How To: Add a Datalogger Overlay

See Also: Compatible Dataloggers

In order to add a datalogger overlay to a RaceRender project, you will need to first use the datalogger's software to export the data in a compatible CSV or text file format. The CSV format is most common, and is also known as a comma-delimited text or spreadsheet file. Files delimited by a tab or semi-colon may also work. Details on how to create these files for several popular dataloggers are provided further below.

Once you have your data in a compatible CSV file, it can be added to the current project as an input file. After adding a datalogger file to the project from the Main screen, a version of the Template Menu will appear and display several data templates to choose from. If you cancel it, some basic display objects may be created automatically. You can add more display objects by right-clicking on the input file in the list on the Main screen and selecting "Create Display Object". The Synchronization Tool can be used to synchronize the datalogger file with the video files of your project.

Because datalogger capabilities vary widely, some data visualization objects may not be supported by your datalogger file. It is recommended that you arrange and configure the data visualization objects to your liking, and then create a template of them, so that they can be easily imported into your future projects. Template files you create can also be shared with other RaceRender 2 users.

RaceRender's datalogger features require certain data to be provided in the input file, and in a form that it recognizes. Depending on the actual output of your datalogger's software, some RaceRender features may not be functional with all dataloggers or in all cases. You may be able to improve compatibility by manually assigning the data fields on the Input File Configuration screen.


Missing Lap Numbers & Times

Some dataloggers do not provide lap numbers in their exported data, or in a compatible format. This is needed for several features, including lap counters & timers, and cleaner rendering of track maps. However, this missing lap data can be substituted by manually setting the Start / Finish point.


Speeds in MPH, Km/h, m/s, or Knots

RaceRender attempts to automatically display vehicle speeds in Miles Per Hour (MPH). In cases where you want to display a different measure of speed, or if the automatic conversion is not correct, you can use the Input File Configuration screen to select the "Vehicle Speed" field and the desired units conversion. Once the selection is changed to something other than "(Automatic)", the unit conversion option to the right will become active.


NMEA and GPX Format Support   (Generic GPS Dataloggers)

_{Note: The GPX format referred to in this section is the GPS eXchage file format (.GPX), and should not be confused with dataloggers that may use the letters "GPX" in their product name.}

RaceRender also provides support for the NMEA and GPX (GPS eXchange) file formats commonly used by non-motorsports GPS loggers. It requires them to be in standard ASCII or UTF-8 text encoding, with the samples in normal sequential order. This will typically provide a track map and vehicle position at a relatively low sample rate, but other data visualizations may not be available. Generally, NMEA will provide more useful information than GPX for this purpose, and is preferred. In order to get lap counts and times, as well as draw a cleaner track map (based on one selected lap), you will need to manually set the Start / Finish point.

Important (NMEA): NMEA data must contain RMC, GGA, and/or GLL sentences, in the standard format of one NMEA sentence per text line. Valid fix times are required on all applicable NMEA samples that are marked Active. RMC and GGA are recommended; GLL support is simply included for compatibility reasons. All NMEA sentences must start with "$GP", such as "$GPRMC" and "$GPGGA".

Important (GPX): GPX data will only work if the session is logged as a set of "track" points (not waypoints), and each of those points includes a timestamp in the standard format. Because this is a somewhat loose format, there may be variations that do not work with RaceRender. Generally speaking, the file must begin with an <?xml> tag, and each track point should look similar to the following example:

  <trkpt lat="39.602613" lon="-105.020217">
      <ele>1624.77</ele>
      <time>2011-06-02T14:28:35Z</time>
      <speed>31.2</speed>
  </trkpt>

The time tag is always required. The elevation and speed tags are optional, but recommended.


How to Export a Datalogger Session into a Compatible File

^{These are basic instructions for how to get several datalogger products to export data for use with RaceRender, based on information available at the time of this writing. This depends on functionality provided by these other products; compatibility and the accuracy of this information may change at any time and without notice.}

• TrackAddict HD for iPhone^® & iPod touch^®
• Connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer, and open iTunes^®
• Click on your device's section within iTunes, then click the "Apps" tab at the top
• Scroll down to the "File Sharing" section, then click on TrackAddict
• Select the "Log-" files you want, and save them to your computer
• The .CSV (data) and .MOV (video) files are already synchronized, so they can be used easily in RaceRender


• Traqmate
  • Open your session data in Traqmate's "Traqview" program
  • Go to the "File" menu and select "Export Data"
  • Set the "Export Type" option to "Trackvision (CSV Format)"   (do not use the "Raw Data" format)
  • Click the "Browse" button to select a file name and location
  • Click the "Export" button and wait for the progress bar to get to the end
  • Click "Done", and now the CSV file should be ready to use in RaceRender


• RLC Racing (Track Commander and others)
  • Open your session data in RLC Racing's "Race Analyzer" program
  • Go to the "File" menu and select "Export..."
  • Use the "For ChaseCam DashWare" option
  • Choose the file name and location
  • Click the "Save" button
  • RaceRender should now be able to use the text file that was created


• Race Technology (DL1, DL2, AX22, etc.)
  • See information on this topic from Race Technology
  
  
  • Open your session data in Race Technology's analysis software
  • Go to the "File" menu and select "Export As Data..."
  • Set "Export to file type" to "Spreadsheet .csv file"
  • Make sure the delimiter is a comma
  • Click the "OK" button
  • Enter the desired file name in the box that appears and click "Save"
  • The CSV file that you created should now be ready to use in RaceRender
  
  
  • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• MaxQData
  • Open your session data in MaxQData's "Chart" program
  • Go to the "File" menu and select "Export..."
  • Select the session file to export from the list
  • Set the "Export type..." option to ".CSV"
  • Click the "Export" button
  • RaceRender should now be able to use the CSV file that was created   (look in the same folder that your .MQD session file is in)
  
  
  • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• Racelogic (PerformanceBox, DriftBox, etc.)
• Open your session data in Racelogic's "Performance Tools" or "DriftBox" program
• Click on the "Tools" button, select "Export Data", and then "To TrackVision"
• Enter a file name and click "Save"
• RaceRender should now be able to use the CSV file that was created


• Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• AIM
  • Open your session data in AIM's "Race Studio Analysis" program
  • Go to the "File" menu and select "Data Export in Excel"
  • Select the channels to export:
  • GPS_Longitude
  • GPS_Latitude
  • GPS_Speed
  • GPS_Heading
  • GPS_Elevation
  • GPS_LonAcc
  • GPS_LatAcc
  • Speed
  • LatAcc
  • RPM
  • Any others that you want to display
  • Select the laps to export (recommended that you Select All)
  • Set the "Compatibility" option to "CSV"
  • Set the "Decimal Digit Separator" option to "Dot"
  • Click the "Browse" button at the top to select the output file name and location
  • Click the "Save and Exit" button at the bottom
  • RaceRender should now be able to use the CSV file that was created   (Note that GPS data must be included to show track map, vehicle location, and lap info)
  
  
  • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• RacePak (G2X, IQ3, etc.)
  • Open your session data in RacePak's "DataLink" program
  • Click the "Video Management" button on the Run Log Menu
  Alternate Method:
  
  • From the "Runlog" menu, select "Set Log Category"
  • Select "Video" and click "OK"
  • Click on the newly created "Video" tab (usually at the bottom)
  • Click the "Create Track Vision video" button
  • Select the channels to export:
  • Time
  • GPS_Data:Map_SF
  • GPS_Data:Run_PosX
  • GPS_Data:Run_PosY
  • Engine RPM
  • GPS_MPH
  • Lateral G
  • Accel G
  • Gear Indicator
  • Any others that you want to display
  • Click "OK"
  • A message box will appear to inform you of the exported CSV file name and path. This is the file you will want to use with RaceRender.
  
  
  • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• GTech-Pro RR Fanatic .GTR file
  • The GTech Fanatic PASS software may not have a CSV file export feature.
  • RaceRender includes experimental support to read the RR Fanatic's .GTR files directly.
  • This functionality may not work correctly if the file format differs from what was observed during RaceRender's development.
  
  
  • For other GTech products, you should use its PASS software's export function to create a CSV file for use with RaceRender.


• Alfano
  • Select your session data file in Alfano's "VisualData" program
  • Below the "Export Files" button, set the selection to "*.csv"
  • Click the "Export Files" button and select and output location
  • RaceRender should now be able to use the CSV file that was created
  
  
  • Important: Alfano data may include more than one session. By default, RaceRender will use the first one. To select others, simply open the Input File Configuration screen, and change the Track number.


• Dynolicious Log Box 1.2 (iPhone^® & iPod touch^® application)
  • Select your session in the Log Box "Results" screen, then press the "Attach Data To Email" button at the bottom
  • When it is done processing, it will open the e-mail application and create a message that contains a download link to your data. Address the e-mail to yourself and send it
  • Open the e-mail on your computer and click on the download link
  • Choose either the CSV (Comma Separated Value) or TXT (Tab Delimited Text File) format and download your file
  • The downloaded .CSV or .TXT file should work with RaceRender
  
  
  • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.


• G-Tac Pro (iPhone^® & iPod touch^® application)
  _{This datalogger exports data into two separate CSV formatted sections, GPS and accelerometer, so RaceRender will deal with it as two separate input files. Synchronize one of them with your video, then just use the same starting time value for the other one.}
  
  
  • Open your session in the G-Tac Pro "results" screen, then press the "Export Run Data" button at the bottom
  • e-mail the lap data to yourself, then open the e-mail on your computer. Make sure the entire e-mail is visible (Gmail users: click the "View entire message" link at the bottom)
  
  
  • If you want to overlay GPS track map, position, and speed:   ^{(requires iPhone 3G and a clear GPS signal during the session)}
    • Locate the "GPS Data" section, then copy & paste only that data section into a new plain text file (you may be able to use Notepad)
    • Make sure the first line in this new file contains the column headings. It should start with "time (sec),Latitude,"
    • Save this file with a .CSV file extension
    
    
    • Once it is added to a RaceRender project, you may want to manually set the Start / Finish point.
  
  
  • If you want to overlay G-force data:
    • Locate the "Accelerometer Data" section, then copy & paste only that data section into a new plain text file (you may be able to use Notepad)
    • Make sure the first line in this new file contains the column headings. It should start with "time (sec),RPM,"
    • Save this file with a .CSV file extension
  
  
  • Add the .CSV file(s) that you just created to your RaceRender project
  • If you are using both sets of data (ie two CSV files), they will function as separate input files. Synchronize one of them with your video, remember the resulting starting time value, then enter that same value for the other file.


• Other Dataloggers
  • RaceRender attempts to be compatible with CSV files created by several other popular dataloggers. However, some common data fields are often not provided, or not in a consistent format, so compatibility with RaceRender may be limited and/or unreliable. You may be able to improve compatibility by manually assigning the data fields on the Input File Configuration screen.
  
  
  • If you wish to edit a CSV file to be compatible with RaceRender, the following column format is recommended:   (use standard ASCII or UTF-8 text encoding)
    
    

    Column Heading	Column Description
    Time	Sample time in seconds. The first sample does not have to be zero. This may need to be the first column in the file.
    GPS Time	Alternate: Sample time in milliseconds. The first sample does not have to be zero.
    Longitude	Vehicle position longitude (X). Can be feet, meters, or coordinates, as long as it's in decimal notation.
    Latitude	Vehicle position latitude (Y). Can be feet, meters, or coordinates, as long as it's in decimal notation.
    Altitude	Vehicle position altitude (Z)
    X	Acceleration / Deceleration (X) G-force
    Y	Lateral (Y) G-force
    MPH	Vehicle speed in Miles Per Hour (MPH)
    KPH	Alternate: Vehicle speed in Kilometers Per Hour (km/hr)
    Speed (m/s)	Alternate: Vehicle speed in Meters Per Second (m/s)
    Heading	Vehicle heading (degrees; 0 = North)
    Lap	Current lap number. This only needs to be set once per lap. If not available, you can also manually set the Start / Finish point.
    RPM	Engine speed in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM)
    Gear	Current transmission gear
    Accuracy	GPS position accuracy (meters); used for loggers with low or inconsistent accuracy (such as smartphones)

    
    The Time column is required, and the data rows must be in chronological order. Other columns can be omitted, at the cost of the related overlay features not being available. Differences from this list can usually be resolved by using the Input File Configuration screen. Additional columns may also be added, for use with custom gauges, graphs, etc.
    

The third party product and brand names mentioned here are trademarks of their respective owners. They are referenced here in order to provide compatibility guidance, and do not construe any endorsement or affiliation by those entities.


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