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Strip Timing The timing strips, tape, cables, and handheld timer are in one of the boxes under the track table. Always check a day or two before use to ensure there is enough tape. Duct tape is only to be used on the concrete. Use masking tape to tape the timing strips to the track, coté, and apron. Note that the two timing strips are of different lengths. Use the shorter one on the straight at the start/finish line. Place the strips on the entire length of the track. Any portion of the strip that is off the track is could be pressed by someone walking by or riding around the infield. Since the strips are pressure sensitive, this could confuse the timing result. Keep this in mind when installing the strips. You may need to place cones to divert traffic away from exposed parts of the strips on the concrete. Using the short strip by the start line is particularly important as officials, gatekeepers, coaches, and timers will be walking around in this area. You will need to use a ladder to set the strip at the 1,000 m and 3,000 m finish lines. Set up a timing table on the infield before the finish line. The wires are of different lengths. Run wire of the shortest usable length from the timing strip to the timing table. Connect red to red and black to black. Also run a power cord from an outlet under the track table to the timing table. Get the handheld timer, A/C adapter, and jumper cables out of the red bag. Use the jumper cables to connect the wires from the strips to the timer. Note that one of the receptacles on the timer is labelled “Start.” Connect the strip from the start line there. Plug in the A/C adapter and connect it to the timer. Sometimes just plugging the timer in will turn it on. If it doesn’t turn on and set the timer. Note that the keys are sticky, so repeated presses may be required. To turn on, hold down the Enter key and press the start/stop key while holding Enter down. Wait a few seconds for the machine to warm up. Your first task it to turn off the printer, which should not be running when there is no paper in the machine. Go down to Initialization using the arrow keys. Hit Enter. Go down to printer. Hit Enter. Go down to printer (again). Hit enter. Go down to off. Hit enter. Now you can get down to business. Hit Esc until you are back at Initialization. Go up to Timekeeping. Hit Enter. Go down to non-lane mode. Hit Enter. Go down to heat. At this point hitting Enter will arm the timer. Be sure everyone at the start line is ready and knows not to step on the timing strip. The cyclist should be in the gate or being held, ready to start. Hit Enter. The timer will start with the first press on the start strip, which hopefully will be caused by the cyclist’s front wheel passing over the strip. At this point, the timer will ignore subsequent hits on the start strip. However, every time the finish strip is hit, it will display a time. Unfortunately, it does this not only when the cyclist’s front wheel goes over the strip, but also when the back wheel goes over the strip. This means that for every passing, the timer will display two times. You may not see these times, but they are stored in the machine. To see each time as it comes up, you need to hit the down arrow. This will scroll down through the list of times as it is created. I do not know how many times the machine will remember. It will, however, remember enough for a 4K time trial (43 passings). Experience has shown that the best way to keep the lap count accurate is to have someone at the timing table recording each lap time as it comes in. For a 500m time trial, the first time the rider passes the 500m finish line there are 3 laps to go. For a 1K time trial the first time the rider passes the 1K finish line there are 7 laps to go. For a 2K time trial, the first time the rider passes the 2K finish line, there are 14 laps to go. For a 3K, the first time the rider passes the 3K finish line there are 21 laps to go. And for a 4K time trial the first time the rider passes the 4K finish line there are 28 laps to go. Note that you are taking times from passings of the front wheel over the timing strip. This means all the odd numbered passings. So there should be two people, one scrolling down through the list of passings as they appear and reading out the odd numbered ones, and the other one recording the times on a list of laps. For example, in a 2K time trial, the first time the rider passes over the finish line, passing 1 will come up on the screen, giving the time from the start lap to 14 to go. This will be followed by passing 2 for the rear wheel, which you ignore. The next time the rider passes by, passing 3 will come up, giving the time with 13 to go. Again ignore passing 4. Keep going to passing 27, which is gives you the final, cumulative time for the 2K. If someone steps on the finish line, don’t panic. Just add 1 to the number of each subsequent passing you record as a lap time. Likewise, if an unauthorized bike rides over the strip, add two. Once the race is over, be sure you have recorded all the data you need. You can still scroll up or down to catch any you might have missed. After the next few steps, that will no longer be possible. At the end of the race, hit Esc. Go down to reset Hit Enter. To arm the start strip for the next event, hit enter again After all the riders are done, shut down the timer by hitting Esc until you are back at Timekeeping Go down to off. Hit enter. |