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Thread: GPS camera with accelerometer and OBD2 input/overlay?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    GPS camera with accelerometer and OBD2 input/overlay?

    For the track or Sunday drives, is there a system which can overlay ODB2 information out there which is worthwhile? The overlay doesn't have to show info live, it can be on the recording. Maybe one with GPS and/or accelerometer? I have an Android phone with a good camera (LG G3).
    I'm reticent to use off-branded cheap stuff because the software and ease-of-use will make or break this, and they'll never update their glitchy software. I'm thinking under $300 if possible. I assume something connected to my phone may be the cheapest, best way, but I'm a newby about this. In a perfect world I could transfer it to a motorcycle (no OBD2) and record from that, too--but this is low priority.

  2. #2
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    For track, I use Harry's Lap Timer. It works with OBD2 info and also with either your phone's GPS or a more accurate external GPS module. You can use either the phone's camera, or just use the phone to collect data and sync it with video recorded by gopros or whatever. It has maps of all the tracks so it tracks corner speeds and things like that in addition to lap times. There's a few different versions at different price points depending on which features you need.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Henway View Post
    For the track or Sunday drives, is there a system which can overlay ODB2 information out there which is worthwhile? The overlay doesn't have to show info live, it can be on the recording. Maybe one with GPS and/or accelerometer? I have an Android phone with a good camera (LG G3).
    I'm reticent to use off-branded cheap stuff because the software and ease-of-use will make or break this, and they'll never update their glitchy software. I'm thinking under $300 if possible. I assume something connected to my phone may be the cheapest, best way, but I'm a newby about this. In a perfect world I could transfer it to a motorcycle (no OBD2) and record from that, too--but this is low priority.
    Garmin VIRB advertises this feature-- GPS + accel + OBD2. I think one of the GoPros will also. Both are in the ~$400 range new if I'm remembering right, but don't quote me on the cost.
    "Fear disturbs your concentration" -Sabine Schmit

    1995 BMW M3/2/5-- S54 + Mk60 DSC, California Smog Legal (Build Thread)
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  4. #4
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    There's also Solostorm from Petrel Data:

    https://www.petreldata.com/

  5. #5
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    It seems as though $400 is the base price for any decent system after ODB2 and GPS and software are included. Though it seems a la carte could be cheaper, a dedicated system may be best.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bimmerman535i View Post
    Garmin VIRB advertises this feature-- GPS + accel + OBD2. I think one of the GoPros will also. Both are in the ~$400 range new if I'm remembering right, but don't quote me on the cost.
    I have a Garmin Virb, it works OK but the GPS is a bit slow and sometimes inaccurate. I also can't get it to connect to my ODB dongles.
    example


    I would recommend Harry's Lap Timer. It will connect to ODB dongles no problem, and with an external GPS receiver (I use a Dual XGPS160) it is very accurate.
    example

  7. #7
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    I would avoid the Virb Ultra 30. I'm pretty disappointed with mine.

    1) This year my GPS just...doesn't work right. In 2017 it was OK. Track map was generally accurate and laptimes were within 0.1 to 0.2. Although I did have the start/finish drift on my once. But this year it just plain doesn't work anymore. Trace map looks like a 3 year old doodled the track map 15 times. Speeds are all wrong and you can see on the trace when it just lost connection. Had issues all year no matter what the sky conditions are.

    2) OBD2 connectivity is super flaky. I don't have it in my racecar, but we tried it in both my E36 autoX car and old 7th gen civic rallyX car. It basically worked at random for short bursts of time.

    3) Camera mic couldn't handle the racecar noise/vibrations and has noticable sound quality issues now.

    The sad part is the virb editing software is incredibly easy to use. And when the GPS did work is was decent:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsEQqe90hQs

    I plan to switch to an AIM solo (since I actually want data) and just keep using the camera with the GPS disabled.
    Last edited by Crustashio; 07-18-2018 at 08:58 AM.

  8. #8
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    I did some digging into the Garmin Virb Ultra 30. The results were disappointing. It appears that it can receive a GPS signal at 10hz but it can only write at 1hz to the .fit data file. Most phones receive GPS at 1hz so there really isn't a data advantage there.

    Thread with more info here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ht=garmin+virb

    - - - Updated - - -

    Also, I stopped using Harry's Lap Timer because it's sorta buggy. I switched to TrackAddict and it has worked well thus far.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Easton, PA
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    1996 BMW 328is
    I've tried this a couple of ways. There's software called RaceRender, which will overlay any data set on to your video, much like Harry's does, but you can do it on your computer instead of your phone, which I prefer. I use a DIY external GPS combined with harrys and a gopro...the external gps is much faster than internal iphone (10hz vs 1hz) and will smooth out the curves.

    Unless I'm completely mistaken, the OBD issue is the refresh rate of the OBD signal from the car, not the reader (I'm speaking from e36 experience). It really is useless for what we're looking for. The E36 OBD transmits at approx 1hz, and the more bits of info you're looking to capture, the worse it will be. If you're on a more modern platform, there are data systems (like AIM SOLOdl) that can get direct CAN data, which will be much faster. As far as I have found, the only other option is to add your own sensors.

    I think for your use, adding an external GPS antenna to Harry's probably gives you most of what you're looking to do for way under $300. You'll be able to export the data set from Harrys, combined with Race Render, or just use Harry's on your phone to do the data overlay.

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