Classic punching system
Description
The SI-Stations are active (battery powered) and the SI-Card is passive. Every station has a 24 hours clock, a day of week counter and a week counter. This makes it possible to use the SPORTident system without reservation in competitions that run past midnight, for example for night orienteering or rogaining.
At the start
Competitors have to clear and check their SI-Card before entering the start box. The CLEAR station will empty the SI-Card and will provide a feedback signal (an audio signal and a blinking LED) upon completion of the process. This can be verified with the CHECK station, which will only provide a feedback signal if the SI-Card is empty. These stations shall be positioned clearly visible in the starting area.
At the start, the runner just punches the START station. His/her start time will be written on the SI-Card and he/she will get confirmation by a feedback signal. The start station will NOT give a feedback signal if the SI-Card is not empty! It is the runners’ responsibility to pay attention to the start procedure. It is the organiser’s responsibility to explain the start procedure to the participants.
For events with pre-allocated start times, where punching starts are not required, competitors do not need to punch on the start line. However, they must clear and check their SI-Card before the start line. The start time is based on the allocated start, and not on a start punch. In this case, it is important to ensure that the computers and start clocks are synchronised to the race time to get accurate and consistent timing.
The times of the actions clear, check and start are recorded on the SI-Card in special allocated fields and can always be verified afterwards.
Start clock feature
A start clock feature can be activated on all BS7/8/9 station that are configured in start operating mode.
The feature can be activated with the Service/Off stick. When you punch a station in standby mode with your Service/Off stick, it will cycle between the following modes:
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Service mode (Display “SERVMO”)
Displays the most important settings, switches back to standby mode after 5 minutes -
Start clock (Display “STACLK”)
Displays toggles between device time and “STACLK” and stays in this mode according to the operating time -
Standby mode (Display off)
When the device is in start clock mode, it starts beeping 4 seconds before every full minute: beep beep beep beep beeeeep. The start operating mode is still available when a SPORTident Card is punched but it is not recommended to use it when start clock feature is active as participants could mix up the confirm signal of the card with the start clock signal. The battery consumption of the device is a bit higher than usual as every beep and blink consumes a bit more power.
| When the start clock feature is enabled in the device, it disregards the optical/acoustical feedback settings and always beeps/blinks. |
During the race
During the race, the competitor punches by inserting his/her SI-Card into the hole of the SI-Station. The SI-Station reads the SI-Card and writes the control code and time into the SI-Card’s memory. The station reads the competitor’s SI-Card again to verify that it has been written correctly and then beeps and flashes to provide confirmation to the athlete. SI-Card number and time are also written into the station’s backup memory.
Depending on the type of SI-Card, from 20 to 128 data slots are available. If there are no empty data fields available on the SI-Card, the SI-Station will not write anything to the SI-Card. In this case, no feedback signal will be given. However, the failed punch will still be stored in the backup memory of the station (with the error flag Err9).
| Organiser and athletes need to ensure that the SI-Card’s storage is big enough for the number of controls set on the course. |
It is the competitor’s responsibility to ensure that the SI-Card is fully inserted into the station and to check the station’s feedback signal for confirmation of a correct punch.
| Some newer SI-Cards will also provide a feedback. The SI-Card11 flashes during a couple of seconds and the SIAC provides an audio feedback signal on top of that. |
At the finish
The runner punches the FINISH station. The finish time is written to an allocated field on the SI-Card.
SI-Cards are downloaded onto a readout station after the finish to verify the punch sequence and provide time data which may be either printed directly or passed to a timing software on a computer.
Featured SI-Stations
SPORTident offers different types of SI-Stations. You will find detailed information in the datasheets (available on SPORTident website).
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BSF9 Base Station Field 9, CLEAR, CHECK, START, FINISH or CONTROL. |
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BSF8-DB Base Station Field 8 (display bottom), CLEAR, CHECK, START, FINISH or CONTROL. |
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BSF8-DT Base Station Field 8 (display top), CLEAR, CHECK, START, FINISH or CONTROL. |
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BSF8-DT SI-Master Base Station Field 8 (display top), SI-Master in combination with CLEAR, CHECK, START, FINISH or CONTROL |
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BSM8-D-USB Base Station Main 8 USB, SPORTident readout station with USB cable. |
| For BS7 stations, functionalities are identical. The size of the station is different (115x62x32 mm compared to 101x51x19 mm for the BSF8 stations or 112x57x21 mm for the BSF9 stations) due to the larger battery. BSM7-D-USB can be used autonomously without a computer. |
Featured SI-Cards
SPORTident offers different types of SI-Cards. You will find detailed information in the datasheets (available on SPORTident website).
| Card8 | Card9 | Card10 | pCard |
|---|---|---|---|
30 intermediate times |
50 intermediate times |
128 intermediate times |
20 intermediate times |
SPORTident ActiveCard
The SIAC enables contactless punching. The successful punch is indicated by both an optical and acoustic feedback for the athlete. Card readout and record data format are the same as for classic cards, making the SIAC compatible with all existing software solutions. The SIAC stores up to 128 punches and registers a direct punch in 60 ms and a contactless punch in 50 ms. With normal use, the battery works for up to four years. The battery can be replaced by SPORTident.
| The SIAC is fully backward-compatible with the SPORTident classic system. |
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Older cards, still in use but no longer produced
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Basic accessories
Instruction card SERVICE/OFF
Special SI-Card to put the stations in standby or in service mode.
Instruction card CLEAR BACKUP
Special SI-Card to clear the backup memory of the SI-Stations
Coupling stick (not in the picture)
Special ferrite stick, to be put in the SI-Master station or USB-Station to make the communication with other stations possible.