BestTrack® Champ Timer Finish Line Timer Assembly Manual and COMMAND MANUAL VERSION 4.0 Timer Manufactured By: SRM Enterprises, Inc., Producers of BestTrack® Pinewood Derby® Tracks P.O. Box 53, Forest City, IA 50436 641-585-2299 or toll free 1-888-582-2299 Copyright © 2008-2015 SRM Enterprises, Inc. IMPORTANT! Unplug any solenoid start gate Timer Electronics By: before using the Linesetup program with your timer.
The Champ Timer Finish Line Overview We thank you for purchasing the BestTrack ® Champ Timer Finish Line system. This manual will assist you with the communication between the Champ Timer Finish Line system and a computer. The BestTrack ® Champ Timer Finish Line produces consistent instant race results. The Champ Timer is designed to produce results with excellent precision and ease. Special features of the Champ Timer include: • 1 to 8 lanes supported.
2 General Operating Instructions The Champ Timer Finish Line System may be set up for use as a race timer or it may be set to test mode to test the sensors. The Champ Timer Setup Program (LINESETUP4.EXE) is supplied with the finish line so that operating parameters may be easily set or changed to your preference without having to know the commands. IMPORTANT! Unplug any solenoid start gate while using the Linesetup program. 2.
2. Slide two ¼-20 X 1” long hex head bolts (included) in the outer mounting slots of the first & last lanes of your timer section of track. (You will have to remove the connector angle at one end of the timer section if your track is already assembled.) Align these bolts with the center timer hole punched in your track. Tighten a nut on this bolt to hold it in location. This nut also provides spacing so the sensor wires will not get pinched. 3.
4. Align the sensor housings on each foam block so they fit into the timer holes punched in the middle of each lane. The foam block acts as a spring to keep the sensor securely in place. 5. Slide a ¼-20 hex head bolt into the mounting slot at the edge of the track near the start lever and mount the Reset Switch Bracket as shown in the picture below. Use a hex nut to fasten the bracket to the track. 6.
7. Plug the power supply into the mating connector on the Champ Timer unit. IMPORTANT! Use only the 12V DC power supply supplied with your timer! Wrong power supply voltage will damage your timer & void the warranty! 8. Plug the 9-pin RS-232 interface cable into the Champ Timer and any COM port on your PC. You may also use an RS-232(Serial) to USB conversion cable to use a USB connector on your computer. Use the CD that comes with the USB to Serial adapter to install the driver. 9.
If you do decide to mount the start switch please note the following wiring information. WIRING INFORMATION: The supplied sensor switch has three terminals marked C(Common), NC(Normally Closed) and NO(Normally Open). The preferred method is to have the switch pressed before the race and un-pressed when the race starts. This method requires the use of the C and NC contacts. Use this method for GrandPrix Race Manager and Derby Master software.
2.2 Run the Champ Timer Setup Program IMPORTANT! Unplug any solenoid start gate while using the Linesetup program. We supply the Champ Timer Setup Program (LINESETUP4.EXE) on a CD to establish the initial communication and also for updating any settings that you may wish to change. You may use the LINESETUP4 program directly from the CD or copy it to any directory of your choice. You only need the one file: LINESETUP4.EXE to run this program. Before you start the LINESETUP4.
2.3 Setup the Champ Timer for use with various race management software packages. GrandPrix Race Manager V5.0 and above– Select the Champ or Smartline Timer in the GrandPrix Race Manager’s Hardware Setup Options screen. Select the COM port that will be used. You may test the communications at this point by pressing the Start Test button. The GrandPrix Race Manager V5.0 and above will send the appropriate commands to the Champ Timer to get the readings from the next race.
Notes on using a Serial to USB Adapter If you are using a Serial to USB adapter to hook up your Champ timer to a laptop or other computer, be sure to install the drivers on the miniature driver disc that came with your USB adapter. Your timer will not communicate with the computer if you do not have the drivers installed for a Serial to USB adapter. If you have misplaced the driver disc that came with your Serial to USB adapter you can download a new version from the manufacturer’s web site.
3 Command Summary This is a complete list of the commands that are available in the Champ Timer. All commands are Character strings ending with a carriage return. The Champ Timer and will execute the command and respond as required. All responses returned from the Champ Timer Finish Line include a carriage return and a linefeed. If any commands are unacceptable or not understood the Champ Timer Finish Line will send a question mark (?). 3.1 Brief List of commands: 3.1.
3.1.5 Set or Read Variables • on Set/Read number of lanes The total physical number of lanes on your track. on Reads the current setting. on4 Set to 4 lane track • ol Set/Read lane character Indicates lane 1 in the response to the ra, rg and rp commands. ol Reads the current setting. ol0 Set to ‘A’ ol1 Set to ‘1’ ol2 Set to ‘a’ ol3 Set to ‘A’ (Refer to details for reasoning of this.
• of Set./Read photo finish trigger delay Set the delay up to 255 milliseconds. • ow Set/Read photo finish trigger length Set the trigger length up to 255 milliseconds. • ox Set the finish line to DTX000 mode This changes the Champ Timer finish line to use the DTX000 format. ox1 Go into DTX000 mode ox0 Return to Champ Timer lower and upper case mode • ov Set/Read reverse lane numbering ov Reads value of 0 or 1 for normal or reverse.
3.1.6 DTX000 mode supported This is a simple protocol that is supported when you send an ox1 command to the timer. The Champ Timer will change the communication parameters and reset into the DTX000 mode until a ox0 command is sent. The communication parameters for DTX mode are: This protocol is supported so that you may use the Champ Timer finish line with software such as GrandPrix, DerbyMaster and RaceView. • Race results are sent immediately after the race is completed.
3.2 Detailed List of commands: 3.2.1 od#:Set/Read number of decimal places ComputerFinish Line Sends od od3 od4 od5 Finish Line Computer Returns 4 ? Description Read number of decimals currently set. Sets the number of decimals; allowable range is 3 to 5. Description Value read is the number of decimals set. Carriage return sent when setting a new value. Invalid command. 3.2.
3.2.3 ol[#]:Set/Read lane character This command sets the character sequence type that will be used to indicate the lane numbers in the response to the ra, rg and rp commands. The lane indicators sent in response string will be subsequent values of the same sort such as upper case letters: A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H (Depending on how many lanes you have.) ComputerFinish Line Sends Description ol Reads current character type(A,1,a) from unit.
3.2.4 om[#]:Set/Read number of lanes to be used This command masks off the lane specified until it is reset by either an ‘om0’ command, ‘on’ command or power is cycled on the unit. As an example, you may want to mask out the second and fourth lanes because the cars are being disqualified for any reason. You would send an “om2” and then an “om4” to mask out the lanes. The Finish Line will then respond with a string that includes results for every lane, however the masked lane will be sent as a 9.
3.2.5 on[#]:Set/Read number of lanes This command sets the number of lanes there are physically installed on the track. This command should be used only if changing the number of lanes because of an upgrade or change in the total number of lanes. As an example you may change the number of lanes from a 6-lane track to a 4-lane space derby track with this command. It is not meant to be used as a masking command.
3.2.6 op[#]:Set/Read place character This is the character that will be used to indicate first place in the response to the ra, rg and rp commands. The place indicators sent in response string will be subsequent values of the same sort such as upper case letters: A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H (Depending on how many lanes you have.
3.2.7 or[#]:Set/Read automatic reset delay This command allows you to disable the automatic reset so that it must be reset manually or set the reset time to anything from 1 to 255 seconds (which is a very long time). ComputerFinish Line Sends or or30 Finish Line Computer Returns 30 ? Description Reads the current setting of the reset delay. Sets the reset delay to 30 seconds; Allowable range is 1 to 255. Description Value read is the current delay.
3.2.9 ow:Set./Read photo finish trigger length This command sets the duration of the photo finish signal. Some frame capture devices will take more than one picture if their triggering signal is too long. The number in this command is the number of milliseconds the trigger signal will last. ComputerFinish Line Sends ow ow20 Finish Line Computer Returns 020 ? 3.2.
3.2.11 ra:Force end of race, immediately return results, then reset ComputerFinish Line Sends ra Description Force end of race immediately. Finish Line Computer Returns Description A=0.851c B=0.497b C=0.266a D=9.999 See Appendix A for a detailed description of the result string. 3.2.
3.2.14 rp:Return results from previous race ComputerFinish Line rp Finish Line Computer A=0.851 # B=0.497 “ C=0.266 ! D=0.976 $ See Appendix A for a detailed description of the result string. 3.2.15 rr:Read the reset switch ComputerFinish Line rr Finish Line Computer Returns 0 1 3.2.16 rs:Read the start switch ComputerFinish Line rs Finish Line Computer Returns 0 1 3.2.
Appendix A: Race Result String If the rg command is sent to the Champ Timer Finish Line, a result string will be returned after the race has been completed. The race is not completed until all cars have passed through the finish line or the force finish command is used. There are several different variations to the result string depending on the values you selected for the lane, placement and number of decimals. Some examples of these are: A=0.851c B=0.497b C=0.266a . . . H=0.976h A=0.851C B=0.
As above, the letters (A..H) indicate the lanes, beginning at the lane opposite the wires if normal direction is selected. The race times are displayed after the lane designator using the number of decimals selected with the od command. The race placement character is displayed next. If some cars did not go through the finish line before the ra command was sent then the finish line will send back 9.999 for each car that did not finish and the placement character will be a space.
