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RACELOGIC Support Centre

Pass-By Noise Test - EPA

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This page contains an overview of the Test Setup in the EPA Pass-By Noise Test Plugin.

The EPA Pass-By Noise test plugin for VBOX Test Suite gives you the ability to carry out a test in accordance with the EPA regulation. 

Ribbon - Test Setup

The EPA Pass-By Noise test has a unique Test Setup ribbon, from which you can configure the test.

VBTS_EPA_TestSetup.svg

Test Section

VBTS_EPA_TestSetup_Test.svg

Configure

Click on the Configure button to open the Settings window where you can define the parameters of the test.

Report

Click on the Report button to create a report from the current test results.

Maths Channel

Click on the Maths Channels button to open the Maths Channels window to configure unique maths channels. You can find more information about maths channels in the Test Setup section.

Save Settings

Click on the Save Settings button to save the current test setup and add it to the Saved Settings area in the Add Test window.

The test will also be added to the list under the Pass-By Noise Test button on the Home tab for easy access.

Export

Click on the Export button to display a dropdown menu with the export options. You can export the selected results or line results to a .csv or a .txt file. 

Gate Section 

VBTS_EPA_TestSetup_Gates.svg

Start Line 1

If you are using an RTK solution to set start line(s), click the Start Line 1 button to set a start line. This will add a virtual start line to the Chart and Map areas at the current location of the cursor. Once you have added a start line, you can specify the gate width.

Start Line 1 will be indicated by a green line. The currently selected gate is indicated by a dark blue line.

Start Line 2

If you are using an RTK solution to set star lines, click the Start Line 2 button to set a second start line. This will add a second virtual start line to the Chart and Map areas at the current location of the cursor. Once you have added a start line, you can specify the gate width.

Start Line 2 will be indicated by a red line. The currently selected gate is indicated by a dark blue line. 

Gate Name

When you have added a gate, the name of the currently selected gate will be displayed in the name box. Click on the arrow in the box to see a dropdown list of all the added gates. The gates will be named according to the type of gate (if applicable) and the order it was added.  

Note: You cannot have multiple gates with the same name.   
Width

When you have added a gate, you can specify the gate width. The default gate width is 20 m.

Type the required width in the Width (m) value box. 

Note: If you change the gate width, the last used gate width will be used as the default width for the next gate. 
Rename

Click on the Rename button to edit the currently selected gate line.

Delete

Click on the Delete button to delete the currently selected gate line. 

Delete All

Click on the Delete All button to delete all set gates for the session. 

Export

Click on the Export button to export the created gate(s) as an .spl file. This file can be reused at a later date and with another VBOX product.

Import

Click on the Import button to import a previously saved or provided .spl file. When the file is imported, the gates will be added in the order that they were saved in the .spl file.

Data Column Section 

VBTS_TestSetup_DataColumnSection.svg

Add

The Add button adds a column to the Test Results area. Click this button to open a dropdown menu where you can select a channel to display in the test results window.

Channel 

When you select a column header in the Test Results area, the channel name will be displayed in the Channel box (the top box in the Data Column section). Some columns will have required channels and cannot be changed, but if you can change the channel, the Channel box will become a drop-down list with the available channels.    

Data column_SelectedColumn_DefaultChannel.svg

Data column_SelectedColumn_EditChannel.svg
Result Condition

When you select a column header in the Test Results area, and it is a changeable channel, the Condition dropdown menu becomes available. The conditions will depend on the test and selected channel.

Examples are:

  • Avg
  • Max
  • Min
  • Delta 
  • At Start
  • At End
Sort Ascending

The Sort Ascending button will sort the values in the currently selected column in the Test Results area in alphabetical order from A to Z.

Sort Descending

The Sort Descending button will sort the values in the currently selected column in the Test Results area in alphabetical order from Z to A.

Run Section 

VBTS_TestSetup_RunSection.svg

Select All

Click on the Select All button to select every run in the Test Results area with one click.

Deselect All

Click on the Deselect All button to deselect every run in the Test Results area with one click.

Session Section
Edit Data 

VBTS_TestSetup_SessionSection.svg

Click on the Edit Data button to open the Session Data window and add various vehicle and test information, such as:

VBTS_EPA_SessionData.svg 

Vehicle

  • Vehicle Model
  • Vehicle Number
  • Driver Name
  • Engine Model
  • Engine Number
  • Engine Capacity
  • Exhaust Model
  • Kerb Mass (kg)
  • Power (kW)
  • Idle RPM
  • Rated Engine RPM
  • Calculated Values

Measurements*

  • Front offset
  • Rear offset

Wheels/Tyres

  • Front 
    • Wheel Dimensions
    • Tyre Make
    • Tyre Dimensions
    • Tyre model
    • Tyre Pressure
  • Rear
    • Wheel Dimensions
    • Tyre Make
    • Tyre Dimensions
    • Tyre model
    • Tyre Pressure

Test

  • Test Date
  • Test Track
  • Test Facility
  • Comments

Conditions

  • Weather
  • Temperature (°C)
  • Track Temperature (°C)
  • Humidity (%)
  • Wind Speed (m/s)
  • Background Noise (dBA)
*Measurements 

The vehicle offsets measurements are mandatory. The other data is optional and will not affect the test or test result.

Enter the front and rear vehicle offsets from the laser light trigger (or from the GNSS antenna if you are using GPS start/finish lines). 

The test will start when the front of the vehicle passes the start line and it will end when the rear of the vehicle passes the finish line.

Save and Load Session Data 

When in Offline mode, the Session Data will be saved into the VBOX file.  This information will be recalled every time the file is loaded into VBOX Test Suite.

When in Online mode, a newly created session will be populated with session data from the previous session.

To save time, you can import and export the session data for other sessions. When you have completed the Session Data, you can export the data to a .vbses file by clicking on the Export button in the Session Data window. The exported file will contain all the session data and can be imported into another session via the Import button in the Session Data window.

Calculated Values

If you enter the Engine Capacity and Rated Engine RPM values in the Vehicle tab, the Calculated Values area will be populated to define the Entrance RPM target and Exit RPM value for the test.

These values are calculated as follows:

  • Entrance RPM: 50% of Rated Engine RPM or Exit RPM - (10% of Rated Engine RPM), whichever is lower.

  • Exit RPM: Based on the vehicle's engine displacement (CC) according to the following:
    • 0 – 175cc : 0.95 * Rated Engine RPM.
    • 176 – 675cc : (1.09 - 0.0008 * Displacement) * Rated Engine RPM.
    • 676cc and above: 0.55 * Rated Engine RPM.  
Help Section 
Help

VBTS_TestSetup_HelpSection.svg

Click on Help to automatically open an Internet browser and load the relevant section of the User Guide on the Racelogic Support Centre.

Note: This page will only be displayed if there is a valid internet connection. If there is no valid internet connection, a cached version of the relevant section (from the last software update) will be presented in PDF form.

Test Settings

If you are creating a new test, the Settings window will open when you add the new test. This is where you can define the test parameters.

If you have already added an EPA Pass-By Noise test and it is open, you can click on the Configure button to open the Settings window to define or amend the test parameters.

Use the arrow buttons on the right-hand side of each parameter section to expand and collapse the section to view or hide the available settings.

VBTS_EPA_Settings.svg

Start Conditions
Start On

With Laser Light Barrier:

Select the channel Trigger in the dropdown menu.

If you use a trigger as the start condition, the test will ignore any other trigger activations during the duration of the test.

With RTK Solution:

Note: To be able to select a Start Line for this setting, you must first configure the start line(s) as described above.

Select the relevant in the dropdown menu. 

As the test can be conducted in both directions, you can set 1 or 2 Start On lines in this setting. 
 

Start Line Offset (m)

Set the distance between the reflective strip and the Start Line (AA') in the test area. 

To prevent situations where the start line offset is less than the vehicle front offset to the antenna, the minimum value of the Start Line Offset (m) is 5 m.

It is recommended that the reflective strip is located 30 m after the Start Line.

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value or type the required value directly into the box.  

 VBTS_EPA_Settings_StartConditions.svg
Channels
Microphone 1

Specify the channel with the input for Microphone 1.

 

Microphone 2

Specify the channel with the input for Microphone 2.

 

RPM

Specify the channel with the engine speed input. 

 

Gear

Specify the channel with the gear input.

Note: You must specify the channels for Microphone 1 and RPM before you can run the test.
VBTS_EPA_Settings_Channels.svg
Temperature

Only when using a weather station, otherwise leave it blank.

Channel

Specify the channel with the Air Temperature.

If you select a channel, VBOX Test Suite will add a pass/fail column for Temperature in the results table to ensure that the ambient air temperature is within the specified range during each test. The default range is 5°C to 45°C.

 

Min (°C)

Specify the minimum temperature in the acceptable temperature range for the test. 

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value, or type the required value directly into the box.

  

Max (°C)

Specify the maximum temperature in the acceptable temperature range for the test. 

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value, or type the required value directly into the box.  

 VBTS_EPA_Settings_Temperature.svg
Wind Speed

Only when using a weather station, otherwise leave it blank.

Channel

Specify the channel with the Wind Speed.

If you select a channel, VBOX Test Suite will add a pass/fail column for Wind Speed in the results table to ensure that the wind speed, including gusts, doesn't exceed the maximum threshold at the height of the microphone during each test run. The default maximum is 5 m/s.

 

Max (m/s)

Specify the required maximum wind speed for the test. 

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value,, or type the required value directly into the box.  

 VBTS_EPA_Settings_WindSpeed.svg
Noise Threshold
Wide Open Throttle (dBA)

Specify the maximum sound level for the Wide Open Throttle tests.

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value or type the required value directly into the box.  

 

Steady Speed (dBA)

Specify the maximum sound level for the Steady Speed tests.

Use the arrow buttons next to the value box to increase/decrease the value or type the required value directly into the box.  

 VBTS_EPA_Settings_NoiseThreshold.svg

Reaction Delay

Reaction delay offset in seconds when using the WOT Countdown timer gauge only.

Some PCs have latency when displaying this particular gauge so this setting applies a reaction offset to the start of the test. 

The default value is 0.1 s which is adequate for most PCs.

 VBTS_EPA_Settings_ReactionDelay.svg

Test Results Area

The Test Results area is the area that displays all of the results from the current test. In this area, you can include/exclude results from the Chart area, display the average/max/min values and also easily identify any runs that have not met the pass criteria.

Every time you start a new test (via the START button on the dashboard), or load a new file, a new tab will be added to the Test Results area. This gives you the ability to switch between separate tests or files and compare runs from each. You can remove a session from the Test Results area by clicking on the X icon on the session tab.

Note: Whenever you make any changes to the test configuration, maths channels, vehicle dimensions, test units or session data, Test Suite will perform a file scan to apply the changes to the loaded files and update the Test Results, Map and Chart areas.  If you, for any reason, want to cancel this results scan, you can click the red X in the top right corner of the workspace. This will keep the updated settings but will not update the Test Results, Map and Chart areas accordingly.  
Rename File

You can rename a session tab by double-clicking the tab header. Changing the name on the session tab in the software will automatically change the name of the locally saved VBOX file (.vbo or .vbb).

Edit Session Data

By pressing the Edit Data button next to the name of the session in the Test Results area or on the Test Setup tab on the ribbon, you can add vehicle and test information to the session.

  • When in Offline mode, this information will be saved into the VBOX file, meaning that this information will be recalled every time the file is loaded into VBOX Test Suite.
  • When in Online mode, a newly created session will be populated with session data from the previous session.

This information will be included in the test report to make it easier to see under what conditions the test was conducted.

To save time, you can import and export the session information for use in other sessions (the entire range of data is exported, not just the visible screen).

Once the session information has been completed, you can export the data to a .vbses file. This file will contain all the session information that can then be imported into the open session information field.

Result Columns

VBTS_EPA_Results.svg
 

The Test Results area has the following default columns:

Run Indicates which run number the results relate to, with run one being the first run completed.

There is also a selection box that, when ticked, includes that run in the graph and into the Average/Max/Min/Standard Deviation calculations. Once selected, a coloured square will appear to indicate which colour this run is displayed as on the graph.
 
Note: If you are loading a file in Offline mode, all valid runs will automatically be ticked.
Entrance RPM The RPM value at the start of the test. If this value is outside the designated limit, this column will be highlighted red.
Exit -1m RPM  The RPM value 1 m before the end of the test.
Exit RPM The RPM value at the end of the test (defined by the value calculated in the Session Data).
Exit + 1m RPM The RPM value 1 m after the end of the test.
Exit Distance The distance covered in the test.
Mic 1 Max (dBA) The maximum sound level value of the microphone. If this value is outside the designated limit, this column will be highlighted red.

The software will automatically add columns based on any specified pass criteria.

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