From D.D. in Lawrenceville, Georgia:

We just received our new timer last week and I currently have the track set up in my basement with the timer.  We have run several tests with the timer and the RaceView software in preparation for our Derby.  We are very pleased with the performance so far, and look forward to race day.

From M.P. in Newport News, Virginia:

"Just a quick note to let you know how our Pinewood Derby ran this year. This year 99-00 (yes, I know we do it early) Pack 313 used a DT8000 timer coupled with RaceVIEW software for the first time. The derby ran great! We only needed three people total to run the race! It took less than 3 hours to run 54 cars in 6 divisions on a 4 lane track. Next year we are building an 8 lane track, and your timer will move easily to the new track. What a great product!"

From B.R. in Shalimar, Florida:

"Your timer has been a wonderful help on our Science Fair Projects."

From J. C. in Depew, New York:

"I just wanted you to know that Pack 618 had it's Pinewood Derby using the DT-8000. What a great product. We had some really close races and the DT-8000 displayed the winners perfectly. Everyone I talked to in the Pack told me that the DT-8000 was a needed addtion to our Pinewood Derby. By the way, the installation was a snap!! Thanks."
 

From L. M. in River Forest, Illinois:

"The timer worked flawlessly and was easy to install. Using it eliminated the difficult problem we usually encounter, try to determine the order of finish. The cars are so evenly matched that judging with the human eye is very difficult."
 

From J. J. in Little Rock, Arkansas:

"The timer worked great for us. The installation was easy and flawless. The operational manual was easy to understand and follow. I greatly appreciate your being able to accomodate me on such a short notice. No one else out there could do so. I think that you have a superior design and hook-up procedure comparatively speaking. Most others have to have software to run on a PC also. Again, thank you for your help, you pulled me out of a bad spot. Thanks."
 

From K.F. in Dahlonega, Georgia:

"Just wanted you to know that we had our RA Racer derby tonight. We utilized both timers triggered by a common switch. They performed flawlessly and made it much simpler to declare a winner in close races. We had one race in which there was a time difference of only 3/1000 of a second. Fastest time recorded = 2.253 seconds!!"  "Our friend who already bought one timer is considering buying a second timer for the same reasons.  His first timer is working fine!"
 

From R.B. in Loganville, Georgia:

"Great, Your product helped us achieve a consistent time. We finished first in our pack and 4th in the district meet. The best time on our own track was 2.524."
 

From K.P. in Greenville, Michigan:

"Thank you for your help in my search for a good user friendly finish line for our pinecar derby track...Thank you again for your friendly service."
 

From L. B. in Syracuse, New York:

"Just received my timer, looks great!"
 

From V. H. in Marietta, Georgia:

"I would like to thank you for getting a timer setup for me on such short notice. Our race was a success."
 

From K. P. in Greenville, Michigan:

"We were completely satisfied with the product and used the device with great success last Saturday. Thanks for your help and God bless!"
 

From D. M. in Roseville, Michigan:

"Your service was great in answering the few questions I had about the length of cables for the sensors."
 

From M. P. in Louisville, Kentucky:

"Operation: Wonderful! Made life easy."
 

From W. S. in Spencerport, NY:

"I am Cubmaster for Pack 373 in Spencerport, NY.  We ordered a four lane track from Piantedosi.  We are using your 8000 unit with
DerbyMaster software.  We connected the unit to a laptop and the laptop to a LCD projector.  We had 50 participants.  We ran a 5 round, 13 race derby.  We could have run 8 rounds in the time saving over last year, when we ran a single elimination derby.  All the boys raced 5 times, instead of some running once.  The timer and software performed flawlessly.  It was by far the best derby we have ever had!  I had some guests from other Packs present and they were very impressed.  I can't thank you and the Piantedosi family enough, you supplied the means to please a good many ordinary folks for our derby and the products will continue to be a source of joy for years to come. ... In this modern day of corporate giants it was a pleasure to do business with family owned operations.  The service I received was nothing short of FANTASTIC.  The DerbyMaster software was very good.  There are a couple of improvements I would like to see them add."

From D. S. in Deltona, FL:

"I purchased a DT8000 in January this year and used it to on February 5th to host a Royal Ambassador derby for our church's association.  We had 5 churches show up and participate with a total 50 racers.  We gave away awards for fastest racer in six different divisions.  For the first time, we gave out awards based on the actual time/speed rather than elimination using brackets.  Everyone complimented the race set up!"

From B. R. in Newnan, GA:

"Our derby was a great success with the impressive technology and accuracy - by utilizing your DT8000 and DerbyMaster software.  I am currently perfecting my 5 lane track with a new starting line."

From D. F. in St. Louis, MO:

"I was very pleased with the performance of the electronic timer I purchased from your company.  It was purchased for 2 reasons.  First, the development of 2 Pinewood Derby cars for my two sons, each of whom are in the Cub Scouts.  Second, my older son had a science fair project that incorporated the use of a special "derby" car we constructed where the weight of the car could be easily and incrementally modified.  The car was then "timed" to note the effect of the added weight on the velocity (timed) of the car.  We needed very precise timing in order for this to work.  It DID work, and enabled my son to win a first place at his school (for the science fair) and a second
place within the school district.

Our setup consisted of a track we had built in our basement, which was loosely patterned after the "regulation track" as designed by the BSA.  Our main goal was to quickly and inexpensively build a reasonable method of testing our cars that would closely replicate conditions of a good,
regulation track.  The timer enabled us to make very slight changes in the car and determine if we were changing things for the better or not.  We had a competitive "reference car" that we had built last year to use as the "time to beat car."  Anything we did had to be faster than that car.

Thanks again for your product!"

From R. H. in Boulder, CO:

"I used the Newbold timer with my 10 year-old-son on a science project measuring the speed of Pinewood Derby cars with varying weights and weight distributions (center of mass locations).  His project was titled, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Car, Now I Know How Fast You Are."  HIs conclusion was that cars with more weight and and center of gravity in the rear are faster. He interpreted the result as due to known laws of physics that have to do with air resistance (the overall weight effect) and potential energy (the center of mass effect). His project won a first prize.  He thanks your company in the write up."

From C. R. in Charlton, MA:

"We held our Pinewood Derby last weekend. Your timing equipment operated flawlessly."

From E. S. in Roswell, GA:

"Your timer worked fine for us. I used some homegrown software to run it (macro driven Excel using either Hyperterminal or a serial port .DLL from MarshallSoft Computing, Marshallsoft.com - WSC4VB, to access the serial port). Several dads showed interest in our set-up at the district race."

From B. R. in Lubbock, Texas:

"I purchased a one lane timer for about $100 from you a few months back and got excellent results. We used it to do an awesome science project to test 4 aspects of car design. The car we built then won the district championship, and by a healthy margin."

From B. E. in Walnut Creek, California:

"It is nice to hear from a seller after the sale.  Here are some facts about our situation:
1. We are Cub Scout Pack 200, Aklan district of Silverado Council in Northern California.
2. We do the Pinewood Derby each March.
3. We have about 90 kids (Tigers, Wolfs, Bears, Webelos).
4. We own (custom built by Dads) a six-lane track (no raised center strip, just vertical lane dividers).
5. We had been using an old computer with a card in it and cables to metal contacts at the finish line.  When the computer was stolen from storage, we decided on your timing system and the RaceVIEW software.
6. Your product worked perfectly.

The improvement in the race management, flow, and presentation to the audience (for the first time, we used a projection on the wall) was immense."

From T. P. in Witchita Falls, Texas:

"Our derby was an unprecedented success as a direct result of incorporating your product into race management.  We reduced the time of the derby by one-half which made a lot of parents happy, made crowd control of 60 scouts easier, and freed me up to be a bit more creative as far as conducting the event.  Because of the timing feature which was available, we chose to run two scout cars against one another in a time trial type setting since your timing feature was available for two cars without the computer.  I simply logged the race times in an Excel program I built, swapped lanes to ensure a fair run in each lane (they have some imperfections in all tracks), and raced a second time.  A third race for time was conducted against parents/siblings in the Open division (the Open cars had already established their times/top speeds) for fun, the scouts car was placed in the historically faster lane and they could elect to drop the lowest of the three times.  To make it more interesting we used a "scale speed" formula to determine winners not by time but by speed.  The boys loved hearing 192 MPH being announced over the PA for their cars.
    Your hardware allowed us to keep all the boys racing instead of dragging it into a double elimination situation where some go home after losing two races.  It also allowed us to award the fastest cars; previously it was conceivable that if the second or third fastest car in the Pack raced against the fastest in earlier heats, they would have been eliminated and not been recognized within the group.  Their exposure to your system coupled with the Excel program certainly spelled the end of the old scheduling methods here in North Texas."

From B. B. in St. Albans, Vermont:

"We had out Pinewood Derby Races on Saturday, March 18th.  Everything worked so well we are considering hosting our District meet next year.  We have a DT2000 and used the DerbyMaster software.  We raced about 50 cars.  Each car raced once on each of two lanes in about one hour.  We used the fastest combined time to determine the winner in each category.  The Timer worked flawlessly.  Thank you for making such a fine product available to us for our races.  I will recommend it to anyone that asks about it."

From M. P. in Louisville, KY:

"My Pack, Pack 116, ordered the timer last year and the 2 derbies we held it was fantastic.  Went to a district race today where there flashing light timer broke and the race had to be called by the judges, too many reraces for my taste.  Thanks for the timer."

From G. J. in Troy, IL:

"We used it for the Cahokia Mounds District Races. We raced about 350 cars on our three lane track. The two guys at the finish line said that the timer was a life saver.  A few races were too close to call by the human eye.  It also saved any arguments from the parents, ( which are sometimes worse than the kids)  The local Steelworkers union donated their computer to our pack yesterday, We hope to get it updated enought to buy the score program for next year's races.  Thanks Again"

From D. M. in Brookside, NJ:

"I am working with the Cub Scouts and am using DerbyMaster with the tiner.  As of right now I have run about 15 packs with over 350 boys.  I still have roughly four more packs to run; then the district derby in June.  I have experimented with different lighting and found that four 15 watt halogen bulbs, one over each lane works great."

From G. S. in Cincinatti, OH:

"We purchased the unit as well as software to run our Cub Scout pinewood derby in 2000.  It was a huge success.  People are still talking about how much more 'fun' the derby was this year.

We did a double elimination and projected the entire race results from the laptop onto a screen so all could see.  This enabled everyone to be amazed at how close the timing was for many of the racers.  Last year we used stop watches with humans.  This year we saw that we may have missed some winners in the past as we have seveal races where 1st and 2nd place was less than 1/100 of a second. ( the s/w measures to 1/1000 of a second).

PS.  As in Laser Tag games, we provided each participant a print out of their individual results before they left the race.  That was received extremely well by the boys. They (and their dads) got a kick out of it.

Thanks for making our race more enjoyable."

From D. F. in Fishers, IN:

"We found the timer to be very useful and accurate. This was our second year as a pack. We had 64 kids and we went thru the whole event in less than 2 hours with two re-starts due to track failure and adding a new racer after the first round was complete. It took less than 5 mins to re-run the race format after the late arrival.  It was a great investment and all the committee members thought the displays were excellent."

Check back here soon to see what others are saying about the Pinewood Derby Digital Timers!