Importing data into TT*ware

Greetings from Colorado! I am interested in responses regarding the following topic. In a point to point race format where there is no hard wire, and wireless transmission is negated due to topography or too great a linear distance, how does one "get" impulses from that remote location. We will set up our one PC with an 8000 at the finish. The solutions I see are as follows:
1. Take impulses at the start with a device synchronized with the timing device at the finish. Using the calculator box hand enter each racer's start TOD. (This would be slow and we may as well go live with Fred Flinstone.)
2. As the racers leave the start, 30 second intervals, have a data entry person enter the start TOD into Excel on a second PC. Then when all the racers have started that person travels to the finish, hands off a disk with those start times, and they are then imported into the TTware file being used at the finish. I have never "re-imported" into an existing file and am curious what I need to do to accurately assign the start TOD to the proper bib # on the re-import.
3. An obvious solution would be to pre-assign start times to the field after registration closes, import the excel file, and send them off. I am not a fan of this method because it is not accurate to the 100th of a second and course holds, missed starts, etc. require one to go in and edit a racer's start TOD anyway. Also our event is on a Wednesday evening and we like to allow the racers to register up to the last minute.

We discussed this weekly event last year. I think the pre-assigned start times is the most convenient way to resolve the issue. You would have some course holds, etc, but you would only have to edit a few times. You could use a starter and that just makes getting a good start a critical aspect of the race for each competitor. I will put some thought into this issue. I am certain some very intuitive timing guys will view this forum and may have some excedllent ideas oof the top of their head!

Good Luck Westy!

Just use two PCs and two synced timers. Use TT*ware in "start only" mode at the start. Have the person there just input the bib numbers and take the TOD start info. That way that person can deal with all of the missed starts, course holds etc. Each rider has a clean record to start. You then drag TOD start down to the finish so it shows up as the "net time" It is easy to do, just double click on the rider in the start list, then drag them into the start queue.

The timer at the finish uses another PC with TT*ware and the other synced timer. Run this copy in "finish only" mode. Just deal with the occasional course hold and "ghost" riders. The finish is "unoffical" until the start PC gets there.

Export the data from the start PC to excel. The start times should appear in the results as TOD.

Import the start TOD data and the bib numbers into the finish PC at the end of the race. Use the accurate TOD starts as "assigned start time run 1" Make sure you select the option "do not overwrite existing data".

Voila! Your finish net times will now be accurate.

Obviously try this at home and use old data to avoid sadness.

You will need two dongles as both machines have to be active.

Duh! And when you import the accurate start times from the start PC as "assigned start" times in the finish PC you will click "NO" on the message that asks if you want to overwrite existing data...therefore leaving the finish times, names and all other data you have imported into the finish PC prior to the race.

You the man Fred!

Could you record times at the start (along with bib#s) on a TIMY or a Comet and import from that device to get the start info? Start locations for DH MTB races can be a bit harsh for laptops.

Alright now for the advanced version. For timing an adventure race I want to record split or intermediate times on a timy and import into the race file. From looking at it just now it does not look to be possible from the import menu but... if I could slow down the memory dump to one line at a time and be running the timing screen?

So a little insomnia got me testing some of the ideas above and have found that,
TTware will not allow you to import precision beyond the second. This does not matter if you time with it on another machine and export/import or just get it from a timer memory dump and then import. You can do a memory dump to the software with the timing screen open and get all of the impulses in the log but no bib info will come through, only channel number. If you have autoload on this could be fun. You can also dump one line at a time with a timy by selecting and then editing the number of any impulse. The time and channel will be resent for that impulse. Any impulse sent to TTware will change your system clock to the time sent by the last rs-232 transmission.