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Discussion Forum - PACER - SDM and PACER 2019 update


Author: David Hodge
Posted: Thu 16th May 2019, 12:49
Joined: 2011
Local Group: Sussex
Thanks Tim. The 15 minute delay was caused by the laptop doing the transfers from my website to PACER having stopped. I was off site for a while. I started it again when I got back to East Dean. There was then a backlog that took a while to shift. The issue causing the stop is now fixed.
Author: Tim Bedwell
Posted: Tue 14th May 2019, 21:58
Joined: 2016
Local Group: Surrey
The NFC cards seemed to work very well - well done for making it look easy (I understand from someone else looking at this that it's not straightforward).

I did notice that the pacer times were a bit out for Checkpoint 1 with something like a 15 minute delay from the time we were checked in to the time on Pacer. No issues at the other checkpoints - including Plonk Barn - the timings look spot on.

Many thanks for your part in organising what was a great event.
Author: David Hodge
Posted: Mon 13th May 2019, 16:28
Joined: 2011
Local Group: Sussex
Overall a success with the new mobile system, a few tweeks to do.
This is what we did.

Each participant carried an NFC card programmed with a code plus their number.

For Start, Firle and Finish we used windows xp laptops connected direct to PACER with an NFC card reader. Start and Finish were in a village hall at East Dean using the hall Wifi. Firle was also in a village hall using the wifi. The card reader uses the ID number (created by the manufacturer) of the card to identify the user. All 3 worked without a hitch although there were a few occasion when response was several seconds rather than instant.

For Norton and Plonk Barn (both outside in the countryside) we used a Samsung Galaxy ACE 3. These are a few years old, but have NFC capability. The phones were used unmodified, they did not have any new apps. Touch the card on the back and the phone connected to a website, the number and time were recorded in an online database. The website sent back data that the phone displayed on its screen. This verified the number plus other information such as numbers still to come. The Marshalls had some comments to improve the reply data but overall they found it easy to use. There were also a few occasion when response was several seconds rather than instant.

In order to get the data from the new website into PACER I had written a Visual Basic program that ran on a windows 10 laptop (also runs on windows 7). This program polled the new website for new data. This was then entered into a PACER form to transfer the time into the PACER system. This ran all day at East Dean without a hitch.

We will be using the system on the Stride in September

If you would like more info contact david at weavingtree.co.uk

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