Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/24/13 12:54 p.m.

Our club currently uses AXWare, but it's kind of clunky, doesn't communicate with our registration provider (MotorsportReg), and it's up for renewal ($$$).

What other options are out there, and what are their capabilities? I'm especially interested in hearing from those of you that use them in your local clubs. Thanks!

Apexcarver
Apexcarver PowerDork
9/24/13 1:04 p.m.

The club I am with has a programmer who did a DIY setup from programming to hardware.

Big antenna and router with a separate laptop running stop (not manned) meaning no wires need be run from stop to timing. Start has another lappy which is manned by the start flagger to enter car numbers. Limitation is on distance, we mostly run smaller lots and if you hike it out you loose latency.

Timing confirms and adds status updates (cones, off course, DNF, ETC) before rolling approval of times.

IR beams, and we found reflectors that have worked out to 30 feet. (outer limit)

I heard a murmur about marketing it, but they don't want to support it.

McTinkerson
McTinkerson New Reader
9/24/13 1:23 p.m.

Our club was just about to buy this system before we lost our venue ( http://goo.gl/maps/FCYRT )

Dual Beam IR

PC Conection

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/24/13 2:11 p.m.

Huh there's a demand for this kind of thing? When I offered to write automated scoring software there wasn't a whole lot of interest.

Apexcarver wrote: I heard a murmur about marketing it, but they don't want to support it.

They could open-source it.

tpwalsh
tpwalsh Reader
9/24/13 2:25 p.m.

I've been doing T&S for 6-7 years now. Some clubs have home grown software, with varying results. Then there's the 2 heavy hitters. Pronto, and AXware. AXware obviously you know about. Though to be fair, stability wise it's come a LONG way in 5 years. If you're not running the latest version you really should upgrade.

Pronto is what the SCCA uses for national tours, pros and match tours. It's written by Darrin DeSimo and works well, though it's philosophy is different. It seperates each job from each other so that you only are looking at relevant information. This is good and bad. It makes for a cleaner UI, but it means you can register someone on the fly while you're running T&S. You need to fire up a second laptop with the registration software to put them in. Same with annoucing. Announcing by looking over the shoulder of the timer is possible, but would be frustrating since all you have are times and penalties, with no info on other entrants.

http://www.prontotimingsystem.com/

conesare2seconds
conesare2seconds Reader
9/24/13 2:56 p.m.

We're running wireless heads/reflectors and a Tag Heuer timing unit, but it doesn't talk to a laptop, at least as currently configured. That part kind of sucks, come to think of it.

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/26/13 12:19 p.m.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm a little surprised it's not a more popular topic here!

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/26/13 12:29 p.m.

I used to use a program that was written for barrel racing. Worked pretty well, but you had to know how to run it. The company's gone now, but it might be worth seeing what's around in that area.

Because we had a tendency to rotate timing people over the course of an event, we eventually moved to a stopwatch that was triggered on/off wirelessly by the start/stop gates. Take the time, write the car and time on a sticky label, reset the watch and stick the label on a board. Everyone understands how to do it immediately. Made it easy for people to review all the times Not so easy to post times to a website though.

chrispy
chrispy New Reader
9/26/13 12:31 p.m.

We use Axware, cuz we like to yell at our laptops, and switched to Axware ORM for registration a few years ago. It integrates seamlessly with Axware (same company and developers) but it does have a bit of a learning curve for set up and first time users coming from Motorsports Reg or My Auto Events. It allows for online payments too even though Axware gets a "commission". It was cheaper overall than Motorsports or My Auto. Still have to deal with Axware though. ORM info is on the Axware website.

That being said, every year we debate looking for another T&S program.

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/26/13 1:01 p.m.

In reply to chrispy:

Thanks man, I had no idea AXWare had their own registration software. Honestly it's MotorsportReg we have issues with, so using AXWare ORM will save us a boatload of hassle, and possibly money (MSReg's commission is high).

chrispy
chrispy New Reader
9/26/13 2:28 p.m.

As a bonus you get hand written checks from Vitek when you "cash out" your online payments.

moxnix
moxnix Reader
9/26/13 3:41 p.m.

I think the problem is you asked for solutions other than axware. Most clubs I know of use axware.

I use axware with 2 different autox clubs and one rallyx club. One of the autox clubs uses MSR for registration and I don't have any real issues there. What kind of issues are you having between the two?

Duke
Duke PowerDork
9/26/13 3:53 p.m.

I usually only have to score about 40 cars, so I transcribe it by hand from the timing cards filled out by the timing tent. I have an Excel sheet I am developing that I would be glad to share, after I do some off-season tinkering.

Our timing system hardware is incredibly simple and only displays the time on a large LED at the tent, with a repeater at the stop line so you can see your time.

The main issue is that it can only time 1 car on course. Does anybody know of a CHEAP solution that will time 2 or 3 cars at once?

JoeTR6
JoeTR6 Reader
9/26/13 8:20 p.m.
Apexcarver wrote: The club I am with has a programmer who did a DIY setup from programming to hardware. ... I heard a murmur about marketing it, but they don't want to support it.

This may be me. We tried Axware several years ago and found it lacking. I hated the way it handled running two cars simultaneously. Maybe it's gotten better, but we developed our own system. It runs on Linux, so no Windows licenses. We originally used transmitters to send a start/stop signal to the main timing computer, but would occasionally lose a run due to RF noise. We now use multiple computers to record a time stamp of when a start/stop event occurs and send that to the timer. A high-power WiFi ties everything together so we can send data to/from the start, stop, and a results computer (eliminates paper time sheets). This drives up the cost of hardware, but laptops are relatively cheap now.

As for features, we wanted to eliminate paper and human error as much as possible. The registration is downloaded before the event from a website database. We have used bar code scanners at start to record driver # and car index, but have also used a keypad. The main timing computer can cancel or restart (without changing the final time) runs in case someone runs through the start/stop sensor. We send all registration data and each run as it occurs to a "results" computer that doubles as a hot backup. If the main timer crashes, we start the timing app on the results computer and keep going with little interruption. We can run start/stop from the main timing computer using serial ports/cables hooked directly to a sensor or remotely over a WiFi network. Any computer can drive a large LED time display (typically the stop computer).

As to marketing it, I have a day job. Running an open-source project is far from easy (if done right). There are many things that would need to be made generic such as the indexing system (we use our own) and the registration data format. I may work on that over the winter, but there's just too much other stuff on my plate right now.

I will say it takes a good bit of effort to develop a timing system and don't doubt Axware has earned what they charge.

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