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Anyone having strange unexplained issues with their TIMY connected to VOLA via USB only?

We have had several reports of problems occurring if components connected to the TIMY or the computer running VOLA have issues.

1) External monitor connected to laptop via USB has issues. Remove and replace USB cable accidentally by moving monitor and then the TIMY stops printing and memorizing splits.

2) TIMY connected to VOLA does not receive sync pulse. Shut VOLA down. Disconnect TIMY USB connection. Timer gets pulses again. Plug in after sync +1 and it stops receiving pulse for wand check. Then mysteriously starts working half way through forerunners. TIMY was fortunately on backup PC.

3) Photocells go out of alignment causing multiple false finishes. TIMY starts missing starts and VOLA greys out the missed passage options

In all of the situations that have occurred a S4 was present and worked fine connected via serial. All S4 connections are uni directional as well.

The suspicion is that there is an issue with the USB compatibility with VOLA.

We believe that all of these incidents were with the TIMY plugged direct into a native USB port and not a hub.

Somehow VOLA is behaving bidirectionally as well further exacerbating the problem.
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Timy USB is a known issue, at least since 2010. I newer use Timy for Sys A, just for backup and inters.

TIMY@USB may (random) stop printing and memorizing splits, in my case typically after 200+ pulses. Reconnect USB and the Timy is up and running.

I have tried different Vola versions, USB drivers & firmware, but the combination of Vola, Timy and USB is still a shaky thing. Also tried USB-hub, direct connection, different cables and computers.

One possible cause may be loss or drop of power, caused by other USB connections. (2 displays, 2 timers, Vola key, printer & mouse) A drop of voltage may kick some units out of the USB-bus. For some reason, the Timy does not reconnect to the bus, but goes into a system hang until USB is disconnected.

Have tried to resolve the problem with a powered hub with some success. Timy directly into the computer, other USB items via a powered USB-hub. Quality of USB-hubs may vary.

Until this issue is resolved, use of RS232 is strongly recommended. No known issues there.
Last edited by newton
Although it is obviously easier to connect a Timy via USB, since just a simple USB cable is needed, it is widely proven that this is also the easiest way to get into serious worries.

A long thread covered the subject:
http://timingguys.com/eve/foru...6090511/m/4847028033

Just a few people using USB with the Timy has never had troubles.
Timy is an excellent piece of hardware, but using it with USB is (in my opinion) insane.
We've only had one day of problems with using the Timy with USB and it turned out to be a bad ground in our shack wiring. When the PA drew a lot of power we'd get false impulses and lost connections. After we fixed the ground issue the problem went away.

On the other hand, our laptops don't have RS232 ports and we've had all sorts of trouble with adapter cables.

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