ChronoTrack Systems CON-M800-USA1 MC627 Timekeeping System User Manual ChronoTrack UserManual v1 2

ChronoTrack Systems LLC MC627 Timekeeping System ChronoTrack UserManual v1 2

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ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualTableofContents

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Issued:January2010 

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ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.

111EastDiamondAvenue

Evansville,Indiana47711

U.S.A.

812‐423‐7800Main

314‐406‐7243Sales

812‐759‐7877Support

812‐423‐7801Fax

www.chronotrack.com

ChronoTrackUserManual

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualTableofContents

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Issued:January2010 1‐2

“ChronoTrack”, “D-Tag”, and “D-Tag Interrogator” are trademarks of ChronoTrack Systems, Inc. “Windows” is a

registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used

herein are property of their respective owners.

ChronoTrack Systems, Inc. makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to,

the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. ChronoTrack Systems shall not be liable

for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance,

or use of this material.

This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. No part of this document may be

photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language without the prior written consent of ChronoTrack

Systems.

ChronoTrack Systems shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The

information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind and is subject to change without notice.

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualTableofContents

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Issued:January2010 1‐3

1 TableofContents

1 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................. 1-3

2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 2-1

2.1 About This Guide .................................................................................................................................... 2-1

2.2 ChronoTrack System Overview .............................................................................................................. 2-1

3 Gator Setup and Configuration ......................................................................................................................... 3-1

3.1 Possible Gator Configurations ................................................................................................................ 3-1

3.2 Positioning and Linking Gators ............................................................................................................... 3-3

3.3 Connecting Antennas .............................................................................................................................. 3-4

3.4 Creating a “Dead Zone” .......................................................................................................................... 3-4

4 Controller Setup ................................................................................................................................................ 4-1

4.1 The Controller Interface .......................................................................................................................... 4-1

4.1.1 Status Indicator LEDs ......................................................................................................................... 4-2

4.2 Powering ON ........................................................................................................................................... 4-3

4.3 Pre-Event Configuration .......................................................................................................................... 4-3

4.4 Charging ................................................................................................................................................. 4-3

5 Using BoxScore ................................................................................................................................................ 5-1

5.1 The Main Screen ..................................................................................................................................... 5-1

5.1.1 Creating a Gun Start Timestamp and File Markers ............................................................................ 5-1

5.2 Configure Menu ...................................................................................................................................... 5-2

5.2.1 Network Configuration ........................................................................................................................ 5-2

5.2.1.1 Setting the Server Address ........................................................................................................................ 5-2

5.2.1.2 Advanced Network Configuration ............................................................................................................ 5-3

5.2.2 Powering ON/OFF Internal Components ............................................................................................ 5-3

5.2.3 Point Configuration ............................................................................................................................. 5-3

5.2.3.1 Point Configuration Data Input ................................................................................................................. 5-4

5.2.4 Copying Files to USB ......................................................................................................................... 5-5

5.2.4.1 File Copy Status Messages ....................................................................................................................... 5-5

5.2.5 Setup Wizard ...................................................................................................................................... 5-6

5.3 System Menu .......................................................................................................................................... 5-6

5.3.1 Shutting Down the System ................................................................................................................. 5-6

5.3.2 Setting the Time and Date .................................................................................................................. 5-7

5.3.2.1 Setting the Time on a Controller ............................................................................................................... 5-7

5.3.2.2 Synchronizing the Time on Multiple Controllers ...................................................................................... 5-7

5.3.2.3 Setting the Time with GPS ........................................................................................................................ 5-7

5.3.3 Maintenance ....................................................................................................................................... 5-8

5.3.3.1 Fast-Charging............................................................................................................................................ 5-8

5.3.3.2 Dry Mode .................................................................................................................................................. 5-8

5.4 Status Menu ............................................................................................................................................ 5-9

5.4.1 System Status .................................................................................................................................... 5-9

5.4.2 Reader Status .................................................................................................................................. 5-10

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5.4.2.1 Sending Reader Commands .................................................................................................................... 5-10

5.4.2.2 Checking Connected Antennas ............................................................................................................... 5-10

5.4.3 Establishing Network Connections ................................................................................................... 5-10

5.4.3.1 Establishing a Cellular (GPRS) Connection ........................................................................................... 5-12

5.4.3.2 Establishing a Wireless Connection ........................................................................................................ 5-12

5.4.3.3 Establishing a Wired Connection ............................................................................................................ 5-13

5.4.4 Operations ........................................................................................................................................ 5-13

5.4.4.1 Immediate Mode ..................................................................................................................................... 5-13

5.4.4.2 Zeroing Tag Counts ................................................................................................................................ 5-13

5.5 Messages Menu .................................................................................................................................... 5-14

5.5.1 Acknowledging Alerts ....................................................................................................................... 5-15

5.6 Updating BoxScore ............................................................................................................................... 5-15

6 Using CCSLite .................................................................................................................................................. 6-1

6.1 Configuration of CCSLite ........................................................................................................................ 6-1

6.2 Establishing Controller Connections ....................................................................................................... 6-1

6.3 CCSLite Raw Mode ................................................................................................................................. 6-2

6.4 Adding a Firewall Exception for CCSLite ................................................................................................ 6-2

7 Using SimpleClient ........................................................................................................................................... 7-1

7.1 SimpleClient Operation Modes ............................................................................................................... 7-1

7.1.1 Local Network Mode ........................................................................................................................... 7-1

7.1.2 Internet Server Mode .......................................................................................................................... 7-1

7.2 Connecting to the Server and Retrieving Data ........................................................................................ 7-1

7.3 Streaming Data ....................................................................................................................................... 7-2

7.4 Tag Invalidation ....................................................................................................................................... 7-3

7.5 File Formats ............................................................................................................................................ 7-3

7.6 Saving SimpleClient Data ....................................................................................................................... 7-3

7.7 Filtering Data ........................................................................................................................................... 7-4

7.7.1 Creating Tag Ranges for an Event ..................................................................................................... 7-4

7.8 Creating Virtual Points ............................................................................................................................ 7-4

7.9 Creating and Using an Announcer Line .................................................................................................. 7-5

7.10 Loading Controller Files .......................................................................................................................... 7-5

7.11 Establishing a Direct Socket Connection with Scoring Software ............................................................. 7-6

7.12 Setting Time Intervals for Pass Counts and Same Tag Observations .................................................... 7-6

7.13 Creating Time Shifts ................................................................................................................................ 7-6

7.13.1 Disabled ........................................................................................................................................ 7-6

7.13.2 UTC to Local Timezone ................................................................................................................. 7-7

7.13.3 Manual ........................................................................................................................................... 7-7

7.13.4 00:00 Start ..................................................................................................................................... 7-7

7.14 Renaming Events/Points ......................................................................................................................... 7-7

7.15 More SimpleClient Functions .................................................................................................................. 7-7

8 Printing and Re-encoding D-Tags ..................................................................................................................... 8-1

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8.1 Printer Installation ................................................................................................................................... 8-1

8.1.1 Printer Setup - Hardware .................................................................................................................... 8-1

8.1.2 Printer Setup – Software .................................................................................................................... 8-4

8.1.3 Printer Setup - Windows ..................................................................................................................... 8-5

8.2 RFID Encoder Installation ....................................................................................................................... 8-9

8.3 Barcode Scanner Installation ................................................................................................................ 8-12

8.4 Installation of Software .......................................................................................................................... 8-13

8.4.1 PrintDTag Software .......................................................................................................................... 8-13

8.4.2 Wasp Labeler – Barcode Label Software ......................................................................................... 8-13

8.5 PrintDTag Software ............................................................................................................................... 8-14

8.5.1 PrintDTag Main Menu ...................................................................................................................... 8-14

8.5.2 PrintDTag Default Settings ............................................................................................................... 8-14

8.5.3 Printing D-Tags ................................................................................................................................ 8-17

8.5.4 Validating D-Tags ............................................................................................................................. 8-19

8.5.5 Re-encoding D-Tags ........................................................................................................................ 8-20

8.5.6 Reading D-Tags ............................................................................................................................... 8-21

9 Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................................ 9-1

10 Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 10-1

10.1 System Specifications ........................................................................................................................... 10-1

10.2 File Format Specifications ..................................................................................................................... 10-1

10.2.1 Available Fields ........................................................................................................................... 10-2

10.2.2 File Format Indicator .................................................................................................................... 10-2

10.2.3 Fixed Width Size Considerations ................................................................................................. 10-5

11 Index ................................................................................................................................................................ 1

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualIntroduction

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Issued:January2010 2‐1

2 Introduction

ChronoTrack is a cost-effective timing and tracking system for use at athletic events, such as a marathon or a road

race. ChronoTrack “D-Tag” technology uses specially designed RFID controllers and antennas to track an EPC-

certified, UHF RFID tag that is attached to the runner’s foot during the race. Using this system, ChronoTrack

Systems, Inc. provides full-service race timing packages, including internationally certified race timers, bibs, tags, and

race timing equipment.

2.1 AboutThisGuide

This guide describes how to set up, configure, and use ChronoTrack system components to time and track athletic

events.

This symbol indicates cautions and warnings where necessary.

2.2 ChronoTrackSystemOverview

The ChronoTrack system is comprised of the components listed below. See System Specifications in the Appendix

for more details.

 D-Tag Interrogator (“Gator”)

A D-Tag Interrogator, also known as a Gator, is a specially designed modular track that is placed at each

timing location. Each Gator is 42 inches long and is connected with other Gators until they span the entire

width of the roadway at the designated timing location.

 D-Tag Interrogator Core (Antenna)

A D-Tag Interrogator Core Antenna fits inside each Gator and reads participant D-Tags as they pass over

that portion of track. This information is then sent to the ChronoTrack controller.

 ChronoTrack Controller (400 or 800 Series)

A ChronoTrack controller stores and reads the RFID data that is recorded by the antennas at its timing

location. A 400 Series controller can support a configuration of up to four Gators (a span of up to 14 feet),

and the 800 Series controller can support a configuration of up to eight Gators (a span of up to 28 feet).

 DC Power Cable

The DC Power Cable enables you to run the ChronoTrack controller from an auxiliary battery source.

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 Cable Sets (Short or Long)

Cable sets connect the Gator Core Antennas together and to the controller. The short cable set supports a

full 400 Series controller, and the long cable set in combination with a short set supports a full 800 Series

controller.

 ChronoTrack Software

The system comes equipped with the following software:

 BoxScore software that enables information to be downloaded from a controller during or after an

event using a simple touch screen interface.

 SimpleClient software that retrieves and manipulates controller data for use in third-party scoring

software.

 CCSLite software that helps establish LAN and Wi-Fi connections with the SimpleClient software.

 PrintDTag software is also available separately for printing your own D-Tags.

DOTregulationsprohibittheshippingoflithiumbatteriesbyaircraftorvessel.Shippedcontrollersmustincludethe

followinglabel:“LITHIUMBATTERIES:FORBIDDENFORTRANSPORTABOARDAIRCRAFTANDVESSEL”.

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualGatorSetupandConfiguration

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Issued:January2010 3‐1

3 Gato rSetupandConfiguration

The ChronoTrack Controller and modular Gators are versatile and allow for multiple configurations. Timing locations

can be configured to be as narrow as 42 inches or as wide as 56 feet of continuous lengths, with one controller

covering as much as 28 feet.

3.1 PossibleGatorConfigurations

In preparation for an event, it is important to determine the width of the roadway at the designated timing locations.

This information is used to determine which configurations of Gators and controllers will best suit your needs. With

the ChronoTrack system, a backup start line is recommended to increase overall performance of the system and as a

fail-safe measure to ensure every tag is read.

The following are some possible configurations. Note that spacing is not to scale.

Primary and Backup with Two 400 Series Controllers

14 Feet (4.27 Meters)

UnnetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,1Reader,4Gators

NetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,1Reader,4Gators

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualGatorSetupandConfiguration

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Issued:January2010 3‐2

Primary and Backup on a Single 800 Series Controller

14 Feet (4.27 Meters)

UnnetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,2Readers,8Gators

NetworkedPointConfiguration:N/A

Primary and Backup with Two 800 Series Controllers

28 Feet (8.53 Meters)

UnnetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,2Readers,8Gators

NetworkedPointConfiguration:2Controllers,4Readers,16Gators

Primary and Backup with Four 800 Series Controllers

56 Feet (17.07 Meters)

UnnetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,2Readers,8Gators

NetworkedPointConfiguration:4Controllers,8Readers,32Gators

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualGatorSetupandConfiguration

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Issued:January2010 3‐3

Primary and Backup Triathlon In and Out on a Single 800 Series Controller

7 Feet (2.13 Meters)



UnnetworkedPointConfiguration:1Controller,2Readers,8Gators

NetworkedPointConfiguration:N/A

3.2 PositioningandLinkingGators

To position and link Gators, complete the following procedure:

1. Position the Gators on the ground with the cable compartment hinges facing in the direction from which

runners will be approaching, and then link the connecting ends together. Primary and backup lines should

be spaced 10 to 12 feet apart.

2. Insert the Impinj Threshold antenna into the cable compartment of each Gator, placing it in the direction of

the controller with the writing on top. The Impinj logo will face the runners.

3. Starting with the Gator farthest from the controller, connect the Core antennas together using the

appropriate cable set for your configuration. When the connectors tangibly ‘click’, the cables are connected

correctly.

4. Pass the cables through the Gators using the top trough in the cable compartments. Make sure the cables

do not cross over the top of a trough. This can cause the lid of the Gator to close unevenly.

5. Connect the cables from the nearest Gator to the corresponding ports on the controller, matching the color

of each cable to the color of the port (Red cable to red port, blue to blue, etc.)

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualGatorSetupandConfiguration

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6. The only antenna licensed for use with this controller is the Impinj Threshold Antenna P/N: IPJ-A031-USA0E

using the cable sets provided by ChronoTrack Systems LLC. CAUTION – Any changes or modifications to

antenna and or cables used to attach the antennas to the controller without the express permission of

ChronoTYrack System LLC will void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

3.3 Creatinga“DeadZone”

In order to avoid cross-reads when lines are placed next to each other, for example, two races finishing at the same

location on different ChronoTrack lines, it is necessary to either create an 8’ x 12’ “dead zone” or use a reflective

insulation barrier.

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4 ControllerSetup

4.1 TheControllerInterface

ChronoTrack Controllers housed in crush-proof, waterproof, heat-resistant transport cases. The cases also provide

magnetized lid supports to shield the controller interface during inclement weather. In harsh conditions, you can place

controllers in plastic bags for further protection.

The controllers run on the Windows CE operating system and are pre-loaded with BoxScore software for easy setup

and configuration. A touch panel LCD screen is used to interface with the controller.

Two RFID readers are inside each controller. The readers correspond to the ports on the controller: Ports 1-4

correspond to Reader 1, and Ports 5-8 correspond to Reader 2. To ensure accurate D-Tag readings, tags are read

within eight feet of a timing line, and the data is tracked and calculated as participants pass over the line so that the

most accurate time is reported.

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualControllerSetup

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Issued:January2010 4‐2

The controller interface and legend are shown as follows:

A. LidSupportMagnets

B. ConnectionMesa

C. ACPowerCable

D. PowerSupply

E. Wi‐FiAntennas

F. Loudspeaker

G. DisplayMesa



H. ResetButtonPinhole

I. PowerSwitch

J. TPC(TouchPanelComputer)Mesa

K. StatusIndicatorLEDs

L. TouchPanelScreen

M. CellularAntenna(GPRS)



4.1.1 StatusIndicatorLEDs

When a controller is powered ON, LEDs on the Display Mesa light up depending on the status/activity. The LEDs are

described in the following table.

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LED Name Color Function

ETH 1 Flashing green Activity

None No activity

ETH 2 Flashing green Activity

None No activity

WIFI Flashing green Activity

None No activity

Cellular Flashing green Activity

None No activity

Power Green Power ON

None Power OFF

Battery Status Green Total battery charge over 50%

Amber Total battery charge at 50% or

less

Red Total battery charge at 10% or

less

4.2 PoweringON

To power ON a controller, press the red switch on the back of the Display Mesa.

Each time a controller is powered ON, the Setup Wizard initializes the box. The first time the Setup Wizard runs, you

are prompted to enter information about the event, such as the event name, point name, and number of controllers

and Gators being used (see Point Configuration). When the controller is subsequently powered ON, if properly

configured, the Setup Wizard ensures that the proper connections are made and completes without interruption.

NOTE: When networking controllers together, the number of Controllers, Readers and Gators must be configured

during initial setup of each controller. The time and date can be set on one controller and synchronized with the

others. See Synchronizing the Time on Multiple Controllers for more information.

4.3 PreEventConfiguration

Before an event, you must configure the type of point (start, split, etc.), and set the time and date using the BoxScore

software. After configuring these items, shut down the controller and deploy it to its proper timing point. See Point

Configuration and Setting the Time and Date for more information.

4.4 Charging

Each controller contains up to six batteries. The charge on each battery is good for approximately eight hours with a

single reader (400 Series) in use, and four hours with two readers (800 Series) in use. LED lights on the controller

TPC Mesa indicate the total battery charge. The battery charge percentages are also shown on the System Status

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualControllerSetup

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screen. When the total battery charge is depleted to 10% of its capacity, the controller sends an alert (see

Acknowledging Alerts).

To charge the controller battery, use one of the following methods:

 Use the power cord: Connect the power cord to the PWR jack on the Connection Mesa and power the

system ON. The controller must be powered ON in order to charge.

 Use an external battery: Unplug the power cord and connect the external battery to the PWR jack. (This

method of charging is not power efficient)

To operate the controller using an auxiliary battery source, connect the DC cable to the auxiliary battery and plug it

into the AUX PWR jack on the Connection Mesa. Power the system ON.

Turn off ports that are not being used and other internal components for increased battery life. See Powering

ON/OFF Internal Components for more information.

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5 UsingBoxScore

BoxScore is the software application that runs on the controllers.

5.1 TheMainScreen

After a controller is powered ON and the Setup Wizard

completes, the main screen is displayed.

The following menus can be accessed using buttons

on each corner of the screen:

 Configure menu: Used to configure settings

before an event.

 Status menu: Used during an event to

display status.

 System menu: Used for system maintenance

after an event.

 Messages menu: Used to view and

acknowledge system alerts, and to display

gun and marker timestamps.

Other elements of the main screen include:

 Connect or Disconnect: This button is used to establish a cellular, wireless, or LAN connection to the

server. When a network is connected, the button text changes to “Disconnect” and can be used to

disconnect from the network. See Establishing Network Connections for more information.

 Event and Point: These fields display the event and point names as configured in the Point Configuration.

 Tags: The blue count indicates the total number of unique D-Tags read by the controller. The black count

indicates the total number of tags read by the controller. (A tag is read again if a participant passes over the

same timing line beyond the five second read window, for example, if the start line is also used as the finish

line.) The box to the right of the tag count (beneath the Status button) displays up to five of the most recent

tag reads. Data is not displayed here until after the accurate time is calculated and assigned for the tag

(about five seconds). To clear the tag count, see Zeroing Tag Counts.

 Network connection status: The area beneath the Tags label indicates the controller’s network connection

status. The black number next to the connection status is the total number of reads that have been passed

over the network. See Establishing Network Connections for more information.

 Message line: The line below the network connection status displays messages such as the controller’s

working status, gun start times, and marker times.

 Gun Start and Marker: These buttons are used during an event to set gun starts and markers. See Creating

a Gun Start Timestamp and File Markers.

 System time: The current system time is displayed in the bottom center of the main screen. To change the

system time, see Setting the Time and Date.

5.1.1 CreatingaGunStartTimestampandFileMarkers

To set the Gun Start during an event, touch the Gun Start button on the BoxScore main screen. This creates a gun

start timestamp in the data files for later use in your scoring software.

To create a marker timestamp, touch the Marker button. Creating file markers helps you organize the data. When

you set a marker, data from that point on is collected in a different session.

Gun start and marker timestamps are displayed on the message line of the BoxScore main screen, and can also be

viewed from the Messages menu.

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5.2 ConfigureMenu

The Configure menu provides the following buttons:

 Network: Used to set the server address for LAN, Wi-Fi and cellular connections and for advanced network

configurations. See Network Configuration.

 Power: Used to power internal controller

components on and off for battery

conservation. See Powering ON/OFF Internal

Components.

 Point: Used to configure events and points.

See Point Configuration.

 File: Used to copy files from the controller to

a USB device, usually before or after an

event. See Copying Files to USB.

 Setup Wizard: Used to run the Setup Wizard

to reinitialize the controller. The Setup Wizard

resets all settings to the defaults and can be

used as a troubleshooting step. See Setup

Wizard.

 Done: Used to exit the Configure menu and

return to the main screen.

5.2.1 NetworkConfiguration

Network configuration options are available to set the

server address for LAN, Wi-Fi and cellular connections

(see Setting the Server Address), and to reconfigure

the IP address, netmask, and gateway for LAN and

Wi-Fi networks (see Advanced Network

Configuration). To access these options, complete the

following steps:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Configure.

2. On the Config Menu screen, touch Network.

3. When finished working with Network Config

options, touch Done.

5.2.1.1 Setting the Server

Address

In order to download controller data directly to a laptop, a network connection must be established with a server. To

set the server address, complete the following steps:

1. On the Network Config Options screen, touch the Server button.

2. Enter the IP address you wish to use as the server, Touch OK.

The Server button displays the server or IP address that you entered.

3. Touch Apply, and then touch Done.

After setting the server address, you must establish the network connection. See Establishing Network Connections

for more information.

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5.2.1.2 Advanced Network

Configuration

To change the IP address, netmask, and gateway for

LAN and Wi-Fi networks, click the Configure

Adapters button on the Network Config Options

screen.

Click the buttons to change the addresses and

gateway. The Cellular addresses are assigned by the

Internet service provider and are read-only.

Do not make changed here unless directed.

5.2.2 PoweringON/OFFInternal

Components

Battery power can be conserved by turning off individual controller components that are not being used. The readers

consume the most power. If you are only using four ports on an 800 Series controller, turn off the second reader to

nearly double battery life.

To power on/off internal components, complete the

following steps:

4. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Configure.

5. On the Config Menu screen, touch Power.

On the Power Menu screen, buttons indicate

whether a component is on or off.

6. Touch the desired item to switch to the

opposite setting.

7. When finished, touch Done.

5.2.3 PointConfiguration

When you first set up a controller, the Setup Wizard

prompts you to configure the timing point by displaying the Point Config screen. Thereafter, as long as the proper

connections are made based on the configuration, the Setup Wizard continues through the point configuration. For

example, if the controller is configured as shown in the image and only four antennas are connected, the Setup

Wizard will display the Point Config screen and the # Gators box will display 4 of 8, until the other four antennas are

connected or until you touch Done.

TouchingDonewithoutproperconfigurationwillresultinreducedperformanceofthesystem.

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You can make changes to the point configuration at any time. To access the Point Config screen, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Configure.

2. On the Config Menu screen, touch Point.

Buttons on the Point Config screen display the current

settings. Touch a button to name or rename an event

or point, or to specify the number of controllers,

readers, and Gators used for this event. See Point

Configuration Data Input for information about

switching between alpha and numeric text entry.

Event values should be unique per event, for example,

“NYMARATHON” or “CHICAGO5K”. Point values

should be unique based on their location, for example,

“START”, “10KSPLIT”, or “FINISH”. All controllers for

an event should have the same event name.

When Alert on Change is checked, an audible alert is

sounded and the Display Mesa flashes red lights when

the controller detects a disconnect, such as loss of

antenna or network connection.

Note: Selecting Alert on Change does not require hitting Accept.

5.2.3.1 Point Configuration Data Input

When entering values for point configuration items, you can use the Alpha Entry screen or Numeric Entry screen.

To switch between the two screens, touch the ALPHA

or NUM button in the top left corner of each screen.

When done entering text, touch OK. A blank value is

entered if there is no entry. To cancel without making

changes, touch Quit.

The Alpha Entry screen is similar to a telephone

alphabet. To select a letter that is not the first listed in

the block, you must touch that button multiple times.

For example, to enter an R, you would touch the

PQRS button three times.

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5.2.4 CopyingFilestoUSB

When a controller is powered ON, it creates and works on one data file until the box is powered OFF. If a controller is

powered ON and sees no tags during that session,

an empty file is created.

You can copy the data files from a controller to a

USB device to load the data into SimpleClient.

To copy files to a USB device, complete the

following procedure:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Configure.

2. On the Config Menu screen, touch File.

3. Insert a USB device into one of the USB 1.0

drives on the controller.

WhiletheUSB2.0Standardisbackward‐

compatiblewith1.0,notallUSBdevicesmeettheUSB

2.0standards.Werecommendtestingyourflashdrive

beforeanevent.Wealsorecommendusingthumbdriveslessthan2GB;largerdrivestakelongertoinitializeandsometimes

appeartohavecausedthesystemtolockupwhenithasnot.

4. Confirm that the status line in the lower left corner states “Ready to Copy”. If the status line does not display

“Ready to Copy” in 15 seconds, touch the USB button on the top left of the File Copy screen to reinitialize

the drive. See File Copy Status Messages for more possible status line messages.

5. When the status line indicates that the system is ready, select file(s) to copy by doing one of the following:

 To copy an individual file, touch the file to copy in the Memory section, then touch  To USB.

 To copy all files, touch ALL.

 To copy the current working file, touch Current. This function can be used during an event to

capture waves of participants. For example, if the first 100 participants have finished, you may want

to copy the current file to obtain that data immediately.

If the files are large, it can take several seconds for the file to copy. The status line on the File Copy screen

displays a count to indicate the progress.

6. When finished, touch Done. A folder is created on the USB device with a name matching the point name.

Data files are time and date stamped (MM/DD/TIME) in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format.

Files older than two weeks are erased automatically to conserve memory. To clear data files manually, touch the

Clear Memory button on the File Copy screen.

5.2.4.1 File Copy Status Messages

The following is a list of possible messages displayed on the status line of the File Copy screen:

 ReadytoCopy

 ErrorCopyingFile

 LookingforUSB

 CopyComplete

 InsertUSB

 CopyAllComplete

 CopyinProgress

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 ClearinProgress

 SelectItemtoCopy

 ClearComplete

 SystemBusy

5.2.5 SetupWizard

The Setup Wizard runs automatically each time a

controller is powered ON, performing steps to initialize

the box. The first time the Setup Wizard runs, you are

prompted to configure a point for this event. When the

controller is subsequently powered ON, the Setup

Wizard completes without any prompts as long as

connections match the point configuration. See Point

Configuration for more information.

The Setup Wizard can be run manually at any time to

reinitialize the controller as a troubleshooting step. To

run the Setup Wizard manually, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Config.

2. On the Config Menu screen, touch Setup

Wizard.

3. When done, touch Done to exit this screen.

5.3 SystemMenu

The System menu provides the following buttons:

 Shut Down: Used to properly power OFF the controller. See Shutting Down the System.

 Time: Used to set the time and date on the

controller. See Setting the Time and Date.

 About: Displays ChronoTrack Systems

contact information and BoxScore version

information.

 Maintenance: Used to “fast-charge” the

battery and to dry out the controller. See

Maintenance.

Do not touch this button during an

event. Thiswillcausethecontrollertostop

collectingdata.

 Command: Used by ChronoTrack Support to

help you troubleshoot issues.

 Done: Used to exit from the System Menu and return to the main screen.

5.3.1 ShuttingDowntheSystem

To properly shut down a controller, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch System.

2. On the System Menu, touch Shut Down.

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3. On the confirmation screen, touch YES.

This procedure ensures that the proper processes are complete and the data is saved.

A hard shut-down is not recommended, but can be accomplished by pressing the power button for seven seconds.

5.3.2 SettingtheTimeandDate

To set the time and date, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

System.

2. On the System menu, touch Time.

3. Select one of the following three options for

setting the time:

 Current: Set and synchronize the time

on networked controllers.

 Manual: Set the time on this controller.

 Update with GPS: Obtain the time

automatically from a GPS satellite.

4. Set the date by typing into the Month, Day,

and Year boxes or by using the up/down arrows. Setting the date is important if events run past 24 hours or

roll over to the next day during an event.

5. After setting the time and date, to exit from this screen, touch Done.

5.3.2.1 Setting the Time on a Controller

To set the time on a single controller, complete the following procedure:

1. On the Manage Time screen, touch Manual.

2. Touch the Enter Time button.

3. On the Enter Time screen, enter the correct time in [hh]:[mm]:[ss] format. Be sure to insert colons as

appropriate.

4. When done, touch OK.

5. On the Manage Time screen, make sure the date is correct or make adjustments.

6. Touch Set Time.

The Display Mesa glows red to indicate that the time is now synchronized. If the controller does not glow reset the

time.

5.3.2.2 Synchronizing the Time on Multiple Controllers

To synchronize one controller with other networked controllers, complete the following procedure on the controller

you would like to synchronize to:

1. Connect the controllers together using a network cable. (This does not need to be a crossover cable, and a

hub/switch/router is not necessary since the controllers have two network ports.)

2. On the Manage Time screen, touch Current.

3. Touch Set Time.

The Display Mesa glows red on all networked controllers to indicate that the time is now synchronized. If one

controller does not glow, check the cables to make sure they are properly connected and re-sync the time.

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5.3.2.3 Maintenance

The Maintenance menu can be used to perform a

quick charge of the battery or to turn on fans to dry out

the controller.

To perform maintenance, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

System.

2. On the System menu, touch Maintenance.

DonotenterintoMaintenanceduringanevent.

Theoperationsonthisscreencausethecontrollertostop

collectingdata.

5.3.2.4 Fast-Charging

Fast-charging is useful when you need to quickly

obtain as much power as possible, for example, when you have two back-to-back events.

To perform a fast charge, touch the Fast Charge button on the Maintenance Menu screen. This shuts down unused

components. The battery charge status is displayed next to the button.

To stop fast-charging and exit the Maintenance Menu, touch Done. The Setup Wizard runs to initialize the controller.

5.3.2.5 Dry Mode

Dry mode causes the controller to enable both readers to produce heat, and turns on fans to pump air through the

box.

To start Dry mode, touch Dry on the Maintenance Menu screen.

To stop Dry mode and exit from the Maintenance Menu, touch Done. It can take several seconds for the fans to stop,

then the Setup Wizard runs to initialize the controller.

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5.4 StatusMenu

The Status menu provides the following buttons:

 System: Displays battery and memory

usage, version information, and other status

information about the controller. See System

Status.

 Point: Used to send commands directly to a

reader and to check the status of antenna

port connections. See Reader Status.

 Upload: Used to establish cellular network

connections. See Establishing Network

Connections.

 Operations: Used for enabling Immediate

mode for working with live results and for

resetting tag counts. See Operations.

 Done: Used to exit from the Status Menu and

return to the main screen.

5.4.1 SystemStatus

The System Status screen is used to view status information about the controller. To access this screen, do the

following:

1. From the main BoxScore screen, touch

Status.

2. On the Status Menu screen, touch System.

The information is organized as follows:

 Battery: This area shows the number of

batteries and the voltage and available

charge percentage of each.

 Storage Available: Displays the amount of

available memory. Each controller provides

up to one GB of storage.

 Communication: Displays whether Cellular

and Wi-Fi is on or off.

 Controller Ver: The top number displays the

current version of BoxScore software. The

bottom number displays the static IP address of this controller. If networked with other controllers, each

controller must use a unique static IP address.

 Reader 1 and Reader 2: The first number displays the current reader version. The second number displays

the IP address of each reader. Current reader temperatures are shown to the right. One temperature is

typically higher because the readers are stacked inside the unit.

 Beep Volume: This option controls whether an audible alert is sounded whenever a D-Tag is read. Select

Off for no alert, or select Low or High to enable the alert and set the volume.

To exit from the System Status screen, touch Done.

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5.4.2 ReaderStatus

Using the Reader Status screen, you can send

commands directly to a reader, bypassing the

BoxScore application, and check the status of

connected antennas on each reader. To access this

screen, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Status.

2. On the Status Menu screen, touch Point.

3. When you are finished working with the

Reader Status screen, touch Done.

5.4.2.1 Sending Reader

Commands

The left side of the Reader Status screen (with the

controller image) lets you send commands directly to readers, bypassing the BoxScore application.

Donotattempttousethisfeaturewithoutadvancedknowledgeofthesecommands.Ifcontrollersarenetworked,

thesecommandsaresenttoallcontrollersandsubsequentreadersonthenetwork.

To send a command to either or both readers, do the following:

1. In the first drop-down menu, select All, Reader1, or Reader2.

2. In the second drop-down menu, select the command to send.

3. Touch Send.

5.4.2.2 Checking Connected Antennas

The right side of Reader Status screen displays a list of reader ports. This information is useful as a troubleshooting

step. When ports are connected, the status next to the port number shows OK. When ports are disconnected, the

status is displayed as “--”.

5.4.3 EstablishingNetworkConnections

Before you can send live data from a controller box to

SimpleClient on your computer, you need to establish

a network connection. There are three methods for

establishing a network connection: Cellular, Wireless,

and Wired (LAN).

The Upload Status screen is used to establish cellular

network connections. To access this screen, do the

following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch

Status.

2. On the Status Menu, touch Upload.

A status message in the top right corner of the screen

indicates when a network connection has been

established. The MAC address of the controller and

connection type are also displayed.

The following buttons are available on the left side of the screen:

 Power: Displays the cellular modem status. Touch the button to power the modem on or off.

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 Start: Starts the cellular modem when establishing a cellular connection.

 Svr Cnct: Re-establishes a server connection.

 Modem: Displays the Cellular screen, if the modem software is running.

The large box displays a connection log showing server activity and other details. To clear the log, touch Clear.

When you are done working with this screen, touch Done.

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5.4.3.1 Establishing a Cellular (GPRS) Connection

To establish a cellular (GPRS) network connection,

complete the following procedure:

1. Install a SIM card in the controller. To do this,

use the following steps:

a. Unscrew the top plate to the TPC

Mesa.

b. Unlock the SIM card sleeve by

sliding it to the left.

c. Flip up the SIM card sleeve, as

shown in Figure 1.

d. Insert the card into the sleeve, as

shown in Figure 2.

e. Fold the sleeve back down into place

sliding it into the locked position and reattach the top plate.

2. Confirm that the Cellular LED is on. If not, enable the GPRS (see Powering ON/OFF Internal Components).

3. Use the Network Config Options screen to set the server address (see Setting the Server Address). Use the

ChronoTrack server by entering the IP address 72.13.13.238 (Backup: 72.13.13.239).

4. Start the modem by touching Start on the Upload Status screen.

5. On the Cellular screen (shown at right), touch Initialize Modem. Wait until the status line at the top reports

Profile activated – Connect to Internet, then touch Connect to Internet.

6. Confirm that the controller has received an IP address.

7. Return to the BoxScore main screen, and touch Connect.

5.4.3.2 Establishing a Wireless

Connection

To establish a wireless network connection, do the

following:

1. Enable Wi-Fi on the controller (see Powering

ON/OFF Internal Components). Make sure the

WIFI LED light on the controller is green.

2. Make sure your computer firewall is not

blocking port 61610.

3. Start the CCSLite bridge application on your

computer (see Using CCSLite).

<<insert screenshot>>

4. Create a wireless ad hoc network on your

local computer. Please refer to your operating

system or network card manufacturer for

instructions. The IP assigned should be

192.168.0.X (preferably between 2-99). If an

appropriate IP address is not assigned,

please manually assign an IP address in this

range. For the appropriate networking key

and SSID, please refer to the ChronoTrack

user forum (https://secure.chronotrack.com).

Figure2

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Note that a valid ChronoTrack user account is needed to log in to the forum.

<<insert screenshot>>

5. Configure the server IP address on the controller to match the IP address of the wireless device on your

computer.

<<insert screenshot>>

6. Touch Connect on the main screen.

5.4.3.3 Establishing a Wired Connection

To establish a wired network connection using an Ethernet cable:

1. Configure the computer with a designated static IP address and subnet mask. Set the IP address to a

number in the range 172.20.23.2-99 (do not use 172.20.23.1). Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.252.0.

Consult your operating system manufacturer for networking instructions.

<<insert screenshot>>

2. Make sure your computer firewall is not blocking port 61610.

3. Start the CCSLite bridge application on your computer (see Using CCSLite).

4. Change the server IP address on the controller to match the IP address that you set on your computer (see

Setting the Server Address).

5. Connect an Ethernet cable from the controller to your computer.

6. On the BoxScore main screen, touch Connect.

5.4.4 Operations

The Operational Status screen is used to put the controller into Immediate mode and to reset tag counts. To access

this screen, do the following:

1. From the BoxScore main screen, touch Status.

2. On the Status Menu screen, touch Operations.

3. When finished working with the Operational Status screen, touch Done.

5.4.4.1 Immediate Mode

Touch the Immediate button to work with live results

reporting for an announcer line. To create an

announcer line, you must also enable Immediate mode

in SimpleClient. See Creating and Using an

Announcer Line for more information.

NOTE: When the controller and SimpleClient are

Immediate mode, tags are only reported once despite

the number of reads.

5.4.4.2 Zeroing Tag Counts

Touch the Zero Counts button to reset the unique and

total tag count numbers that are displayed in blue and

black on the BoxScore main screen. You might want to

zero tag counts if you are using the same timing line

for a start and finish. After all participants have

crossed the start line, you can zero the tag counts in

order to have a fresh count for the finish line.

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5.5 MessagesMenu

The Messages screen is used to view and

acknowledge system alerts, and to view gun and

marker timestamps. To access this screen from the

BoxScore main screen, touch Messages.

Alerts are shown in the box on the right (see

Acknowledging Alerts). To view markers or gun starts,

select the type of item to view in the box on the right.

The box on the left updates to display those

timestamps.

When finished working with the Messages screen,

touch Done.

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5.5.1 AcknowledgingAlerts

Message alerts are listed in the box on the left side of the screen. To acknowledge an alert, touch OK.

The following table shows possible message alerts and meanings.

Alert Message Meaning

Readers missing The number of readers is set incorrectly. This message is displayed if the Alert

on Change option is enabled on the Point Config screen. See Point

Configuration.

Gators missing The number of Gators is configured incorrectly. This message is displayed if the

Alert on Change option is enabled on the Point Config screen. See Point

Configuration.

Primary Pwr Lost AC power is lost.

Aux Pwr Lst DC power is lost.

BATTERY CRITICAL The battery is below 10%. This message will only display once.

Y2K Problem The date and time have been reset to 1/1/2000 00:00:00.

Cell Connection Lost GPRS has lost its connection.

Bad Cell Connection This message is displayed when there are 15 consecutive poor ping responses

to the cellular network.

5.6 UpdatingBoxScore

The BoxScore software version information is listed on the About screen of the System Menu. To install a

software update on the controller, complete the following procedure:

1. Copy the update files that you receive from ChronoTrack onto a USB drive in a directory named “new”.

2. Power OFF the controller by using the proper shut-down process (see Shutting Down the System).

3. Insert the USB drive into a USB port on the controller.

4. Power ON the controller (see Powering ON).

5. During the start-up process, you will be prompted to update the BoxScore application.

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6 UsingCCSLite

CCSLite is an application that acts as a bridge between wired (LAN) and Wi-Fi network connections on the controller

and SimpleClient, an application for retrieving and manipulating controller data.

CCSLite must be running when establishing a wired or Wi-Fi network.

6.1 ConfigurationofCCSLite

To configure CCSLite, complete the following steps:

1. Start the CCSLite application on your computer.

2. Make sure Windows is not blocking TCP port 61610. When CCSLite is started for the first time, you are

prompted to choose whether or not the program is allowed to listen for incoming connections. If not, this

setting can be altered manually—see Adding a Firewall Exception for CCSLite.

3. From the menu, click Action > Storage Directory, and set the path where CCSLite will store controller data.

4. From the menu, click Action > SimpleClient Path, and select the SimpleClient executable to use when

opening data streams from the CCSLite controller grid.

5. Close CCSLite to store the settings and apply them for the next start-up of CCSLite.

6.2 EstablishingControllerConnections

To establish controller connections with CCSLite:

1. Start the CCSLite application on your computer.

2. With the controller’s BoxScore software, make a server connection to CCSLite, using the local IP address of

your computer as the server address.

3. If the controller is connected to CCSLite, you will find a new entry in CCSLite's connection grid displayed on

the main screen.

4. Double-click the entry of the controller in the CCSLite grid. This will open an instance of SimpleClient

showing you the available sessions from that controller's active file.

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6.3 CCSLiteRawMode

If controllers are connected to the local network, CCSLite will listen for tag observations straight from the readers.

This is called raw mode.

This information does not contain markers (event names, point names, gun markers, and manual markers) and

BoxScore is completely ignored. However, a backup of all raw observation data on the local network is available for

use.

The raw stream also contains the information gathered from a “raw reader dump” in case of a controller lock-up. Raw

reader dumps are the final option in data recovery and should only be used if all other actions have failed. To isolate

data from the different controllers on the network, a virtual point configuration file (with .rmg extension) can be used

(see Creating Virtual Points).

6.4 AddingaFirewallExceptionforCCSLite

If you use a 3rd-party firewall, check the supplied documentation. Otherwise, complete the following steps to add a

firewall exception to Windows XP:

1. Start the security center: From the Windows Start menu, open the Control Panel and select the Security

Center menu item.

2. From the Security Center, open the Windows Firewall settings.

3. On the General tab, make sure the Don’t allow exceptions box is unchecked if the firewall is activated

(preferred).

4. On the Exceptions tab, check to see if the list box of allowed exceptions shows CCSLite. If not, unlock the

program by using either the Add Program button or the Add Port button.

NOTE: If you choose to add the program to the exception list, this port is only unlocked for the CCSLite program

started from the specified path. You will block it again if you change the path of CCSLite. Instead, add TCP port

61610 to ensure that any program attaching to that port can be reached, regardless of its program path. Also, there

may be other applications running with firewalls set (specifically programs like anti-virus, spyware protection, and ad

blockers); either disable these programs, or add exceptions for CSSLite.

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7 UsingSimpleClient

SimpleClient is an application used to retrieve and manipulate controller data. Data from events, including real-time

stats, can be filtered and streamed from SimpleClient to your computer or directly into your race scoring software.

7.1 SimpleClientOperationModes

There are two modes of operation when working with SimpleClient:

 Local network mode

 Internet server mode

7.1.1 LocalNetworkMode

Local network mode is used when connecting controllers through the wired (LAN) or wireless network (802.11). To

load controller files in this mode, you must either use CCSLite as a bridging application (see Using CCSLite), or load

them from a USB drive. To load from USB, use one of the following methods:

 From the SimpleClient main menu, click File > Load Controller File.

 Drag and drop a .mrk or .csv file onto the ChronoTrack logo on the SimpleClient main screen.

7.1.2 InternetServerMode

Controllers can send their data to the ChronoTrack CCS servers located on the Internet by using either the built-in

cellular modem or a connected router (wired LAN or wireless 802.11).

The following servers are available for North American users:

 Main server: usa1.chronotrack.net (72.13.13.238)

 Backup server: usa2.chronotrack.net (72.13.13.239)

The CCS Server will show sessions from all controllers and any uploaded events. This data is stored for

approximately three weeks.

To obtain data from the CCS Server online and use it on your local computer, establish a connection with the CCS

Server using your ChronoTrack user account. See Connecting to the Server and Retrieving Data for more

information.

7.2 ConnectingtotheServerandRetrievingData

You can send data from a controller into SimpleClient by connecting to the CCS Server. To connect to the CCS

Server, complete the following procedure:

1. Establish a network connection on the controller. See Establishing Network Connections.

2. Start the SimpleClient application on your computer.

3. If you want to be connected directly to your scoring software, see Establishing a Direct Socket Connection

with Scoring Software.

4. From the main menu, click CCS Server > Connect.

5. A connection box is displayed. Make sure that the box contains the following information:

 Hostname:72.13.13.238orusa1.chronotrack.net

 TCPPort:61612

 Yourlog‐inusername

 Yourpassword

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6. Click Connect.

The Select Device Session screen is displayed and you are now connected to the server with all of your

events.

7. Filter to display only your current event by unchecking All events.

8. Use the drop-down list to select the event from which you want to retrieve data.

9. Click on the segment to load, then click Select at the bottom of the screen.

The SimpleClient main screen is displayed. You can now either start streaming the data and/or save the

data for import into your software:

 To start the data stream onto your computer, click Play. If you have a direct connection with your

scoring software, you will see the times in your software.

 To save the data, click Play. From the main menu, click File > Save As.

10. Repeat these steps to connect to other checkpoints. Alternately, open a new session of SimpleClient to run

multiple streams at the same time.

7.3 StreamingData

After selecting a file segment to stream onto your computer (see Connecting to the Server and Retrieving Data), use

the following buttons on the SimpleClient interface to start, stop, and rewind data:

 Play: Starts the data stream into a buffer on your computer.

 Stop: Stops the data stream. To pick up where you left off, press Play.

 Rewind: Starts the data stream over from the beginning.

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As the data plays, there are two red numbers above the buttons. The first red number indicates the size of the save

buffer (see Saving SimpleClient

Data). The second indicates

the size of the invalidated tags

buffer (see Tag Invalidation).

The middle section of the

screen displays the data for

each tag as it plays.

7.4 Tag

Invalidation

Tags can be invalidated in

order to prevent them from

appearing in your race scoring

software. There are three

features that can be used to specify which tags should be invalidated:

 Activated tag range filtering

 Ignore same tag for X seconds

 Activated invalidate negative times

To inspect tags that have been invalidated, from the SimpleClient main menu, select View > Invalidated Tags.

The screen shows all invalidated tags listed by order of arrival. The reason for invalidation of each tag is also shown.

If a tag has been invalidated in error, it can be revalidated:

1. Select the tag entries on the grid that should be revalidated.

2. Right-click and select Validate Selected.

The revalidated tags will be removed from the grid and the observations will be put at the end of the save buffer,

ready to be streamed to the race scoring software or saved to text file.

7.5 FileFormats

SimpleClient lets you export data and specify how the files are formatted (separators, line terminators, etc.). This is

useful when you need to send data to a third-party application that requires a specific file format.

To specify file formats, from the main menu, click File > File Format. See File Format Specifications in the Appendix

for information about available formats and syntax.

7.6 SavingSimpleClientData

You can manually save the current feed/buffer, or configure SimpleClient to save files automatically:

 To save the current buffer in SimpleClient (as indicated by the first red number on the main screen), from the

main menu, click File > Save File.

 To automatically save files, click File > Auto Save and set the path where the files should be saved. You

can then configure your scoring software to retrieve data from that path.

If you want each session that you open for a different point to be automatically saved using the point

designation as the file name, click File > Auto Save and check Single Point/File. When this option is not

checked, each stream is saved to its event designation (so you can have multiple points in a file belonging to

the same event) and uses the event designation in the file name.

When saving files, both manually and with Auto Save, the output is sent to either a text file or, if established, to a

direct socket connection, for streaming into your scoring software. A direct sockect connection is the preferred

solution with RunScore scoring software.

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7.7 FilteringData

Filters can be applied to organize your data. You can filter out bib numbers from previous events or filter by various

segments such as leagues. Tag filters can be created online and applied in SimpleClient so that only tag data within

specified bib ranges, event codes, and/or timer codes is streamed.

The Select Session File screen in SimpleClient is used to activate tag range filters that you create online. To filter the

data shown in SimpleClient, complete the following procedure:

1. On the Select Session screen, select the point containing the data you want to filter.

2. Select the Activate Tag Range Filtering option.

3. The Tag Ranges for Event drop-down menu contains a list of tag ranges that you have created pre-event.

Select the tag ranges for your event.

4. The columns in the middle of the screen display the filtering selections of timer and event codes and names,

and minimum and maximum bib numbers. D-Tags are assigned a timer and event code when they are

printed and encoded.

7.7.1 CreatingTagRangesforanEvent

To create tag ranges for an event, complete the following procedure:

1. Prior to the event, log in to the ChronoTrack StreamManager at https://secure.chronotrack.com with your

valid ChronoTrack user account. After logging in, a Welcome page with your name is displayed.

2. Click the Manage Events heading.

3. Click Add an Event.

4. Enter the information about your event.

5. Click Submit. The page now shows the tag range you created.

6. To save the tag ranges locally to your computer, from the main menu, click CCS Server > Update Local

TagRange DB.

7.8 CreatingVirtualPoints

Some events, like triathlons, will utilize multiple points at the same location (run in, bike out). For these types of

events, it is possible either to use multiple controllers in normal mode, or to split up the points based on individual

Gators or combinations of Gators from a single controller. To split the point names, you will need to relocate point

information on your readers and Gators by creating and loading a virtual point file in Simple Client. This file specifies

which MAC addresses should be assigned to which reader and ports.

The virtual point file must be an ASCII file with an RMG file extension. The text must be semicolon-delimited with

each new point on a separate row. The syntax for each row is:

[ReaderMACAddress];[FirstGatorID];[LastGatorID];[NameOfNewPoint]

Valid Gator IDs are 1, 2, 4, and 8.

Below is an example of a virtual point file:

003487;1;1;GATOR1

003487;2;2;GATOR2

003487;4;4;GATOR3

003487;8;8;GATOR4

This example relocates each Gator to a new point name. The most common setup would be to separate both readers

and can be done like this:

003487;1;8;READER1

0034AF;1;8;READER2

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After creating the virtual point file, load it into SimpleClient with the following steps:

1. From the SimpleClient main menu, click Settings > Relocate Point Info on Reader/Gator.

2. Select Virtual Points.

3. Click Configure.

The file is now loaded and will be included in the Select Session screen, labeled “Virtual Points”.

7.9 CreatingandUsinganAnnouncerLine

Announcers can view live data about participants during an event with an announcer line. To create, load, and view

an Announcer Line, do the following:

1. Create a bib file.

A bib file is an ASCCI semicolon-delimited file with field headers. The field headers are displayed as column

headers in the announcer line. The first field header must be the bib number, but you can add as many other

fields as you like. Below is an example of the first few lines of a bib file:

BIB;FIRSTNAME;LASTNAME;AGE;SEX;CITY;DIVCODE

25;Scott;Abrams;51;M;LA PINE;G

26;Julio A;Aguirre;62;M;HIGHLAND PARK;I

27;Claus G.;Ahrens;25;M;JERSEY CITY;C

2. From the SimpleClient main menu, click File > Load Bib File and select the file you just created. This loads

the file into SimpleClient.

3. In order to view live data streaming into the Announcer Line, make sure there is a network connection with

the controller, then put the controller into Immediate mode (see Immediate Mode).

4. Enable Immediate mode in SimpleClient by selecting it from the Tag Mode drop-down list on the Select

Session screen.

NOTE: When the controller and SimpleClient are in Immediate mode, tags are only reported once despite

the number of reads.

5. From the SimpleClient main menu, click View > Announcer Display.

6. On the SimpleClient main screen, click the Play button.

You can resize the Announcer Display window to zoom text by dragging the edges.

The Flush Queue option clears the grid and can be used to help announcers keep up with participants if the

streaming data is coming in too quickly (like runners crossing a finish line). Other options are available to set the

scroll speed in seconds, change number of rows, colors, and more.

To hide tags that do not contain participant data, from the Announcer Display window, click View > Hide Unknown

Tags.

7.10 LoadingControllerFiles

After copying a file from a controller to a USB device, load it into SimpleClient by doing one of the following:

 From the SimpleClient main menu, click File > Load Controller File, then select the file to load.

 Drag the file onto the SimpleClient main screen.

When you load a controller file, the Select Session screen displays the event and point names. If markers exist in the

file, any tags after a marker are listed on another row.

To stream the data, select the event and point and click Select, then click the Play button on the SimpleClient main

screen.

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To connect directly to your scoring software, follow the instructions under Establishing a Direct Socket Connection

with Scoring Software. Alternately, you can save the data to a file that you can import into your scoring software by

clicking File > Save File from the main menu.

Repeat this process to import, play, and save other files that you have copied from the controller.

7.11 EstablishingaDirectSocketConnectionwithScoringSoftware

You can connect SimpleClient to your scoring software with a direct socket connection. This enables data to stream

directly into your scoring software when you start a data stream in SimpleClient.

To establish a direct socket connection, complete the following procedure:

1. Open your scoring software (for example, RunScore, Race Director, or your own software).

2. Initialize your software to allow connections from SimpleClient on port 61611.

3. Open SimpleClient.

4. On the main menu, click Direct Socket Out, and make sure Enabled and Auto Reconnect are checked.

5. Click Direct Socket Out > Connect.

A connection window is displayed showing the hostname as “local host” and the TCP port as “61611”.

6. Click Connect on the connection window.

Connecting opens the socket so that when you play data in SimpleClient, the data is also streamed directly into the

scoring application.

7.12 SettingTimeIntervalsforPassCountsandSameTagObservations

You can set the time interval for pass counts so that if the same tag is read twice within a specified time, it is not

marked as a second lap. For example, if it takes at least five minutes to complete one lap, you could set the time

interval to four minutes so that any tags read twice within four minutes are not counted.

To set the time interval from the SimpleClient main menu, click Settings > Time Interval for Pass Count.

You can also specify that the same tag should be ignored for a specified number of seconds. This is useful to prevent

the same tag from being reported twice when you have primary and backup lines. To set this option, from the main

menu, click Settings > Ignore Same Tag for … Seconds. Ignored tags are placed in the invalidated tags list (see

Tag Invalidation).

7.13 CreatingTimeShifts

If the controller time was not accurate for your needs when it was collecting data, you can adjust the time using

SimpleClient. To create a time shift, use the Time Shift set of options on the Select Session screen:

 Disabled: No time shift adjustments.

 UTC to local timezone: Shifts the time to match your computer’s local time.

 Manual: Enables you to enter a specific time.

 00:00 Start: Used to set the date and time if the time at Gun Start was a zero time.

7.13.1 Disabled

By default, tag observations are not time-shifted. Since most race scoring software cannot handle dates and the

ChronoTrack controller holds both date and time, the controller timing information needs to be converted. To allow

timing events with a duration over 24 hours, the normal output mode is in a special 24h+ format. To convert the

controller time to 24h+ format, SimpleClient introduces a concept of base dates. When a session is selected and the

stream is started, the first tag observation or gun marker (whichever comes first) is inspected. The date found in this

tag observation or gun marker is now set as the base date. Each consecutive observation or marker is inspected for

its date and compared to the base date. If the date is the same, a normal time output can be expected, ranging

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between 0:00:00.00 and 23:59:59.99. If the date found is later than the base date, the difference in days is multiplied

by 24 and added to the hours section of the time of day. If the date found is earlier than the base date, the output will

contain a negative time showing the difference between the observed time and midnight at the base date. If you do

not want to output negative times, you can disable the output of negative times from the SimpleClient Settings menu.

7.13.2 UTCtoLocalTimezone

Use this mode when you synchronize the controllers by GPS to the UTC timezone. In this mode, the difference

between UTC timezone and your computer's timezone setting will be used for a time shift, resulting in timing output

converted to local time of day. After times are shifted, SimpleClient will continue to use its base date logic.

7.13.3 Manual

If you find a controller to be off by a specific amount of time, you can use the manual option to adjust the controller's

misaligned timing. A positive offset will increase the times, while a negative offset will decrease times. After times are

shifted, SimpleClient will continue to use its base date logic.

7.13.4 00:00Start

This option can be used for multiple timing issues and is very powerful. By setting the date and time part of this

option, you pinpoint an exact moment in time on which the timing output of SimpleClient will be equal to 0:00:00.00.

The difference between a tag observation’s date and time and this zero point will be the output to your race scoring

software.

By only setting the date and keeping the time to 0:00:00, you can set the base date manually, overriding

SimpleClient's automated base date discovery in case it gives you timing errors.

By also setting the time, you can actually convert SimpleClient's output to race time instead of time of day. If you

enter both date and time equal to the gun time, you will get this behavior. If you have used a gun marker on the

controller and its timing information is displayed on SimpleClient's session form, you can drag the gun marker to the

00:00 Start Time Shift option to automatically fill it in.

7.14 RenamingEvents/Points

Events and points can be renamed in SimpleClient. On the Select Session screen, type the new names in the

Rename Event and Rename Point text boxes. When you change an event or point name in SimpleClient, the name

is relabeled in the text file output or direct socket protocol.

7.15 MoreSimpleClientFunctions

More SimpleClient functions are described below.

 To view gun times, from the main menu, click View > Gun Times. This displays information about each gun

start set in the file.

 To view invalidated tags, from the main menu, click View > Invalidated Tags.

 If you have already loaded a session from a controller file, you can go back to the same CSV file and select

another session from it to load. To do this from the main menu, click File > Show Available Sessions. This

option is only available when working in local mode (as opposed to server mode, when you are connected to

the CCS Server).

 If you are working on a session, you can close local mode and switch to a CCS Server stream without

closing Simple Client. To do this from the main menu, click File > Close Local mode.

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8 PrintingandReencodingDTags

The ChronoTrack printing system is used to print and re-encode D-Tags. It is comprised of the following hardware

and software:

 Zebra RZ600 Printer

 Ensyc RF2400 RFID Reader

 Symbol LS 2208 Barcode Scanner

 ChronoTrack PrintDTag software

 Wasp Labeler 6.06 software

8.1 PrinterInstallation

 Load ChronoTrack PrintDTag CD-ROM.

 Copy Drivers\Zebra\ZD1452 to C:\ZD1452.

 Copy Drivers\Ensyc\RF1200 to C:\RF1200 Driver

8.1.1 PrinterSetupHardware

Once printer is placed in suitable location, open lift-up cover and install labels and ribbon (see RZ600 manual for

detailed description).

Open printhead:

Load labels:

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Load Ribbon:

Notice that labels roll off from top and ribbon rolls off the bottom. Make sure label and ribbon roll are snug against

back of printer. Also make sure label backing is flush with inner cardboard label core.

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Close printhead:

Line leading edge of label with metal tear-off bar.

Line up ribbon with vertical line on upper guide plate (top arrow above).

Line up label backing with ride edge of “V” on tear-off bar (bottom arrow above).

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8.1.2 PrinterSetup–Software

 Power on printer (switch in rear).

 On printer control panel (see above), press Setup/Exit.

 Press “+” 3 times, should display Print Mode RFID

 Press Select, then press “-“ until Tear Off is displayed.

 Press Select.

 Press Setup/Exit – should display Permanent, press Setup/Exit again.

 Press Feed to verify printer detects labels correctly.

Printer Modes Diagram:

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8.1.3 PrinterSetupWindows

Once the printer is initially powered on and setup, plug bi-directional parallel cable (preferred) or USB cable from PC

to printer. Windows will detect new hardware. The following images are from an XP Professional installation:

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Click No for automatic update.

Click to specify location.

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Specify C:\ZD1452 as search location.

Click Continue Anyway.

Windows may prompt for additional driver, again point to location C:\ZD1452.

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Last, Finish screen should appear indicating printer has been installed.

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8.2 RFIDEncoderInstallation

 Plug USB cable into RFID Encoder.

 Plug USB cable into PC.

 RFID Encoder should beep and PC should detect new hardware.

The following images are from an XP Professional installation:

Click No for automatic update.

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Specify driver location as C:\RF1200 Driver

Select Continue Anyway.

Click Finish

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Windows will detect another piece of hardware. Follow same procedure as above.

Continue Anyway and then Finish Installation.

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Message should appear that hardware is ready to use.

NOTES:

If Encoder device is not detected by PrintDTag software or if reading/writing is not working properly:

 Stop PrintDTag program and unplug encoder from PC.

 Reconnect encoder to PC.

 Start PrintDTag program.

 If problem persists, reboot PC.

8.3 BarcodeScannerInstallation

 Assemble scanner stand and plug cable into handle of scanner.

 Plug USB cable into PC. PC should detect hardware but not require any drivers to be installed.

 Open Notepad or other text entry program and scan barcode to verify it works.

 Must set post-scan character to be <ENTER>. Open scanner Quick Start Guide and scan the following

barcodes in succession:

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Scan Options  scanner beeps

<DATA> <SUFFIX>  scanner beeps

ENTER  scanner beeps with different tone

8.4 InstallationofSoftware

8.4.1 PrintDTagSoftware

Place CD-ROM into PC and navigate to PrintDTag folder.

Execute PrintDTag-Setup.msi. Follow install prompts; recommend installing to C:\Program

Files\ChronoTrack\PrintDTag.

8.4.2 WaspLabeler–BarcodeLabelSoftware

Place Wasp Labeler CD-ROM into PC. Again follow prompts to install. Installation requires serial number which is

on CD packaging.

Recommend using Avery 5160 size labels (1” x 2 5/8”) as these fit well with D-Tag label space.

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Issued:January2010 8‐14

8.5 PrintDTagSoftware

8.5.1 PrintDTagMainMenu

PrintDTag is the software application used to print, validate (future release), and re-encode (rewrite) D-Tags. When

you run the PrintDTag application for the first time, you are prompted to configure default settings (select Yes).

See PrintDTag Default Settings for more information.

After saving these settings, and when you start PrintDTag again, the main menu screen is displayed.

The main menu screen provides buttons to access the following operations:

 Print Labels

 Validate Labels

 Label Rewrite

To exit the PrintDTag application, click Done on the main menu screen, or select File > Exit from the main menu.

8.5.2 PrintDTagDefaultSettings

You can change the default settings at any time by clicking the File > Default Settings menu item.

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Issued:January2010 8‐15

IMPORTANT!! When using printer for the first time, or if printer set to restore default settings, click Send Printer

Setup button. Make sure Zebra printer has been selected and saved as Primary Printer. Clicking this button sends

configuration settings to the printer. Next, click Send Printer Images button. This loads the label images to the

printer. Printer images can be loaded without printer setup.

After making changes to these settings, click Save and Quit to save changes and go to the main menu screen.

The System Settings box contains the following information:

 Timer ID: The Timer ID must be a numeric value in the range 1-254. Do not use a Timer ID of 153 as this

number is used for internal tag testing of the software.

 Event Code: The Event code must be a numeric value in the range 1-127.

 Primary Printer: Used to specify the printer for printing the tags.

 Current Row ID: Do not change—this ID is used for internal system purposes.

 Debug Logging On: When checked, a debugging log named “debugfile.txt” is created and saved to the

software installation directory.

The Print Label Settings box contains the following options:

 “Remove Selected…” Removes Saved Records: When checked, clicking Remove Selected Rows on

the Print Labels screen removes selected rows from the display grid and the database, so that the data is

removed permanently.

 Prompt for Merge File When Printing: When checked and a participant data file is loaded, you are

prompted to merge the data when printing each D-Tag.

 Prompt to Update Saved Record If Exists: When checked, if you have modified any records that were

previously saved, you are prompted to update the saved record when printing.

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Issued:January2010 8‐16

 Print Labels: When checked, D-Tags are printed. If this option is not checked, you can work with database

entries without printing.

 AutoFill First RFID Value: When checked, the First RFID Value entry is automatically filled with the value

used in First Label Number entry. For the majority of events, the participants’ visible number will match the

RFID number and having this setting will potentially lessen the chance of data entry errors.

 Print From CSV File: When checked, all values used in printing will come from user supplied .csv file. The

default Timer ID is used, but user must enter an Event Code.

 Save Data When Printing: When checked, event data is saved when you click the Save Event Data on the

Print Labels screen. A database file named “CHRONOPRINT.MDB” is created and saved to the software

installation directory. The event data can be retrieved on the Print Labels screen by selecting it from the

Event ID + Name drop-down list. If this option is not checked and you click Save Event Data on the Print

Labels screen, no data will be saved.

 Make DBF File Automatically: When checked, a file named “CHRONODB.DBF” is created in the software

installation directory. This is a DBASE IV format file containing printed label information.

 Do Reverse Print: Prints the tag with the last label number first, and the first label number last. This is

useful when rolling tags to make sure the correct number comes off the roll first.

 Prompt To Continue Printing: When checked, printing stops after each row and you are prompted to

continue.

 Label Template Value: This number (1-x) represents the label template used printing. The templates are

displayed and can be selected from Select Label Template form.

 RFID AutoIncrement: When checked, after tag is successfully re-encoded, the value written is incremented

by one and this value appears in the RFID Write box. The user can then press <ENTER> or Alt +W to re-

encode the next D-Tag.

The Rewrite Settings box contains the following options:

 RFID Autowrite On: This setting controls the default setting of the Write RFID After Scan option on the

Rewrite Labels screen. When Autowrite is on, every time you use the RFID Reader, the tag will be

automatically written and read. When Autowrite is off, you will need to click the Write button on the Rewrite

Labels screen to write the tag.

 RFID Autowrite Delay (secs): This setting controls the default setting of the Write Delay option on the

Rewrite Labels screen. You can specify the number of seconds to wait between the RFID Reader scan and

the write operation.

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualPrintingandRe‐encodingD‐Tags

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Issued:January2010 8‐17

8.5.3 PrintingDTags

Use the Print Labels screen to set up a print job and print D-Tags.

To add a new event and set up a print job, complete the following procedure:

1. Enter the new Event Name, then click New Event. The Event ID + Name field shows the saved event code

and name. The default Timer ID and Event Code are configured in the Default Settings.

Event names that you type in the Event Name box are remembered if the default setting Save Data When

Printing is checked, and will be available in the Event ID + Name drop-down for setting up future print jobs.

2. On the first row, set the Label Prefix. This is a single alpha character that does not get coded into the D-

Tag; it just prints on the tag and can be used as an identifier. For example, if you have a women’s category,

the label prefix could be “W”.

3. Set the First and Last Label Number. The first label number cannot be higher than the second. The label

numbers can be the same if you just need to print one for testing. The last label number cannot exceed

100,000. The label number ranges must be unique on each row.

If you are printing tags for different segments, like a women’s segment and a men’s segment, you could set

the label ranges on the first row to be 1-10 with a “W” prefix for women, and set the label ranges on the

second row to be 20-30 with a “M” prefix for men.

4. Set the First RFID Value. This is the value encoded on the first label and is incremented for each label

printed. RFID values cannot exceed 100,000.

If AutoFill First RFID Value is selected in the Default Settings, the First RFID Value entry is

automatically filled with the value used in First Label Number entry.

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Issued:January2010 8‐18

5. Set the # Copies. Multiples of the same tag can be printed for events such as a relays.

6. Click Load Participant Data File. This is a comma-delimited (CSV) file that you can create (similar to

creating an announcer line file). The first entry or column of each line must be the bib number. The label

image on the screen illustrates where the fields will be printed. The status line indicates if a participant data

file has been loaded.

Example .csv file:

1,Joy,Worth, F35,Murray Striders ,"Murray,KY”

2,John,Adams,M55,Berea Bulldogs,"Berea,KY”

7. If Print From CSV File? is checked, participant data must be loaded from CSV file. The data from the CSV

file is used to determine the label number, RFID number and label printing order. The Event Label

Information area is disabled when printing from CSV file.

8. Select the row(s) to print, then click Print.

9. To save the print job, select the rows to save by placing a check in the Select column, then click Save

Event Data.

This creates a database file that you can bring back up using the Reload Event button. The Save Data

When Printing setting must be checked in order to save event data.

You can remove a selected row or rows from the grid display by clicking Remove Selected Rows. If the “Remove

Selected…” Removes Saved Records setting is checked, these rows are also removed from the database and can

never be retrieved.

To just remove the rows from the grid display, click Clear All Rows.

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Issued:January2010 8‐19

Select Label Template – Click this button to view or change the template used in label text layout. Templates can

be added as a user request, but will currently require a new software release. Click Done to save and return to Print

Labels.

NOTE: Multiple tabs contain other templates.

8.5.4 ValidatingDTags

Documentation to be added later.

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Issued:January2010 8‐20

8.5.5 ReencodingDTags

You can rewrite the RFID encoding on leftover tags from one event so that they can be used for a new event. Wasp

Labeler 6.06 software is provided for printing new barcode labels for these tags for quick scanning. Use the

PrintDTag Rewrite Labels screen along with the RFID Reader and Barcode Scanner to re-encode the tag RFIDs.

The Timer ID and Event Code are displayed as configured in the Default Settings. You can change the Timer ID and

Event Code here; however, these changes will not be remembered.

There are two methods for re-encoding a tag: with a scanner and barcoded labels applied to D-Tags, or with no

scanner.

To re-encode a tag using a scanner and barcoded D-Tags, complete the following steps:

1. Make sure that the Write RFID After Scan option is checked and the cursor is in the RFID Value field.

2. Scan the barcode on the D-Tag.

3. Hold the D-Tag over the center of the RFID Reader, approximately 1/2 inch above surface.

4. The system will attempt to write the RFID after the number of seconds specified in the Write Delay

(seconds) box.

5. The status line at the bottom of the screen indicates the tag read/write success or failure.

 If the write was successful, the Write Status and Read Status areas will turn green and a success

tone will sound. The Timer ID, Event Code, and RFID Value fields in the RFID Read section will

be populated with the values written to the D-Tag.

 If the write failed, an error tone will sound and the status boxes will remain red.

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Issued:January2010 8‐21

6. When you are finished rewriting tags, click Done.

To re-encode a tag without using a scanner, complete the following steps:

1. Type the RFID number into the RFID Value field in the RFID Write section, then click Write.

2. Hold the D-Tag over the center of the RFID Reader, approximately 1/2 inch above surface.

3. The status line at the bottom of the screen indicates the tag read/write success or failure.

 If the write was successful, the Write Status and Read Status areas will turn green and a success

tone will sound. The Timer ID, Event Code, and RFID Value fields in the RFID Read section will

be populated with the values written to the D-Tag.

 If the write failed, an error tone will sound and the status boxes will remain red.

4. Confirm that RFID Read values for Timer ID, Event Code, and RFID Value match the information in RFID

Write section.

5. When you are finished rewriting tags, click Done.

If AutoIncrement RFID Write Value? is checked, once a D-Tag is successfully re-encoded, the value written is

automatically incremented by 1 and appears in the RFID Write field. To re-encode the next D-Tag, press <ENTER>

or Alt + W.

If you make a mistake or need to start over, click Reset RFID to stop and reset the event handler.

If problems persist, close the PrintDTag program, unplug the USB cable from the RFID Reader, and wait 10 seconds.

Plug the USB cable back into the RFID Reader (wait for beep) and restart the PrintDTag program.

8.5.6 ReadingDTags

To determine the Timer ID, Event Code, and RFID Value for a tag, open the Rewrite Labels screen. Place the tag

over the RFID Reader, then click Read. Tag data is displayed in the RFID Read group box. A read can also be done

by pressing Alt + R on the keyboard.

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Issued:January2010 9‐1

9 Troubleshooting

The following table lists issues that might arise when using the ChronoTrack system, and provides steps for

troubleshooting.

Issue Steps to Resolution

Controller will not charge 1. Check that the unit is powered ON.

2. Confirm that the power supply LED is

green.

3. If the LED is not green, unplug the cable

connecting the power supply to the

connection mesa, then unplug and replug

the AC cable.

4. Confirm the power supply LED is now

green. If so, reconnect the cable from the

power supply to the connection mesa.

Controller will not connect to CCSLite 1. Disable all firewalls on the PC.

2. Make sure that the PC IP address is in the

range 172.20.23.2-99.

Antenna will not report connected on controller 1. Use the Reader Status screen (Status >

Point) to confirm disconnection.

2. Check the cable connections at controller

and antenna.

3. Swap ports to confirm working antenna and

cables.

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Issued:January2010 10‐1

10 Appendix

10.1 SystemSpecifications

DOTregulationsprohibittheshippingoflithiumbatteriesbyaircraftorvessel.Shippedcontrollersmustincludethe

followinglabel:“LITHIUMBATTERIES:FORBIDDENFORTRANSPORTABOARDAIRCRAFTANDVESSEL”.

Component Specification

D-Tag Interrogator (“Gator”)



ADA‐compliant

 Physicaldimensions:42”(L)x31.5”(W)x1”(H)

ChronoTrack Controller



400Seriesprovidesfourports

 800Seriesprovideseightports

 Four,eight,and12‐hourbatteryconfigurations

 3.5”QVGATFTLCDXScaleTouchPanel

Computer

 IntelPXA270Processor

 WindowsCEandBoxScoresoftware

 802.11a/b/g

 GSM

 TwopoweredUSBports

 TwoLANports

 LEDsystemstatusindicators

 Buzzer

 110vpowerconnection

 Physicaldimensions:19”(L)x14.5”(W)x7.62”(H)

Cable Sets (Short/Long)



Belden7808R

 BNC‐MaletoBNC‐Male

 Shortsetforconnectingupto14feetoflinked

Gators

 Longsetforconnectingupto14‐28feetof

linkedGators

AC Power Cable



3‐pronggroundedmaleplug(NEMA5‐15)to3‐

pinshroudfemale(IEC‐320C13)

 14’AWG18/3

 SJT

DC Cable



KyconKPPX‐4P

10.2 FileFormatSpecifications

ChronoTrack offers file format flexibility. By use of a file format indicator available in the first seven bytes of a file line,

it is easy to distinguish a ChronoTrack file from other files and determine the file format and layout.

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Issued:January2010 10‐2

10.2.1 AvailableFields

Field Data Type Comment

file format indicator string 7 chars fixed Describes file format field separator, line

termination, and line size (see syntax described

below)

sequence number unsigned integer (max. 6

digits) Range: 1-999999

Location string max. 16 characters Invalid chars: , ; ~ | <tab> <null> since they can

be used as field terminator

Tag string max. 8 characters With ChronoTrack Systems, tag code is same as

bib number

Time string 11-12 chars 24-hour enhanced output:

0-24h: 08:19:28:84 (11 chars)

24+: 102:12:32:37 (12 chars)

lap count unsigned integer (max. 3

digits) Range: 1-999

reader id hex string 6 chars fixed NIC-specific part (4-6th octet) of MAC address

from internal reader

gator number unsigned integer (max. 2

digits) Line segment identification must be done by using

a combination of reader ID and Gator number

10.2.2 FileFormatIndicator

The file format indicator makes it easy to automatically identify a ChronoTrack file and its formatting. It is up to third-

party software to use this formatting logic or to implement a single file format. If a single format is implemented, it is

best to implement the default format (CT01_13) which uses variable width lines, comma-delimited field separators,

and <Cr><Lf> windows-style line termination.

Syntax:

CT<2-digit format number>_<2-digit format setting>

Example:

CT01_13

Comment:

This document describes format number 01. In the future, other formats may become available if

new technologies or functionalities become available. Format setting 13, which uses variable width

lines, comma-delimited field separators, and <Cr><Lf> windows-style line termination, is the default

setting in ChronoTrack.

The 2-digit format setting is used by a file parser to identify field termination, line termination, and fixed or variable line

width. It contains two nibbles (O-F) where the first (highest) nibble defines the field separator and the second nibble

the line termination and width-mode.

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The following field separator options are available:

Nibble Value Separator Comment

0 <none> No separator (only available in fixed width mode)

1 , Comma

2 ; Semicolon

3 ~ Tilde, also used as separator in the socket protocol

4 | Pipe

5 <tab> Tab

6 <space> Only available in fixed width mode

The second nibble can be calculated from the following bit options:

Bit Option

1 <Cr>

2 <Lf>

3 <null>

4 fixed width mode

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Using the bit-option table, the following nibble values can be calculated:

Nibble

Value Terminator Width Mode Comment

0 - - Not available

1 <Cr> Variable Carriage return \r

Mac OS 9-style line termination

2 <Lf> Variable Line feed \n

UNIX/BSD-style line termination

3 <Cr><Lf> Variable Carriage return + line feed \r\n

MS Windows-style line termination and preferred line

termination for Internet protocols

4 <null> Variable Null character \0

C-style string termination

5 <Cr><null> variable

6 <Lf><null> Variable

7 <Cr><Lf><null> Variable

8 <none> Fixed No line terminators; calculates fields and lines by size of

fixed width fields and, if used, the amount of field

separators.

9 <Cr> Fixed

A <Lf> Fixed

B <Cr><Lf> Fixed

C <null> Fixed

D <Cr><null> Fixed

E <Lf><null> Fixed

F <Cr><Lf><null> Fixed

Examples:

Format description:

CT01_13 = Variable width, comma-delimited, carriage return + line feed terminated

Example:

CT01_13,1,start,12,06:08:32.02,1,0FA22E,4<Cr><Lf>

CT01_13,2,start,69,06:38:31.86,1,04BE82,2<Cr><Lf>

Format description:

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Issued:January2010 10‐5

CT01_0C = Fixed width, no field delimiter, null terminated

Example:

CT01_0C 1start 12 06:08:32.02 10FA22E 4<null>

CT01_0C 2start 69 06:38:31.86 104BE82 2<null>

10.2.3 FixedWidthSizeConsiderations

A default line without field separators and without a line terminator is 60 characters wide. If a field separator is used,

the size increases by 7 (field count -1) to 67 characters. Line termination adds one to three bytes depending on the

termination used. This allows the following line sizes.

Format Settings Line Size Comment

CT01_08 60 No field separators

No line terminators

CT01_09

CT01_0A

CT01_0C 61 No field separators

Single byte line terminators

CT01_0B

CT01_0D

CT01_0E 62 No field separators

Double byte line terminators

CT01_0F 63 No field separators

Triple byte line terminators

CT01_18 – CT01_68 67 Field separators

No line terminators

CT01_19 – CT01_69

CT01_1A – CT01_6A

CT01_1C – CT01_6C 68 Field separators

Single byte line terminators

CT01_1B – CT01_6B

CT01_1D – CT01_6D

CT01_1E – CT01_6E 69 Field separators

Double byte line terminators

CT01_1F – CT01_6F 70 Field separators

Triple byte line terminators

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualIndex

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Issued:January2010 

11 Index

acknowledge alerts, 5-17

Alert on Change, 5-5

announcer line, 7-6

antennas

connecting, 3-3

checking connection, 5-13

Auto Save, 7-4

auxiliary battery, 4-4

bib file, 7-6

BoxScore, 5-1

updating, 5-17

CCSLite, 6-1

configuration, 6-1

controller connections, 6-2

firewall, 6-2

raw mode, 6-2

cellular connection, 5-14

charging, 4-4

clear connection log, 5-13

Config menu, 5-2

Controller

charging, 4-4

interface, 4-2

setup, 4-1

copy files, 5-6

dead zone, 3-3

direct socket, 7-7

Dry mode, 5-10

fast-charging, 5-10

file format specs, 10-1

file formats, 7-4

filter data, 7-4

firewall exceptions, 6-2

Gator setup, 3-1

GPS time, 5-9

gun start, 5-2

Immediate mode, 5-16

Internet server mode, 7-1

invalidated tags, 7-3, 7-10

LAN connection, 5-15

LEDs, 4-3

linking Gators, 3-3

load controller files, 7-7

local network mode, 7-1

Maintenance Menu, 5-10

marker, 5-2

memory, 5-11

Messages Menu, 5-16

networking controllers, 4-3

Numeric Entry screen, 5-5

Operational Status, 5-15

participant data file, 8-19

play, 7-3

Point Configuration, 5-4

power OFF, 5-8

internal components, 5-4

power ON, 4-3

internal components, 5-4

pre-event config, 4-4

PrintDTag, 8-14

settings, 8-15

printing D-Tags, 8-18

printing system, 8-1

raw mode, 6-2

read tag data, 8-22

reader commands, 5-12

Reader Status, 5-12

re-encode D-Tag, 8-21

rename event, 7-9

rename point, 7-9

rewind, 7-3

RFID readers, 4-1

save print job, 8-19

saving files, 7-4

server address, 5-3

Setup Wizard, 5-7

shutting down, 5-8

SimpleClient, 7-1

Internet server mode, 7-1

local network mode, 7-1

server connection, 7-1

Status Menu, 5-11

stop, 7-3

streaming data, 7-3

synchronizing time, 5-9

System Menu, 5-7

system specifications, 10-1

System Status screen, 5-11

tag ranges, 7-5

time and date, 5-8

time interval, 7-8

time shifts, 7-8

troubleshooting, 9-1

Upload Status screen, 5-13

USB (copy files), 5-6

view gun times, 7-9

virtual points, 7-5

wired (LAN) connection, 5-15

wireless connection, 5-15

zero counts, 5-16

ChronoTrackSystems,Inc.ChronoTrackUserManualIndex

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Issued:January2010 

ChronoTrack Systems CON-M800-USA1 MC627 Timekeeping System User Manual ChronoTrack UserManual v1 2

ChronoTrack Systems LLC MC627 Timekeeping System ChronoTrack UserManual v1 2

Users Manual

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