I've tried the Racelogic gps lap timer but was very disappointed in the results.The Raceligic was a nightmare to program every event ( I had to carry directions..) and would decide not to do anything but use up battery power on many occasions. I actually tossed it out the window once..I hated it that much.
I then went to Hotlaps..but can't read the dinky screen any longer. Tough getting older.
I like Harrys lap timer,but my iPhone doesn't like being on the exposed dash of the Atom. It went into overheated mode at Thompson,so no lap timer and no communication device till it cools,which took hours. So, I'm looking for an alternative lap timer.
I've read about the Aim Solo but would like to hear actual owner comments. I'm looking at the base model and want to know how simple it is to operate.
Does the Aim recognize Palmer and Thompson with little to no setup? How difficult is it to navigate to the "ready to race" stage? How easy it it to review lap times? How is battery life? Does it mount on the Ram ball/clamp system? Thanks.
It's not what you drive, it's how you drive. "Lap times matter"
I like mine, although I haven't tried anything else except the HotLap timer.
You're welcome to use mine to see to see if you like it before committing to buying one, I'm not using it
If you're interested PM me your address and I'll drop it in the mail to you.
To answer your questions: Does the Aim recognize Palmer and Thompson with little to no setup? Yes, when you turn it on the GPS recognizes your location and loads the appropriate track. How difficult is it to navigate to the "ready to race" stage? Just turn it on and drive. How easy it it to review lap times? As good as you could expect on the device. Gives you the top 3 at a glance and you can dive deeper and see all laps if needed. How is battery life? All day no problem. It doesn't have an on screen battery meter, which was annoying at first but it's never been an issue. I've never had the battery die. Does it mount on the Ram ball/clamp system? Yes.It has a magnetic mounting plate with a ram ball. Very easy to mount/unmount from the plate, you literally just grab it and pull it out of the mount.
The only gripe I have is with the desktop software. It's complete garbage. It gives you all the data you need to analyze laps but the usability is so incredibly poor you'll need to invest a lot of time in learning how to use it
It does have an on screen battery meter, but it's not easy to see, and i doubt it's accurate.
Mine glitches sometimes, and won't show any times, and needs a re-start. Otherwise, it's pretty good. Not fancy, but it works.
I actually like the software, now that I've spent a bunch of time with it. It's extremely powerful, but it's tough to get the hang of. It wasn't designed to be user friendly, that's for sure.
If you go to a track that isn't saved into the system, it's pretty easy. Turn it on, and it tells you that there are no tracks nearby, and asks if you'd like to create one. Click yes. Then it tells you to click again at the start finish line. Drive a lap, and click the button and it starts working. Once it's in, just turn it on and it works.
I'd definitely recommend taking someone's out on track to see if you like it, especially since it mounts by magnet, and can move from car to car extremely easily.
The only gripe I have is with the desktop software. It's complete garbage. It gives you all the data you need to analyze laps but the usability is so incredibly poor you'll need to invest a lot of time in learning how to use it
Mick (and other interested folks):
AiM often does training locally, and in a day you can really get a good handle on the software. The software is about as good as it gets for this industry, and it's head and shoulders better than the Racepak software.
With an hour's work setting up some profiles (saved, preconfigured collections of graphs and maps) you can get quick results. I'm happy to work with any COM member at the track or off the track to share what I know about the software. I also have cables for all the different dashes and am happy to provide track-side support. I helped a bunch of people with Solos set up a start-finish under at the bridge for this weekend.
Love the Solo, just turn on and go.
A couple questions,
When setting up your Solo, do folks generally use the standard Thompson track or "custom"? What I mean is that I created a track and loaded it into the Solo with the timing beacon at the bridge so the laps mostly align with COMs timing. Downside is that the corner splits do not go in the standard order (ie, turn 1 in the software is actually turn 6, etc). Not a big deal as you can move the beacon after the fact during analysis (I think).
The important question; does anyone have an Aim data file they would be willing to share for Thompson? Preferably from a high horsepower/low grip line? I'd like to overlay my laps to see where i'm royally screwing it up.
Thanks.
On Edit..
jeffw wrote:
I helped a bunch of people with Solos set up a start-finish under at the bridge for this weekend.
I Missed that, obviously you do move the beacon point to match.
Last edited by Gidyupp on Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
Tried out my new Aim Solo yesterday..I seem to be doing something wrong. I was at Whiskey Hill and it acquired satellites every time it was turned on, but only recorded one lap most of the time..sometimes a couple of laps,the most it recorded was 9 one session,and it should have been more like 15 that session. Many times,no laps. I did forget to turn it on a couple of times..which explains the no laps recorded...but not the one lap or couple of laps. Hmm.After a session,do I need to "save" laps for that session? Is there any way to disable the auto-off feature? If I am moving and turn the unit on,will it record laps properly? I'm really terrible with gadgets. The one thing I really liked about Harrys lap timer is its absolute simplicity. Too bad I can't load that software onto the Aim...
Thanks Jeff. I don't recall seeing any track identification show up..and I'm not sure how many satellites were available. I will be using the Solo again next Tuesday at Thompson and will pay more attention to what is on screen. I do recall seeing all zeros on the screen,and figured it was ready to go.30 feet was the default number so that's what I went with.
It's not what you drive, it's how you drive. "Lap times matter"
Connect with your laptop and run GPS Manager and make sure the Solo has the tracks you want loaded. If you aren't comfortable with that catch me at Mosport and I'll make sure it's set up.
Jeff Wasilko On the Track: 1995 Miata #08 To the Track: 2007 Volvo 780 On the Street: 2017 Volvo V60 Polestar
I was at Whiskey Hill and it acquired satellites every time it was turned on, but only recorded one lap most of the time..sometimes a couple of laps,the most it recorded was 9 one session,and it should have been more like 15 that session. Many times,no laps. I did forget to turn it on a couple of times..which explains the no laps recorded...but not the one lap or couple of laps. Hmm.After a session,do I need to "save" laps for that session? Is there any way to disable the auto-off feature? If I am moving and turn the unit on,will it record laps properly? I'm really terrible with gadgets. 
The one thing I really liked about Harrys lap timer is its absolute simplicity. Too bad I can't load that software onto the Aim... 