you have an RC2 Decoder, then there is a trade in program that has been running about a year now to upgrade to an RC3. I'm waiting for details of what I can do in the UK to avoid you having to ship your RC2 Decoder back to the Netherlands. I'm also trying to short circuit the firmware upgrade as well, to provide support. Please don't bombard me with requests for details, there is a process that has to be gone through before that can happen. I'll be making sure the process is well publicised.

Introducing Harry

Between next weekend and the end of the year I'm tasked with managing the introduction of Harry to the UK. What that means is I will be visiting as many RC races to offer the drivers the opportunity to get a Harry. I'll hook up an RC4 Decoder, independently of the Decoder and race Software being used and stream the passing data back to Mylaps in order that they can get lots of data prior to the worldwide launch. Rest assured Harry has been through a lot of testing already and is a production unit. Some of you may remember that back in 2000/2001 I did a similar thing with Harry's predecessor prior to it's product launch.

If you have a race meeting that you think might be suitable please send me an email rather than a PM.

Just to complete the picture, the RC4 Decoder has more sensitive signal detection. The RC3 decoder was more sensitive than the RC2 so this is not that surprising. There is also a feature known as a Ping Box that will allow track temperature to be monitored and also test the loop. This ties in with the other features that allow the loop to be active 24/7 with internet based passing data, so you can test at a track any time. As I mentioned this augments the way some tracks operate.

So, today you found out that Harry is a Mylaps product that is backwards compatible with your existing RC decoders. The new data features can be available free if you have an RC3 Decoder and there is a trade in available if you have an RC2 Decoder. You might also realise why I have to tell you all about it before I can tell you all about it, so I can get it introduced in the UK before the rest of the world get it next year.

Got to go now, tomorrow I'll tackle the main moan about Harry's predecessor, it's price.