Description of the Sport Ident Equipment (2012)
Tips for organisers how to control SPORTident Technical information about SPORTident Equipment Competitor cards: ESticks There are many different types of SICards (EStick). The one we use in our Club is SICard 8. The number range is 2.000.000 to 2.999.999. It comes in two colours, red or blue with a black tip. Its data exchange time is 115 ms (millisecond) Total number of control records, 30 + clear, check,start & finish. It is compatible with SIstations 7/8 Control stations All SI units can be configured as Clear, Check, Start, Control or Finish. The ‘Stay Active’ time can also be configured (the default is 2 hours). This configuration is done by connecting a unit to a computer via a Main Station. The units are generally in Standby mode. However, when a unit is punched (and that first punch takes a relatively long time – 1 second), the unit switches to Active mode. The unit then operates normally until the limit of the Stay Active time is reached. But any further punches reset that countdown, so the unit only switches back to Standby mode 2hours (or whatever the Stay Active Time has been set to) after the last person punched it. There are a four ‘special’ SI cards that come with the kit. One is a ‘ServiceOff’ card that will manually switch a unit into Standby mode. There is also a ‘Clear Backup memory’ a ‘Start’ and a ‘Print Results’ card. The internal clock is temperaturecompensated and is accurate to about 1 second per day. A special ‘Time Master’ station can be used to synchronise the clocks in the control stations, or they can also be synchronised when the control stations are ‘connected’ to the computer. There are two types control unit currently being manufactured, BSF8 and BSF7: BSF8 This is the newer smaller size 101x51x19 mm weighing 62 g. The lithium battery typically lasts 3-5 years. The backup memory holds 21802 punches and when full, the oldest data is overwritten. There is a display on the underside showing station type and code (clear, check, control 138 etc) and clock time. Using the ServiceOff card to activate the unit causes other information to be displayed such as battery voltage, firmware version etc. The batteries can be changed by SPORTident or an agent authorised to do this. BSF7 This is the ‘classic’ larger size 115x62x32 mm weighing 148 g. It is functionally exactly the same as the BSF8 except that the lithium battery has twice the capacity, typically 4-7 years. The punching process The following are the stages of the punching process: 1. Competitor inserts the EStick into the hole in the unit The unit reads the competitor’s EStick (this is very quick) The unit writes the control code and time into the competitor’s E stick (this is the ‘longest’ process) 2. The unit reads the competitor’s Estick to verify that it has been written correctly 3. The unit bleeps and flashes and writes the card number and time into its backup memory. 4. Competitor withdraws the EStick Decisions to be made in advance Punching start or timed start. A punching start is more flexible. Note that if a start time exists in the card, then the results programme will use it. So it is possible to use a timed start for most, but allow those who need flexibility (e.g. officials, split starters etc) to use a punching start. Punching finish or timed finish. A punching finish is the only practical solution for large numbers of competitors. Backup pin punch or not. The rules say a backup pin punch ‘should’ be provided in case of unit failure. It does add one more thing for the planner to manage, but it is very annoying for a competitor if the unit won’t work and they have no way of proving they’ve been at the control. If no pin punch es are provided, then the organiser has no choice but to believe competitors who claim that the box didn’t work when they got there. An alternative to a pin punch is a threeletter code word (DOG, GUN, HAT etc) written on the SI unit. Procedures Checking the control sites In many areas, stakes can be put out a few days in advance, perhaps with the flag collapsed on the ground. The controller can then check the position of most of the stakes in advance of the competition day. On the day, the planner and helpers take the boxes out to the control sites. There is then no need for the controller to visit sites on the day, except for those few vulnerable ones which could not be placed in advance. For a club event it should not be necessary for the planner to punch the control stations as they are put out on the day. Spare units The planner should have a few spare timesynchronised boxes to hand. They should have the code with which they have been programmed written on very unobtrusively so that if one has to be used to replace a faulty unit, competitors are not confused. Note that the software will allow a replacement control code to be entered to cater for such eventualities. Spare clear, check and start units Hour change If the event is on the Sunday of the weekend when the clocks change, then special care must be taken. The control units will not know about the hour change! Control unit preparation Before the event, the backup memory of all the control units should be cleared. This is should be done by using the SIMaster in extended master mode thereby setting the time and clearing the memory in one operation. The synchronisation steps are: 1) Make sure the computer time is reasonable close to the NZ standard time then set the SiMaster time to the computer time using the software SIConfig and the Main Station and coupling stick. Use the SIMaster in ‘Extended Master’ mode to synchronise all the control stations. It is very important that for competitive events (A level) that ‘real’ competitors do not find the controls in Standby mode. The controller, planner or prerunners must punch all the controls in the morning, and the Stay Active Time must be set so that the controls are still active when the first real competitor visits. (The default 2 hours is normally insufficient and should be adjusted; 6 hours will normally be adequate. Note, this adjustment only needs to be made once; it does not have to be repeated for each event).In any case, all control sites need visiting on competition day to ensure they are in position and intact. The finish If a punching finish is used, particular care should be taken to ensure that the finish units are synchronised. The finish banner should be placed in line with the finish boxes and a control flag must be placed on each stake to make the finish units visible to a fastfinishing runner. Results If a competitor has a missing punch, the first thing to check is whether there is an extra punch on their splits around the appropriate time with an asterisk. That indicates that they went to the wrong control. (Or if it happens with an early finishing competitor, it may mean the course has been entered wrongly to the computer and needs correcting, or a box has the wrong code programmed into it in which case the replacement control function can be used.) If there is no punch in the competitors card for the correct control, and there is evidence that the control unit is functioning properly (e.g. most other people punched OK there), then the competitor must be disqualified. Note that other evidence of being at the control is not acceptable, because the competitor must both visit the control and punch properly. In the case of SportIdent, punching properly means putting the SIcard in the hole and getting the feedback (bleep/light). If the backup memory of the unit is subsequently readout, it may well show that the competitor was at the control. But normally in such cases, it merely confirms that the competitor punched too fast. If the punching process has not been completed, the backup memory will contain the card number plus an error code to indicate that the punching process did not complete. The competitor must not be reinstated on that evidence. The relevant rule states: 6.5.2 The control card, electronic or otherwise, must clearly show that all controls have been visited. A competitor with a control punch missing or unidentifiable shall be disqualified unless it can be established with certainty that the punch missing or unidentifiable is not the competitor’s fault and that the competitor visited the control. In this exceptional circumstance, other evidence may be used to prove that the competitor visited the control, such as evidence from control officials or cameras or readout from the control unit. In all other circumstances, such evidence is not acceptable. Page 6 of Identifying missing runners For a purely onthe day entry event where the entries are typed in, then you may be able to assume that all entrants will start and anyone not finished is still out on the course. However, for pre-entry events, or if Autodownload software is used, then the check stations must be delivered to the results processing after the last start so that their backup memory can be downloaded and the software can then know who really started. Note that it is very important that the backup memory of the check boxes was cleared before the event. Once the check boxes have been downloaded, lists of missing runners can easily be produced. Results publication On the afternoon/evening after the event, the split times should be uploaded to: • WinSplits • Route Gadget (if available) SplitsBrowser Splits comparisons are very interesting in the few hours and days after the event, but interest declines rapidly with time. Winsplits: In the OR program File > Export > Splits in CSV > write file name and save. Go to Winsplits website Click here 1. Select upload split times 2. Select Format …......CSV file 3. Follow the prompts and enter event Type of event ….........Regional (if you select Local or Club it will not appear on the opening web page and readers will have to search local events to view. Upgrades: Station firmware upgrade: When a new version of firmware is released, this will be published on the SPORTident website. Instructions for download and and installation is also available on the website: < Click here
Sport Ident Inventory: Click here
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