Jun 2009
Speed Climbing Timing - Installation
06/10/2009 10:29 Filed in: Speed timing
Synopsis: This article provides installation instructions and hints for how best to install the speed climbing timing system.
Both timing systems arrived at their destinations for the southwest and northeast divisional championships. Yeah!
Here is the wiring diagram for the system. All the cable to connect these modules is regular CAT5 straight through patch cable.
Tools you'll need for the install:
1) Diagonal cutters (used to trim tie-wrap excess)
1a) pliers - helpful for tightening down the tie-wraps.
2) 3/8" button head bolts: 2 short button head bolts work the best with the 3/8" washers in the package to secure the hand sensors from rotation. Other bolts will work, but the button head bolts have the widest, flatest surface area that's best for holding the hand sensor brackets to the wall. The flanged, martini bolts are a no-go - no surface area to hold the bracket.
3) an extension cord that has at least 2 outlets. I usually bring one of those short 1-2 foot extensions that expands from a single 3-prong to 3 outlets. Heavy duty, flexible...they cost about $10 at home depot. Then I run a regular extension to the expansion extension. An extension to a power strip will also work.
There's enough power cable leading to the display to eliminate the need (in most cases) to run any extension cord up the wall.
4) It would be ideal to plug the system into a filtered power source - something to catch line spikes. Typical UPS or lightening suppressed power strips would be best.
It's quite simple to hook up, but here are a few tips for install.
1) Always attach the left lane foot and hand sensors' BASE jack to the base unit. This makes the LEDs on the starter console line up left and right (unless you flip it over/upside down.) It works either way (you could go from the base unit to the right lane instead), but one way is better. The diagram shows it going from base to left lane.
2) Make sure you bolt the hand sensors offset from the rope - far enough that the loop and slack of the rope that is slapping around as they climb will not break the light beam of the hand sensor. This is a very important installation/ positioning consideration. A fast rope flick in the target area is enough to trigger the sensor, so configure the routes and lanes so this possibility is eliminated.
2a) it's also good to make sure the rope cannot get under the wires leading into the sensors. One of the improvements we made after the regionals was we added another bracket to the back so the sensor can be flipped over. This lets you route the cables to the sensor from the left or the right depending upon what the best way is to keep the cables out of the way of the rope. The hand sensors work just as well in any orientation, so use the one that makes the install the safest to keep cables away from the rope.
3) For the long run of cable from the base up to the left hand sensor, if you are unable to drop the cable behind the wall and come out the front at the bottom, it works good to screw in some bolts along the path on the face wall up to the top. Then you can use the plastic tie-wraps included in the package to secure the cable to the bolts. It's an effective cable chase that keeps them tied back. Same works with running the foot cable along the wall until it needs to come out to the foot sensors.
4) Make sure to leave a little slack in the wire to the foot sensors (don't tie it down to close to the wall), since the footbeds need to move around some where it's comfortable for the climber.
5) The sensors are interchangeable - they all have the same jack configuration. Not all jacks will be used on a single sensor as shown in the diagram.
6) It would be good to tie-wrap the cables feeding into the display base unit to something on the wall close to where they connect to the base. This will provide strain relief and especially, if someone trips over a cable it won't immediate yank the display off the wall or rip the cables out of the display.
6a.) Also makes sense to tie wrap the cables leading into the hand sensor jacks to a bolt in the
wall or something secure so those cables have some strain relief as well. This will make
incidental hits to the cable less likely to cause an issue.
7) If the cables included aren't a length you need, you can use whatever length you want - the cables are basic CAT5 straight-through patch cables which you can buy at CompUSA or home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
8) Finally, make sure you have at least one backup stopwatch on each lane - I'd hate to have some malfunction in the system hose up an event. We should have some spare sensors built by nationals.
The demonstration video is still valid for how the system works (in operation) from a starter official's point of view as well as the climbers.
The main things that have changed since that video was done:
1) the hand sensors now have LEDs on the end-cap that light when the sensor is activated - giving the climber some clue that he hit it OK.
2) the starter console LEDs now not only light when the foot is in the footbox, but also will light when the climber has activated the hand sensor.
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
Both timing systems arrived at their destinations for the southwest and northeast divisional championships. Yeah!
Here is the wiring diagram for the system. All the cable to connect these modules is regular CAT5 straight through patch cable.
Tools you'll need for the install:
1) Diagonal cutters (used to trim tie-wrap excess)
1a) pliers - helpful for tightening down the tie-wraps.
2) 3/8" button head bolts: 2 short button head bolts work the best with the 3/8" washers in the package to secure the hand sensors from rotation. Other bolts will work, but the button head bolts have the widest, flatest surface area that's best for holding the hand sensor brackets to the wall. The flanged, martini bolts are a no-go - no surface area to hold the bracket.
3) an extension cord that has at least 2 outlets. I usually bring one of those short 1-2 foot extensions that expands from a single 3-prong to 3 outlets. Heavy duty, flexible...they cost about $10 at home depot. Then I run a regular extension to the expansion extension. An extension to a power strip will also work.
There's enough power cable leading to the display to eliminate the need (in most cases) to run any extension cord up the wall.
4) It would be ideal to plug the system into a filtered power source - something to catch line spikes. Typical UPS or lightening suppressed power strips would be best.
It's quite simple to hook up, but here are a few tips for install.
1) Always attach the left lane foot and hand sensors' BASE jack to the base unit. This makes the LEDs on the starter console line up left and right (unless you flip it over/upside down.) It works either way (you could go from the base unit to the right lane instead), but one way is better. The diagram shows it going from base to left lane.
2) Make sure you bolt the hand sensors offset from the rope - far enough that the loop and slack of the rope that is slapping around as they climb will not break the light beam of the hand sensor. This is a very important installation/ positioning consideration. A fast rope flick in the target area is enough to trigger the sensor, so configure the routes and lanes so this possibility is eliminated.
2a) it's also good to make sure the rope cannot get under the wires leading into the sensors. One of the improvements we made after the regionals was we added another bracket to the back so the sensor can be flipped over. This lets you route the cables to the sensor from the left or the right depending upon what the best way is to keep the cables out of the way of the rope. The hand sensors work just as well in any orientation, so use the one that makes the install the safest to keep cables away from the rope.
3) For the long run of cable from the base up to the left hand sensor, if you are unable to drop the cable behind the wall and come out the front at the bottom, it works good to screw in some bolts along the path on the face wall up to the top. Then you can use the plastic tie-wraps included in the package to secure the cable to the bolts. It's an effective cable chase that keeps them tied back. Same works with running the foot cable along the wall until it needs to come out to the foot sensors.
4) Make sure to leave a little slack in the wire to the foot sensors (don't tie it down to close to the wall), since the footbeds need to move around some where it's comfortable for the climber.
5) The sensors are interchangeable - they all have the same jack configuration. Not all jacks will be used on a single sensor as shown in the diagram.
6) It would be good to tie-wrap the cables feeding into the display base unit to something on the wall close to where they connect to the base. This will provide strain relief and especially, if someone trips over a cable it won't immediate yank the display off the wall or rip the cables out of the display.
6a.) Also makes sense to tie wrap the cables leading into the hand sensor jacks to a bolt in the
wall or something secure so those cables have some strain relief as well. This will make
incidental hits to the cable less likely to cause an issue.
7) If the cables included aren't a length you need, you can use whatever length you want - the cables are basic CAT5 straight-through patch cables which you can buy at CompUSA or home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
8) Finally, make sure you have at least one backup stopwatch on each lane - I'd hate to have some malfunction in the system hose up an event. We should have some spare sensors built by nationals.
The demonstration video is still valid for how the system works (in operation) from a starter official's point of view as well as the climbers.
The main things that have changed since that video was done:
1) the hand sensors now have LEDs on the end-cap that light when the sensor is activated - giving the climber some clue that he hit it OK.
2) the starter console LEDs now not only light when the foot is in the footbox, but also will light when the climber has activated the hand sensor.
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics
06/03/2009 19:38 Filed in: Speed timing | Schematics
Synopsis - These are the latest schematics for the Speed Climbing Timing system. In the process of improving and refining the system, the schematics changed substantially from the original schematics I posted. One of the biggest changes was eliminating the LM339 comparator circuitry for all 4 sensors (2Xhands 2Xfeet). It was just not reliable and too twitchy. Added an LED as feedback to the climber on the hand sensor and added the starter console schematics and base station schematic changes.
There are 6 pages of schematics that cover the system (currently). Click on each image to get an enlargement.
Base station display controller:
Hand sensor:
Foot sensor
Starter’s console:
Add capacitance to the power supply on the ET-AVR stamp dev board:
Example wiring diagram that shows two hand sensors attached to the Base Station through RJ45, CAT5 cabling:
I may scan and post the schematics of the large LED display board later. That board is a pre-assembled module I purchased based on the Maxim 7219 LED display chipset.
AVR Code for the firmware for the base station and sensor microcontrollers will be posted next week. All code will be open sourced as well as these designs.
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
There are 6 pages of schematics that cover the system (currently). Click on each image to get an enlargement.
Base station display controller:
Hand sensor:
Foot sensor
Starter’s console:
Add capacitance to the power supply on the ET-AVR stamp dev board:
Example wiring diagram that shows two hand sensors attached to the Base Station through RJ45, CAT5 cabling:
I may scan and post the schematics of the large LED display board later. That board is a pre-assembled module I purchased based on the Maxim 7219 LED display chipset.
AVR Code for the firmware for the base station and sensor microcontrollers will be posted next week. All code will be open sourced as well as these designs.
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
Speed Climbing Timing Systems - SHIPPED!
06/03/2009 18:05 Filed in: Speed timing
Today I shipped a speed timing system to USAC representatives in Texas and New England - one for use at the Southwest Divisional Championship and another system for Northeast Divisional Championships. One should be in Texas in 2-3 days and the other in Mass in 3-4 days.
Here's what was in the box:
Large display with power cable (includes 2 wall warts - one for the digit displays and one for the electronics - integrated into a single cable).
White CAT5 cables - various lengths from 50', 30', several 25' and 20' and 10'. Since I don't know the gym and installation, a variety of lengths were enclosed. You will not use all the cables sent.
2 Hand sensors (those with the yellow dots).
2 Foot sensors for false start detection (white triangles).
1 Starter console - using one of the CAT5 cables, connects to the main display
1 Bag of installation helpers (white cable ties to tie CAT5 cable to bolts in the wall to keep it out of the way of the route, 2 3/8" washers.)
This is a momentous occasion as it represents hundreds of man-hours of design, testing, improvements, and build-outs.
We hope that others may improve and build off this design for the benefit of speed climbers everywhere.
Landon
For more on the design and development of the Speed Climbing Timing System see these links:
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
Here's what was in the box:
Large display with power cable (includes 2 wall warts - one for the digit displays and one for the electronics - integrated into a single cable).
White CAT5 cables - various lengths from 50', 30', several 25' and 20' and 10'. Since I don't know the gym and installation, a variety of lengths were enclosed. You will not use all the cables sent.
2 Hand sensors (those with the yellow dots).
2 Foot sensors for false start detection (white triangles).
1 Starter console - using one of the CAT5 cables, connects to the main display
1 Bag of installation helpers (white cable ties to tie CAT5 cable to bolts in the wall to keep it out of the way of the route, 2 3/8" washers.)
This is a momentous occasion as it represents hundreds of man-hours of design, testing, improvements, and build-outs.
We hope that others may improve and build off this design for the benefit of speed climbers everywhere.
Landon
For more on the design and development of the Speed Climbing Timing System see these links:
Speed Climbing Timing Part 1 - Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 2 - Controller
Speed Climbing Timing Part 3 - Integration
Speed Climbing Timing Part 4 - Touch Pad Construction
Speed Climbing Timing Part 5 - Schematics
Speed Climbing Timing Part 6 - Perf Board
Speed Climbing Timing Part 7 - Display
Speed Climbing Timing Part 8 - Hand and Foot Sensors
Speed Climbing Timing Part 9 - Demonstration
Speed Climbing Timing Beta Test Boulder Rock Club
Speed Climbing Timing - Sensor Improvements
Speed Climbing Timing SHIPPED!
Speed Climbing Timing Schematics (shipped v1)
Speed Climbing Timing Installation
Speed Climbing Timing - Laser-based Hand Sensor Design
Speed Climbing Timing Lessons Learned
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