We just released version 115 for Alfano, with a few small, but important updates:

• When downloading from the Alfano 6, sometimes it would not show all the sessions. This is now fixed!
• Some users reported performance issues with large sessions and many sensors. We did a lot of work in this area, and improved many of the problem areas. This affects in particular the Track Attack feature. Uploading and downloading sessions should now be faster, though it is still not as fast as we want it to be.
• If you’re using the video feature to review your sessions, you can now do this with sound!
• We made it a little easier to import AiM sessions into Off Camber Data. If you have Race Studio installed at the same time, you no longer have to hunt for the right folder that contains the sessions.
• Upon request, we added some new math channels. We now have channels for brake rate and steering rate. If you have suggestions for other math channels, please write us!

Speaking of math channels, we know that custom math channels are high on the list for many of you. Rest assured that this feature is high on our list as well. We can’t yet promise a date for it, but we are thinking very seriously about it, and hope to have more news later.

You can get this new version from our download page at https://www.offcamberdata.com/alfano/, or simply restart your version of Off Camber Data. If you have a suggestion, feedback, or just want to say hello, drop us a line at feedback@offcamberdata.com, or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/offcamberdata/.

We are getting a lot of questions about the ALFANO 6. It is true that the integration with the ALFANO 6 does not work yet. This is our top priority right now, and we are working on it as hard as we can. If you want to get an update as soon as we are ready, please sign up for our newsletter on the right side. We will send an update when the new version is out. Thank you for your patience!

We just released version 81, with better translations for French and Spanish. With this update, the OCD ALFANO edition is officially out of beta, and becomes a properly supported version of OCD!

Free trial versions for both Windows and Mac are at www.offcamberdata.com/alfano/. If you like it, get your full license at our purchase page. Just this week, use the coupon code GREENGREENGREEN to get 25% off! The sale has ended, but keep an eye out for more sales in the future!

If you were supporting development by running our earlier Release Candidates, thank you very much for your help! Just start up your previous version of OCD, let it update itself, and follow the instructions on the screen to get 50% off.

For comments or questions send us an email at feedback@offcamberdata.com, or comment right here on the blog!

A lot of the time, working on OCD means sitting in an office and thinking about very small details. But not always. Sometimes it means tearing up a parking lot at night with a fast car and a pre-release version of a new data logger.

To celebrate the start of the Formula 1 season, here is an interesting picture of the new Red Bull:

In front of the wheel, in front of the slats, you can see a little bulge. That bulge houses the tire temperature sensors. My guess is that they’re infrared. We’ll hear more about these temperatures throughout the season. In fact, it was already the focus of a discussion Hamilton had with his engineer over team radio in qualifying.

It’s trade show season, and we’re in the middle of it. So far we’ve gone to PRI in Indianapolis, and Autosport in Birmingham, UK. We had fun discussions about data logging, analysis, and racing in general at both shows. I hope that in a few months we can show the fruits of those contacts publicly. In the meantime, here are some pictures of some really cool kit.

Under the hood of a Ford GT. I think there is a lesson to be learned here in that I don’t remember what the product was at this stand, only that they had a pretty car there.

The show being in America, this car was relegated to the sidelines, but I found it refreshing that their steering wheel wasn’t just a cardboard cutout, like they are most of the time. It was at the stand of Sony America, where we had good discussions about using the data coming from their cameras to do entry-level data logging.

We argued for a long time about the merits of this suspension layout, and I like to think we all learned something in the process.

The same car from the front. Apparently the University of Bolton prefers MoTeC.

Foolishly, I neglected to take pictures of the most exciting find of the two shows: Strain gauges that can be used to take real-time measurements of a kart’s frame. It would be quite exciting if we could use that to develop a vehicle dynamics model of a kart, and apply all the fancy simulation and prediction tools we have for big cars to karts.

After much soul searching, napkin drafting, and 1am thumb wars (we won’t tell you who won), we settled on a logo. One version is already on display on the web site home page. Here’s a glimpse of the icon version as well.

From a recent interview with the 2007 F1 World Champion:

Q: Looking at 2013 and the new car, the first test in Jerez seemed to be pretty positive for the team. Can you confirm that?
KR: We didn’t have any real issues in Jerez. The biggest problem here and in Jerez is basically the new software. We lose all the data when we are running – that is not very good when you are testing and you have some issues with parts and you cannot see it in real time. The car itself is running well – we just have to get that stupid data-logging system fixed. (Source)

James, if you’re reading this, we’ll gladly come out to Enstone and give you a hand 🙂

We greatly enjoyed both the Orlando and Birmingham trade shows. We connected with some great people, and we left with proof that Desiree is The Stig. (Shh, don’t tell anyone.) We’re looking forward to the coming weekend in Offenbach!

Off Camber Data is changing the way you analyze your track day. Stay tuned for more!