MANUAL FOR CHIEF FINISH JUDGES & TRAINEES

OPERATION OF OMEGA OSM-6 ELECTRONIC TIMING SYSTEM

Adapted (with special thanks) from an idea by Desiree McCartney & Karen Burrows of Barracuda Swim Club and Bill Hyduk of the Ontario Swimming Officials Association.

Page Topics

PRE-MEET SETUP

Connect cables from power source, scoreboard, touch pads, starting device and computer to ports at rear of console and ensure that a spool of grey tape is loaded into the console's printer.

OPERATIONAL SETUP

Turn on the console using the button at rear of the console. The OSM6 display screen will request some information which you are required to enter. Provide the appropriate answers as shown below. [NOTE: The order of these requests may differ from the order shown.]

DATE/TIME FUNCTION:

Type in the current time of day in the 24-hour military format [e.g.: "Ø9ØØØØ" for 9.00 AM], and the date of the meet in the American mm/dd/yy format. [e.g.: "Ø11Ø99" for 10^th January, 1999]. Single numbers (like 1, 2, etc.) should be preceded by a zero "Ø". Press ENTER. [SUGGESTION: Make the time a little later than the actual time of day.]

SYNC FUNCTION:

After the time has been entered, the display will read "SYNC". When the entered time and the actual time of day match, press TEST then START Buttons to synchronize the OSM6.

SCBD FUNCTION:

The OSM6 can display heat results in four different ways. For BSF-sanctioned competitions, always press SCB Button then 1, for one lane per place. [NOTE: "Per place" shows times in order of finish; "per lane" shows time by lane, not fastest to slowest times; "multilane" indicates 8-lane or other number of lanes shown on a full display scoreboard.] If the display shows the wrong one, simply press NEXT Button until the correct selection appears, then press ENTER.

PREC FUNCTION:

This sets the time print-out accuracy to 1/100^th or 1/1000^th of a second. For BSF-sanctioned competitions, this should always be set to 1/100^th of a second. The display will show "PREC 1" or "PREC 2". Press NEXT to change the selection shown. When correct, press ENTER.

POOL LANES FUNCTION:

The display screen will show "Lanes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ø". For a 5-lane pool, "6 7 8 9 & Ø" are not used. Delete these by pressing 6 7 8 9 and Ø. For a 6-lane pool, "7 8 9 & Ø" are not used. Delete these by pressing 7 8 9 and Ø. If the wrong lane number was pressed, it can be re-entered by pressing the lane number key again. When the correct selections have been made, press ENTER.

PROG FUNCTION:

The OSM-6 must be programmed to accept timing information from one of three sources: touch pad and 1 pushbutton; touch pad, 1 pushbutton and automatic take-off equipment; or, 3 pushbuttons only. For BSF-sanctioned competitions, always press PROG then 1, to programme the OSM-6 to accept timing information from a touch pad and pushbutton, then press ENTER.

ARM TIME FUNCTION:

This sets the length of time that the touch-pads will remain inactive after a touch has been made by a swimmer. This is set to 15 seconds by the OSM6 automatically if a time is not put in. The range is 1 - 99 seconds. For BSF-sanctioned competitions, the default of 15 seconds is recommended. To change the re-arming time to longer than 15 seconds, press ARM TIME Button, type in your selected arm time and press ENTER. [NOTE: The Event/Heat, Lap and Arm Time selections can be reviewed at any time during the meet by pressing the appropriate key. To return to the heat in progress, press ESC Button.]

PRINTOUT PAPER

Check that there are plenty of extra rolls of print-out paper in reserve for the meet or session. There should be a minimum of 3 extra rolls on-hand for a BSF-sanctioned meet.

TEST START

The unit is now ready for meet operation. Test that the start, strobe and touch-pads are working properly. Press TEST and START Buttons simultaneously. Let the scoreboard clock run for at least 15 seconds, then have someone hit each touch-pad to confirm that they register a finish time. The pre-meet set-up is now completed.

MEET PREPARATION

Ready the system for the actual swim meet. First trigger the start: Press LANE ON Button; then START Button. This should be done before entering Event and Heat numbers to keep heat numbers accurate.

EVENT & HEAT NUMBERS FUNCTION:

Enter the Event and Heat numbers. Press EVENT/HEAT Button. Type in the Event Number [e.g.: "Ø62" for Event #62]. NOTE: There are three spaces for this number. After the last digit in the event number is typed in, the display will automatically move to the heat selection. Type in the Heat number [e.g.: "Ø1" for Heat #1], then press ENTER. These numbers can be changed by pressing the EVENT/HEAT Button and repeating the process.

NUMBER OF LAPS FUNCTION:

Type in the number of laps for each event. This is the number of times the swimmer will contact the touch-pads during the event. For 25/50m events = 1 lap. 100m events = 2 laps. 200m = 4 laps. 400m = 8 laps. 500y = 10 laps. 800m = 16 laps. 1500m = 32 laps. 1650y = 35 laps.

MEET OPERATION

The system is now ready for the start of the meet. When the Announcer calls up the first heat of the first event to be swum, follow the steps below for each race.

START

Press LANE ON and START Buttons simultaneously to set the timing system for the start. The unit will be triggered by Starter when the starting horn is activated. [NOTE: An alternative process is to simultaneously press the RED coloured key in the lower right hand corner of the console and the START Button.]

EMPTY LANES

If there are empty lanes in the heat being swum, you must deactivate those lanes. Hold down NOT USED Button and the empty lane number key for each unused lane. This may be done prior to the start or at any time during the race. Where the OSM6 is connected to a computer by an interface cable, it is especially important to declare empty lanes. At the completion of the heat, the heat number advances by one and all 5 or 6 lanes are active again.

FALSE START

Whenever a false start is declared, you will have to quickly reset the OSM6 and the scoreboard to prepare for the second start. Press ERASE Button; then START; then ENTER. Press LANE ON and START simultaneously to set the timing system for the start again. The scoreboard clock should display "Ø.ØØ".

END OF THE RACE: PRINT RESULTS

At the completion of each heat, press PRINT then RSLT Buttons. Then press PRINT Button again and BACK UP Button. Results will begin to print out. Wait for backup times to print and pass data via data handler port to the computer. [NOTE: Alternative print commands are as follows: Press PRINT and 11 to print the results of a race in progress. Press PRINT and 12 to print the back-up times of a race in progress. Press PRINT and 21 to print the results of the previous race. Press PRINT and 22 to print the back-up times from the previous race. Press PRINT and 33 to send data to the computer].

END OF THE RACE: DISPLAY RESULTS

The finishing time can be displayed by pressing SCB, then RSLT, then ENTER. Each swimmers time and placing will cycle and display on the scoreboard for four seconds from the fastest to the slowest. After displaying the results, it will end by showing the fastest time again. To prepare for the next start, simultaneously press RED Button and START. To clear the scoreboard, press SCB then ENTER. When the scoreboard displays "Ø.ØØ", you can proceed to the next heat or change event and heat numbers as in Steps 6, 7, 9 and 10 above.

LIGHT TOUCHES

If a swimmer's touch is too light to register on the touch-pad, it can still be caught by the OSM6. Simultaneously press the TEST and LANE # Button for the swimmer(s) with a light touch. A time will be registered for the swimmer(s) by the OSM6.

UNWANTED TOUCHES

If a swimmer touches the pad twice or a timer inadvertently touches the pad after the OSM6 has rearmed, the unwanted second touch can be eliminated. Press ERASE, then the LANE # Button of the swimmer with the unwanted touch, then ENTER. The unwanted second touch will be dropped by the OSM6.

MISSED STARTS

If the OSM6 was not reset before the next race was started, it can be inserted as follows. Simultaneously press LANE ON and START. Then press INS, then START, then ENTER, then LAST, then ENTER again. [NOTE: The activation of the start by the Starter registers in the OSM6 and the inserted start is from the Starter's signal when put in as described above].

RELAYS

During relays, the swimmers that have completed their leg of the race may not get out of the pool until after the touch-pad has re-armed. A potentially erroneous time could result. This can be averted by getting the swimmers out of the pool sooner, or by disabling the touch-pad by holding down the LANE NUMBER key until the swimmer is out. [NOTE: Only one lane can be disabled at a time using this method. To disable more than one lane at the same time, simultaneously press the LANE OFF and ALL Buttons].

RETURN TO THE RACE

If a race is in progress and you inadvertently reset the start, return to the race by simultaneously pressing LANE OFF and START.

COMBINED HEATS (SAME EVENT NUMBER)

Where heats in a girls or boys event are combined, the Event Number remains the same but the Heat Number becomes the number of the later of the combined heats. So, if Heats 1 and 2 are combined, the Heat Number becomes 2, and so on.

COMBINED HEATS (DIFFERENT EVENT NUMBERS)

Where heats in a girls and boys event are combined, the Event Number becomes the number of the earlier of the combined heats but the Heat Number remains the same. So, if Events #1 (girls) and #2 (boys) are combined, the Event Number is 1. The Chief Finish Judge will have to write on the tape print-out the other Event Number of the combined race. [NOTE: There must always be one empty lane between girls and boys swimming at the same time].

MANUAL STARTS

Chief Finish Judge should hold down the TEST Button. When the Starter is ready, and while the TEST Button is depressed, the Starter should then simultaneously press the starting device and press START Button to start the console. The race is concluded as in Step 12 and 13 above. Remember to reset the OSM6 by pressing ERASE then START then ENTER.

SUMMARY OF OSM6 COMMANDS

EMPTY LANES: NOT USED + LANE #

FALSE START: ERASE; START; ENTER (";" = in sequence)

UNWANTED TOUCH: ERASE; LANE #; ENTER

MISSED START: LANE ON + START; INS; START; ENTER; LAST; ENTER

DISABLE RELAY LANES: LANE # for single lane or LANE OFF + ALL for all

RUNNING TIME: SCB; ENTER or SCB; 1

DISPLAY RESULTS: SCB; RSLT; ENTER or SCB; 3; ENTER

MODIFY RESULTS: MOD; ENTER; LANE #; ENTER; new time; ENTER

DISPLAY TIME OF DAY: SCB; 4; ENTER SCB; ENTER to return

CLEAR SCOREBOARD: SCB; CLEAR; ENTER or SCB; 2; ENTER

RETURN TO RACE: LANE OFF + START

MANUAL START: TEST + START

PRINT COMMANDS:

PRINT + RSLT or PRINT + 11: Results of race running

PRINT + BACKUP or PRINT + 12: Back-up times of race running

PRINT + LAST + BACKUP or PRINT + 22: Back-up times of prior race

PRINT + 33: Send results to computer