FAQ

Short answers to common questions. For the full walkthroughs see Running an Event, Round Formats and Connecting a Timer.

Where is my race data kept?

Desktop app: in a folder called gridfpv-data/ right next to the app file. Everything is in there — pilots, classes, events, and every lap of every race.

• To back it up, copy the folder.
• To move computers, copy the app and the folder together.
• To start fresh, rename or move it. GridFPV makes a new empty one next time it starts.

Web version: the same data sits with the server on the machine you started it on — not in your browser. Opening it from another device doesn't copy anything. Everyone is reading and writing the same data on that one machine.

See Getting Started.

Desktop app or web version?

They're the same app with the same data. Pick by how you want to reach it.

• Desktop app — simplest. One file, double-click, a window opens. Ideal for running an event on one laptop at the field.
• Web version — when you want a browser, a second screen, or other devices on your network seeing the same event.

Which timers work with GridFPV?

Today: the built-in Mock timer (a simulator for learning and demos) and RotorHazard 4.3.0 or newer with the GridFPV RotorHazard plugin installed. More are planned.

See Connecting a Timer.

Do I really need the plugin for RotorHazard?

Yes. A plain RotorHazard is not enough.

GridFPV will connect to one without the plugin so you can work out what's wrong, but it won't let you pick that timer for an event and won't start a heat on it.

The plugin is what lets GridFPV run the race. It switches off RotorHazard's own race format and its own lap filtering, so every crossing reaches GridFPV and RotorHazard makes no scoring decisions of its own.

Installing it is a few clicks from inside GridFPV. See Install the GridFPV plugin.

Why can't I tick my RotorHazard timer for an event?

One of three things, and the timer's row says which:

• It's never been connected, so GridFPV can't tell whether the plugin is there. Connect it first — you don't need an event to do that.
• The plugin is missing. Install it and restart RotorHazard.
• The plugin is the wrong version for this GridFPV. Update it and restart RotorHazard.

See Connect and test.

How do I check a timer works before race day?

Open Timers on the home screen and press Connect. You don't need an event, a roster or a heat.

GridFPV dials the address and tells you in plain words whether it's reachable, or what to check if it isn't. Once it's up, a badge shows whether the plugin is there. Disconnect lets it go again.

Do this at home, not at the field.

What's the difference between channels and nodes?

Nodes are the timer's physical receivers. The number of nodes is the maximum pilots in one heat — an 8-node timer runs heats of 8.

Channels are the frequencies the timer can listen on. A timer can have more channels than nodes, so you choose which ones each heat uses.

Nodes are the chairs. Channels are the stations any chair can be tuned to.

See channels vs nodes.

Why "Timed — Most Laps" instead of a fixed lap count?

Because it's how FPV racing usually works. Everyone flies the same amount of time, and most laps wins.

It's easy to call, easy for pilots to understand, and the grace window (30s) means a pilot's last lap still counts if they crossed just after the buzzer.

You can still use First to N Laps for a fixed-distance race. See Win conditions.

Are practice laps saved?

Yes, exactly like any other format. They're in the lap list and the history, and you can fix them afterwards.

What Practice never does is score. It ranks nobody and feeds no standings, so there's no result to finalize. Use Time Trials when you want results that count.

See Practice.

My gate isn't recording laps. Where do I start?

Open the timer's Tune page and watch the live signal while somebody flies a pass.

The shaded crossing band is your answer. If it doesn't appear around the pass, the gate's enter and exit levels don't match what a real pass looks like on your track. Set them by hand, or press Capture and fly a pass to let the timer measure one.

See Tuning a Gate.

Mid-race, when tuning is blocked, Race Control's read-only Gate signal strip shows the same trace, so you can at least tell which problem you have.

Why did a lap disappear on its own?

Two different rules do this, and Marshaling tells you which:

"under min lap, auto-removed" — the round's min lap time caught it. Somebody crossed the gate sooner than a real lap could take on your track. The crossing was probably real; they may have cut the course or turned round at the gate. Restore it if it should count.

"same pass (gate bounce), auto-removed" — the gate reported one drone going past as several crossings a fraction of a second apart. Radio signal bouncing around, not extra flying. These are grouped into one line so they don't bury your real laps.

Neither is ever silent. Both show up in Marshaling with a Restore button.

See gate bounce for the difference in detail.

What's the difference between Remove and Throw out?

Remove says the crossing never really happened — noise, or a reflection. The crossing is deleted and the laps around it join up.

Throw out says the lap did happen but shouldn't count — a cut course, a penalty. It stays on the clock and stays visible, but is left out of scoring.

Quick test: bad detection → Remove. Broken rule → Throw out.

See Marshaling.

How do I do a quick test with no hardware?

Add the built-in Mock timer, make an event, and run a heat through Stage → Start → finish → Finalize.

The Mock timer invents realistic crossings, so you can practise the whole race-control flow on one laptop. See the Mock timer.

Do pilots need accounts? Is there a cloud?

No cloud, no accounts. GridFPV runs entirely on your own machine. At a field with no internet it still runs your whole event.

• The race director's own machine is trusted automatically. Nothing to log into.
• Another device on the network may need a passphrase, which the director sets.
• A read-only view lets pilots and spectators check standings without changing anything.

How do I reset everything for a fresh test?

Quit GridFPV, then rename or move the gridfpv-data/ folder next to the app. Next launch makes a new empty one.

Keep the old folder if you might want that data back.

How do I export results?

On the Results stage, press Export JSON. It downloads whatever you're looking at, using real callsigns rather than internal ids.

Can I run two tracks or two events at once?

One event runs one track at a time through Race Control.

You can keep as many events as you like in your library and open whichever you're running. Make and switch between them on the Events page.

What version am I running?

Bottom-right corner of the screen — for example GridFPV v0.4.0. Include it in any bug report.

What's still coming?

GridFPV is still growing. A few areas are thinner today, on purpose:

• Tournament structures — bracket builders (single and double elimination), multi-main tiers, and round robin — are being rebuilt on top of the three formats and will return. Until then, chain rounds by hand with From ranking seeding.
• Streaming and broadcast (overlays, announcer feeds) and an optional cloud tier are on the roadmap. The first overlay is here: the race timer you put over your video, see Overlays.

We'd rather ship these properly than promise them early. What's written here is what works today.