TRANSPONDERS

[R/Cat]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a Transponder to use for some vintage racing at the VONATs this coming September. I've been using their "house" transponders the last two years which are bulky and not always the most reliable. I've been keeping an eye on a Mylaps RC4 3-wire unit for $86 which seems rather expensive. Is that a good choice and are there any other options? Thanks.

[tamiya]

Mylaps (née AMB) is it, if you want something reliable & work well into the future. Unique ID for each.

Pricey but they seem to hold their resale too afaik.

Previously there were (are?) various compatible copies &/or Clones... they'd either copy your existing ID or have a selectable ID from a fixed list from the factory. But as you'd expect these non-originals usually MYSTERIOUSLY STOPPED WORKING every time there's a firmware/software/weather update from Battlestar HQ.

[RC10th]

3 wire transponders don't work on older systems. I think the whole idea of the 3 wire was to make clones like the PTX obsolete.

[tamiya]

good lord, blink away (for a few years ) and AMBrc has made a real hash of things huh?

Decoder............... Transponders

AMBrc........... AMB House TP,. AMB DP,. MRT iPT,. MRT PTX,. MyL rc2,. MyL rc4 (hybrid),. MyL rc4 (pure)
AMBrc3......... AMB House TP,. AMB DP,. MRT iPT,. MRT PTX,. MyL rc2,. MyL rc4 (hybrid),. MyL rc4 (pure)
MyLaps rc3.... AMB House TP,. AMB DP,. MRT iPT,. MRT PTX,. MyL rc2,. MyL rc4 (hybrid),. MyL rc4 (pure)
MyLaps rc4.... AMB House TP,. AMB DP,. MRT iPT,. MRT PTX,. MyL rc2,. MyL rc4 (hybrid),. MyL rc4 (pure)

afaik "Pure" only works with latest, "Hybrid" is backward compatible but dearer

MRT didn't waste time poking holes in the dyke either.

[terry.sc]

I've been keeping an eye on a Mylaps RC4 3-wire unit for $86 which seems rather expensive. Is that a good choice and are there any other options? Thanks.

The RC4 3 wire transponder will only work at tracks using the latest RC4 decoder. If a track hasn't upgraded the the RC4 system, the RC4 won't work. The most compatible one is the Hybrid, but Mylaps charge even more for that one.

The alternative is the MRT PTX. Works with all systems and not sealed in resin so you can replace damaged cases and leads.You can find them on ebay Team-MRT and on Facebookwhere they regularly offer discounts and sell reconditioned transponders for a lot less than full price.

[R/Cat]

Wow, great information, thanks guys. I immediately found an MRT transponder on Ebay for a small fraction of a new Mylaps RC4 so I'll head over to the VONATs thread to see if it's compatible with the track's decoder box(?).