For Promoters: How Do I Set Up And Run Live Timing?

For Promoters: How Do I Set Up And Run Live Timing?

Live timing is crucial. We designed a system for reliability and ease of use.



Overview

It's pretty simple. In short, set up the equipment, set up your event in RaceReady (here's an article that shows how) , build the race order (some do this before registrations are complete, and other do it afterward), and then turn on each moto when that moto's gate is dropped and turn it off when the last racer crosses the finish line for the final time. 

You'll need your truss gantry set up over your finish line, and you'll have to attach the antennas overhead and run their cables to the RFID Electronics Hub which should be positioned near the base of the truss gantry. Connect the four antennas to the receiver, connect reliable and steady power to the unit (POWER THE UNIT ON AT LEAST AN HOUR BEFORE PRACTICE BEGINS), turn it on at the power strip, and make sure the riders have RFID stickers under their visors properly applied. The rest is done on your computer, which needs to be connected to the internet.

If you have a cellular + wifi antenna unit, attach it as high as possible on the gantry using zip ties attached to the cables, and attach the LTE cables to the WAN ports on your router (the black "Digi" unit inside the RFID Hub). Also attach the 2.4 cables to the WIFI ports on the router. If you get this wrong, you won't have an internet connection.

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Software

  1. Make sure Riders register for the race. If no riders register, then our system won't allow you to create a race order and start timing riders...for obvious reasons.

If you need help getting riders to register, point them to this article that explains how to register for an event.

2. Access the event within your promoter account (Dashboard>event menu>manage race):



3. Build your race order quickly and easily with RaceReady's builder. Click on the Race Order tab, and you'll see the classes on the left and the races on the right. Click and drag classes into any races you wish. Multiple classes can be combined in any single race, but the RaceReady system will alert you of any conflicts as you build. It will look like this:


The small circle next to each class shows how many racers are registered for that class. Adjust the race order by dragging and dropping the individual races inside the builder, until you are satisfied with the races and the conflicts are acceptable or removed.


4. You can test whether your RFID system is working by navigating to the Raw Reads tab within your event management page, and once everything is powered on, running a transponder tag or two across the finish line to see if it shows up in the raw reads list. Note: transponders must be oriented perpendicular to the RFID beam. A transponder that is parallel to the beam may not read at all—hence our recommended installation on the underside of each helmet's visor.

5. Once your race order is built, you're ready to run live timing. On the top right of the Race Management dashboard, select the three dot menu icon and select "Live Timing":




Here's what you'll see:


Notice the small sun/moon icon at the top of the page, just off of the left side. You can use this to toggle the color scheme from light to dark (to accommodate sunlit screens). 

Let's break this down. 

The section on the left allows you to select a race to control, and you can select a moto for that race and start/stop/restart timing from there. A green icon next to the race indicates whether any timing has been recorded for that race.


The section on the bottom right has three divisions: Entries, Not Scanned, and Lap Count. When you begin timing a race, the Race Entries list will show you everyone who SHOULD be in this race. Not Scanned shows everyone who has not yet successfully scanned their transponder (helping you to detect a problem early). Unassigned Tags shows you when a tag is detected which has not been assigned to someone in the race. 
The top right section is the live feed, where laps are shown and stacked on top of each other. As a racer passes under the gantry, they should show up in this section instantly.

If you detect that someone failed to register in the RFID system (perhaps they lost their transponder, or otherwise compromised it), you can manually enter them using the Transponder Override in the top right corner of this section.

You might use this if a registered racer uses a different helmet with no transponder, and you figure that out as the race progresses. You can enter their bike number right away for the amount of laps they have completed thus far, then enter them as they cross the finish line each time until the race is over.

When it's time to stop each race (prior to beginning the next race), select "Stop" in the left hand section, or "Next". You can also restart the race if necessary, though this should be rare. RESTARTING THE RACE WILL DELETE ALL RESULTS IN THAT RACE so don't just go pushing that button unless you really need to. 


Select your next race before any of its riders cross the finish line for the first time, and start it.

When all races are completed, you can navigate to the Manage Race section of your profile, and see the results in the Results tab:



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