cyber punches

[redrodant]

Having seen these used i was wondering how good they are, and what people's experiances of them are??

[Matt BADLRC]

I would do your research and make up your own mind!

[redrodant]

I would do your research and make up your own mind!

I am but there seems to be 2 different tyres used, a push in socket, and a pendant thing

[JST]

the AWDC ones dont seem to like Mud much we spend alot of time cleaning them but thats the only issue we have found as a competitor and i still like them. Expecially the fact they tell you who punched it @ what time!

Just google 'electronic orienteering markers' there are loads out there. there are lots of different types.

[tyrone]

blimmy the moc going to spend some money and go all fancy i look forward to it.

but try to make sure there water proof if your going to tie them to my truck lol

[90challenged]

i work with the sport ident system a lot on adventure races, mountain marathons and orienteering events and can vouch for their durability. they are incredibly durable considering the abuse they get (rain, cold, ice, snow, mud, grit etc). a good example comes from a year ago when they were used on a kayaking section of a race. they were put out at low tide and our estimations of high tide were slightly off the mark, they were left submerged in salt water for over an hour and all survived fine. they can also be locked on with a cable through the hole where the tag is inserted to be 'punched' making it impossible to be moved. i have a friend who rents the whole kit out when they're not being used for events in order to cover the cost as they're not cheap as you say. if anyones interested in 'trialling' them for an event he can courier them with instructions etc. PM me if you fancy a go on them.

matt

[redrodant]

i work with the sport ident system a lot on adventure races, mountain marathons and orienteering events and can vouch for their durability. they are incredibly durable considering the abuse they get (rain, cold, ice, snow, mud, grit etc). a good example comes from a year ago when they were used on a kayaking section of a race. they were put out at low tide and our estimations of high tide were slightly off the mark, they were left submerged in salt water for over an hour and all survived fine. they can also be locked on with a cable through the hole where the tag is inserted to be 'punched' making it impossible to be moved. i have a friend who rents the whole kit out when they're not being used for events in order to cover the cost as they're not cheap as you say. if anyones interested in 'trialling' them for an event he can courier them with instructions etc. PM me if you fancy a go on them.

matt

Thanks,i may just have a borrow soon, just to see how they perform. I have been looking into this and have come up with a custom built system, totally waterproof "100 mtrs", metal and electric don't afect it, 20 yr memory, bluetooth unload / reload and a mental temp range,and apparently a ""indistructable"" casing ?? u just goto get it within about 5cm of the tag.

No plugs to get muddy, no barcodes to scan,and at a resonable cost too. sounds too god to be true don't it! Im taking the robustness boast as a challenge, i think a 2 tonn landy and a big old oak tree with the thing squashed between may be a bit much!! Any body got any thoughts??

[tyrone]

tie it to my roll cage i can then test out your threoy

[sutty_32]

Well they have to be tougher than the plastic punches used atm! They definatley loose when caught up in a fight with a landy and an oak tree

[redrodant]

Well they have to be tougher than the plastic punches used atm! They definatley loose when caught up in a fight with a landy and an oak tree

Don,t get me wrong, i like the plastic pin punches, there simple to use, and pritty cheep too, but after 60 odd events there getting tired, blunt, and some are braking very easily. + the score cards are a pig to read when full of mud, its not too bad being an official at the end ot the day addind them up as my 10 yr old washes them with a sponge in a bucket of water for us, but its the competitor side that has a hard time seeing where the numbers are let alone the little pin holes. Also they can be a Bitch to find to colect in!!!

[Matt BADLRC]

i work with the sport ident system a lot on adventure races, mountain marathons and orienteering events and can vouch for their durability. they are incredibly durable considering the abuse they get (rain, cold, ice, snow, mud, grit etc). a good example comes from a year ago when they were used on a kayaking section of a race. they were put out at low tide and our estimations of high tide were slightly off the mark, they were left submerged in salt water for over an hour and all survived fine. they can also be locked on with a cable through the hole where the tag is inserted to be 'punched' making it impossible to be moved. i have a friend who rents the whole kit out when they're not being used for events in order to cover the cost as they're not cheap as you say. if anyones interested in 'trialling' them for an event he can courier them with instructions etc. PM me if you fancy a go on them.

matt

We might be interested in trying them out at some point as well

[redrodant]

i work with the sport ident system a lot on adventure races, mountain marathons and orienteering events and can vouch for their durability. they are incredibly durable considering the abuse they get (rain, cold, ice, snow, mud, grit etc). a good example comes from a year ago when they were used on a kayaking section of a race. they were put out at low tide and our estimations of high tide were slightly off the mark, they were left submerged in salt water for over an hour and all survived fine. they can also be locked on with a cable through the hole where the tag is inserted to be 'punched' making it impossible to be moved. i have a friend who rents the whole kit out when they're not being used for events in order to cover the cost as they're not cheap as you say. if anyones interested in 'trialling' them for an event he can courier them with instructions etc. PM me if you fancy a go on them.

matt

So i take it the LOG INFO is on the course, and the truck just has a key, if so do u have to go and colect in the data from the course at the end of the day??

[Matt BADLRC]

So i take it the LOG INFO is on the course, and the truck just has a key, if so do u have to go and colect in the data from the course at the end of the day??

When I spoke to sportident, they said all the data is kept on the etag on the car, details are downloaded from the etag at the finish station, and if required a printed receipt of all points visited can be produced for the competitor there and then in seconds. you then download the finish station to the laptop once everyone is back in.All the results are completed in record time and with little human input. But you would need sportident software etc all chargeable and the right bits of there kit to achieve it.

[redrodant]

When I spoke to sportident, they said all the data is kept on the etag on the car, details are downloaded from the etag at the finish station, and if required a printed receipt of all points visited can be produced for the competitor there and then in seconds. you then download the finish station to the laptop once everyone is back in.All the results are completed in record time and with little human input. But you would need sportident software etc all chargeable and the right bits of there kit to achieve it.

So what is the cost of "borrowing" all this clever stuff

[90challenged]

hi again,

since selling my landrover i've not been such a frequent visitor.

thats correct about the data being stored on the tag that stays with the competitor. They are probably the most fragile bit but i see no reason why they cannot be zip tied etc onto a lanyard within the vehicle. it doesnt take much to keep them safe and the benefits over bits of laminated paper are obvious. print-outs etc even come with a break down of timings between checkpoints. the controls or checkpoints can be attached really securely to discourage any cheating! we often do this as the events are sometimes in very public places. we normally use cable swaged on the ends and padlocked together if necessary. the kits not cheap to buy (around a £4000 investment) but i can give you the email address of a friend who has a set and hires them out to cover their cost when their not being used, it includes courier delivery, laptop, printer ... the whole set-up.

his email is: phil@wayaheadworld.com

matt

[Mud and Sweat]

hi again,

since selling my landrover i've not been such a frequent visitor.

thats correct about the data being stored on the tag that stays with the competitor. They are probably the most fragile bit but i see no reason why they cannot be zip tied etc onto a lanyard within the vehicle. it doesnt take much to keep them safe and the benefits over bits of laminated paper are obvious. print-outs etc even come with a break down of timings between checkpoints. the controls or checkpoints can be attached really securely to discourage any cheating! we often do this as the events are sometimes in very public places. we normally use cable swaged on the ends and padlocked together if necessary. the kits not cheap to buy (around a £4000 investment) but i can give you the email address of a friend who has a set and hires them out to cover their cost when their not being used, it includes courier delivery, laptop, printer ... the whole set-up.

his email is: phil@wayaheadworld.com

matt

Hi, We are the people that Matt is talking about. We run adventure races for members of the public and corporate groups. These adventure races are usually on mountain bikes, kayaks and running - but we use our timing system for all of them.

The kit is called sportident. Each competitor or team (or landrover in your case), would have an electronic chip or dibber - this could be attached to a wristband or yo-yo or similar. Sportident stations are then placed out at all the checkpoints that you want the teams/people to visit. On arrival at these checkpoints, the participants then place their electronic chip into the station, an action that takes a matter of seconds. This records on both the chip and the station the time that the checkpoint was visited.

On arrival at the finish, pearticipants bring their chip to be downloaded. On downloading, you can process lots of information about what that participant has done - for example total time taken from start to finish, which checkpoints they have visited and at what time, you can also assign points to each checkpoint (if you want some to be worth more than others), you can void certain sections that you don't want to time .... it really is a powerful tool. This information is processed by a computer, and the results are printed out within about 5 seconds of downloading on to a till receipt that can be handed to the participant. The information is also retained on the computer, and after everyone within a class has downloaded their chips, it will automatically generate the overall results for you.

We hire this equipment out to various companies, including the individual chips, checkpoint stations, laptop, results printer and mobile power source (for the laptop and printer). This would be couriered to you prior to an event. We also offer a range of services - from either setting up the laptop with courses and participants on for you, which you would then run yourself, right through to the full service where we would come and run the timing and results for you at your events.

If you think this may be of interest, please do get in touch and we can give you more information.

Thanks, Donna