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ChronoFEED SIM Help

Rehearsing a competition

The day before, run the whole program as on the day: FINISH loads its races, SIM follows them in Race mode, gives the starts at the track's pace and runs the athletes. You check the program, the loops, the transponders, the displays and the sequence of races, without a single athlete on the ice.

Example: the long track Coupe Hollywood at the Starford oval (400 m). The program comes from EVENT; FINISH (FINISH-Starford, 192.168.1.20) is set up as for the competition, with the venue's RACE RESULT decoder at 192.168.1.50. SIM runs on the same computer as FINISH.

1. Prepare

  1. FINISH as on the day

    The session, the race management mode, loading, the track loops and transponder assignment: everything is what you want to put to the test. Change nothing “for the simulation”.

  2. Accept SIM

    Broadcast: Accept ChronoFEED-SIM (to be unchecked afterwards).

  3. Launch SIM and connect FINISH

    The SIM guide says: “In FINISH → Timing mode → RACE RESULT: address 127.0.0.1 (or …), port 3601. FINISH targets 192.168.1.50:3601 — that is not this computer.” Write down the real decoder's address, enter 127.0.0.1 in FINISH, switch to ON.

    The three lights are green; “SIM connected” in orange in FINISH.

  4. The SIM settings

    Mode Race; Starts Automatic; Pause between starts and Delay between two waves close to what the starter will do (for example 90 s and 20 s); Realistic race Few errors for a credible rehearsal.

2. Run the program

  1. Load

    FINISH loads the races as it will on the day (automatic loading or by hand).

    Each loaded race appears in SIM; the green line says what comes next: “Next start in 0:42 — 500 m Women — P03”.

  2. Let it run

    SIM gives each start through the device's signal; FINISH decides which race starts. The athletes go round at the pace FINISH expects for the race (acceleration and top speed from its record); a 1500 m lasts as long as a 1500 m.

  3. Watch what matters

    While everything is running, check:

    • the sequence: groups, heats, loading, closing of races;
    • the loops: each intermediate line gives its times, at the right distance (a loop the device cannot represent is reported in the SIM log: “Loop … skipped …”);
    • the transponders: the SIM log says which athlete is not simulated and why (“… has no transponder”, “no free FINISH transponder carries start position 4”): that is what would be missing on the day;
    • the displays and VOICE: each race on screen, at the right time;
    • the FINISH predictions: if SIM writes “FINISH has no prediction for this race … by default”, the race record has neither acceleration nor top speed.
  4. Incidents

    With errors, train the team to handle them (see Training a timekeeper). For a start the starter misses, switch the starts to Manual and click Start at the right moment; a false start, a restart or a reset given in FINISH is followed by SIM.

3. After the rehearsal

  1. Put the real decoder back

    In FINISH, the address 192.168.1.50 in the timing mode.

  2. Refuse SIM

    Uncheck Accept ChronoFEED-SIM: SIM is sent away, the orange banner disappears. Close SIM.

  3. Clean up

    The rehearsal races have been run in FINISH: reset them or reload the competition, so you start the day with a clean program.