TRANSPONDERS

The Transponder

The small red sensor that you attach to your bike is the 'transponder'. This has an id number unique to each transponder. This is so the system can tell when you start & finish & the time you complete a track. Once you have purchased it, you need to go online to register the unit. Once this is done, the ID number is used when you enter a race. Your transponder has a subscription for a set time, generally a year, or you can set that for more. At the end of the term, you will be advised that you need to re-register, this is done easily online in a matter of minutes and you are ready to race again.

MEMBERS: your transponder number must be updated to your current licence form.

When purchasing a new device or requesting a replacement BMXNZ will automatically update your details.

What are they & why are we using them for BMX?

Taking the term above back to the basics, the "transponder" is a small part of a complete system. The MyLaps system is a digital timing system made up of sensors. At the beginning of a BMX moto, a sensor starts the race time when the gate is dropped. Then other sensors in the form of wire loops in the ground detect when the 'transponder' on your bike as it passes over the loop. These loops let the race system know a rider ID & the time when you pass over the loop. The system records all the riders & times in that moto, then the finish line loop stops the moto time for each rider. Then the next moto is started when its gate is dropped. The decision to use transponders has multiple sides, it gives the sport a new data in the form of race times, it is a more accurate way to determining finishing positions and it also speeds up race days due to the efficiencies of the finishing process, with no manual finish line decisions, no points board line up.

Having the loops at your local track & a transponder also means you can use the system to record times for training purposes. With multiple loops to give riders start times, straight times, corner times, it all comes down to the amount of loops in the ground & the system that records each segment.