Champ Timer Issue
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 12:37 pm
Just throwing this out there to see if there is something I've missed. Desperation kicking in.
Using Champ Timer, on a 4 lane Besttrack and GPRM 15 on Windows 10 computer
Last night I set up a derby using the Champ timer (had derbies on Tues & Weds as well without issue). Set things up as I always do to find the Champ giving the following code: "L L L L" followed by "1 2 3 4", followed by "_ _ _ _". The start gate, reset button and sensors were non-responsive at this point. I unplugged & replugged power to get the same code. Then when I unplug the start gate/switch cable, the timer was responsive. Plug the start switch cable back in and the code reappeared and the timer went non-responsive again. Switched the end-to-end connections of the start switch cable. No help. After 30 mins of futzing around I realized I was not going to win this one. The timer was still able to show sequence of finish but the times were wrong so I switched to points-mode in GPRM, and just wiggled through the race.
Steve, from Besttrack where I got the timer, did call me back and the consensus was to look for a short which I will be doing tonight (4/28). He said the timer is in "test mode". There are no visible cuts or abrasions in the cable and the start switch shows no sign of wire/connection mutilation. I'm going to test a different cable tonight.
I thought I'd throw this issue out to the derby crowd to see if anyone else has encountered this and successfully fixed it. I have two derbies tomorrow and I really don't want to run points-mode again.
I've run more than 300 derbies over the past 10 years and NEVER had an issue I can't get figured out. Last night was beyond frustrating.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Using Champ Timer, on a 4 lane Besttrack and GPRM 15 on Windows 10 computer
Last night I set up a derby using the Champ timer (had derbies on Tues & Weds as well without issue). Set things up as I always do to find the Champ giving the following code: "L L L L" followed by "1 2 3 4", followed by "_ _ _ _". The start gate, reset button and sensors were non-responsive at this point. I unplugged & replugged power to get the same code. Then when I unplug the start gate/switch cable, the timer was responsive. Plug the start switch cable back in and the code reappeared and the timer went non-responsive again. Switched the end-to-end connections of the start switch cable. No help. After 30 mins of futzing around I realized I was not going to win this one. The timer was still able to show sequence of finish but the times were wrong so I switched to points-mode in GPRM, and just wiggled through the race.
Steve, from Besttrack where I got the timer, did call me back and the consensus was to look for a short which I will be doing tonight (4/28). He said the timer is in "test mode". There are no visible cuts or abrasions in the cable and the start switch shows no sign of wire/connection mutilation. I'm going to test a different cable tonight.
I thought I'd throw this issue out to the derby crowd to see if anyone else has encountered this and successfully fixed it. I have two derbies tomorrow and I really don't want to run points-mode again.
I've run more than 300 derbies over the past 10 years and NEVER had an issue I can't get figured out. Last night was beyond frustrating.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.