Timing
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      Timing Passings are not detected

      Introduction

      This tutorial explains how to troubleshoot the BMI Leisure timing application when you have an active race or session and the passings are not showing in the software. The steps below point out what to do and where to look to resolve this situation.

      You can have different situations:

      • One or more transponders are not being detected.
      • None of the transponders are being detected.
       

      One or more transponders are not being detected.

      If this is the case, the problem is most likely related to the individual transponder or the positioning of the transponder.
      Check the mounting position of the transponder on the gokart by following your transponder manual. It is also possible that a transponder becomes old and doesn't detect passings, or it detects a few passings.

      None of the transponders are being detected.

      If this is the case, the problem is most likely related to the detection loop, decoder, timing computer or cabling. Find a full list of steps to follow below.

      What to check and how to solve it:

      1 . Are the passings registering in the decoder?

      First of all you need to check if the decoder is registering the passings. Most decoders will give some kind of verification when a transponder crosses the loop, either on the screen  by showing a small light or by the noise levels. As an example I will use the Tranx Decoder who displays information on its screen. If the icon will become black, then the decoder is detecting the passing.

      On the TranX decoder the loop is signaled by the square on the arrow "e", in its normal state this square is empty. (as shown on the left picture)

      To see if the decoder is receiving the passings, look at the screen when a kart is passing the loop, the line on the field "e" should become fully black (as shown on the picture on the right). If this does not happen, then you know that the problem is likely between the loop and the decoder.

      To solve this, shut down the decoder and the loop (if powered), disconnect and reconnect them to make sure that the connection is good and power them up again. After this is done, check the screen again on a passing to see if a passing is detected. If the issue persists, see if the problem lies with the transponder, try a different kart or try to pass a transponder separately over the loop to assure that it is not a problem of a single transponder. If this still didn’t provide a solution then the loop will probably not be connected correctly or is damaged.

      If the passings are not registered you need to check :

      1. Connection between loop and Black Box: if the light on the black box is blinking, it means there is an issue with the connection. Please double check the cables.
      2. Noise: when the noise is too high, you need to check transponder signal strength.

      3. Check the coaxial cable by measuring the resistance (with a multimeter) between the center pin and the outside of the bNC connector. The reading should be approximately 150 kOhm (for MylApS proChip decoders) and 100 kOhm (for other types of decoders) after 30 seconds. If not, the coaxial must be replaced.

      4. Check the loop wire by cutting the loop wires from the connection box and measuring the resistance between the loop wires in the track. The reading should be approximately 220 Ohm (for MylApS proChip decoders) and 470 Ohm (for other types of decoders). If this is not the case, the loop must be replaced. When (re)connecting the loopwires to the connection box please solder with proper connections (for more information please check your system installation manual).

         

      2. Are the Fast Reader and Fast Bridge running?

      Check if the fast reader and fast bridge are running. There are two icons that resemble ‘glasses’ and a ‘bridge’ at the bottom of the timing application. These icons should be a stable green. If one or both is in red, this means that they are not running or have frozen. Click on the red icons(reader and bridge) to restart them. Once restarted, they will turn green and the passings should register in the timing again. Usually FAST Reader and Fast Bridge run on the server when the decoder is connected on the network(possibly in the Service Host); they are usually on the Fast Timing Pc when the decoder is directly connected to the Timing PC.

      3. Is the Fast Reader returning heartbeats?

      To see if the connection between the Fast Reader and the decoder is stable, type "verbose" in the fast reader console. Now you will get a confirmation that the verbose mode of the application is turned on by the message << VERBOSE -> ON >>. Most of the main brand decoders give back a heartbeat to the Fast Reader to assure that there is a connection with the decoder. If you have one of these decoders and you do not see a heartbeat appear every now and then (as shown in the picture above) there will be a problem with the connection between the decoder and the pc.

      To try to solve this, it is best to shut down the decoder and reconnect the cables. If it is connected to the network make sure to also check if the other side of the cable is still properly connected to the network, if it’s a serial cable, detach it from the pc and reattach it again. Then you best restart the Fast Reader by typing "quit" in the application and then starting it up again.

       

      4. Check if the timing application is running as ‘Primary’ Pit (Master pit).

      As You cannot have multiple ‘Primary’ Pit applications running at the same time, you should check that you are running only one application as a Primary source. This is indicated at the bottom right corner of the timing application. If this is the case, close one ‘Primary’ Pit(Master pit) application or contact our Support to deactivate it.

      5. If the decoder is a network decoder, please make sure the IP address in the decoder screen corresponds to the one in the timing software.

      You can check the IP address on the decoder itself.

      6. Check if the decoder is in the correct resource.

      Go to Activities ->Resources, select the track you need, then you need to open the section Tracks and double click on 'karting structure', making sure that the decoder selected is the correct one.

      If the customer has multiple decoders, you need to make sure that the 'Antenna' per decoder is correct. If not, the timing won't work properly.
      If you need to know the correct antenna, you can find this in the Timing software under Passings. There is a column 'Antenna', which is filled in for every passing.

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      7. Restart the decoder

      Restart helps in 97% of cases!