TT Recorder

TT Recorder is a mobile phone application intended to assist in the timing and recording of cycling time trials.  The main features are:

• Records arrival times of riders (up to 1000)
• Calculates the rider's time, based on their start time
• Sends the result via SMS to another mobile

The clocks in mobile phones are not as accurate as the certified timepieces used for time trials.  So this software is not intended to replace the certified stopwatch.  However, some features have been added to make the time recording function as accurate as possible:

• The clock can be set with creater accuracy than is normal on a mobile.  This should allow the mobile to be synchronised with the timekeeper's stopwatch.
• The accuracy can be calibrated to compensate for any tendency of the mobile's internal clock to gain or loose.

Installing and running

If your mobile has internet access the easiest way to install is directly from the web to the phone.  In your phone's web browser go to the following url:

http://hostj2me.com/d/12178/ttrecorder3.jad

Confirm that you want to download the application and it should install on your mobile.  It will probably also immediately start running.

The next time you want to run it you should be able to find it by browsing the files on your mobile - it will probably be stored in a folder called "Games".

Alternative nethod

If your mobile doesn't have internet access:

• Download the following two files to your PC
  • http://hostj2me.com/d/12178/ttrecorder3.jad
  • http://hostj2me.com/d/12178/ttrecorder3.jar
• Connect your mobile to your PC using a data cable or Bluetooth and transfer the two files to your mobile.
• Find the ttrecorder3.jad file on your mobile and select it.  This will prompt you to install the software.

Select a memory

The program has 10 memories, numbered 0-9, allowing you to keep a record of several events.  When the program starts you are asked to select which memory you want to use.

• Use the UP and DOWN buttons to select the memory you want to use
• Use the CENTRE button to select it

Menu

After selecting a memory you will see a menu of options:

• Stopwatch - used for recording times and rider's numbers
• Set clock - used for setting the clock
• Set start time - used for setting the start time of the event
• SMS number - used to specify where to send results by SMS
• Select memory - to select and load or clear a different memory.
• Adjust - used to adjust the accuracy of the stopwatch
• About... - displays copyright and license information - also shows how much capacity is being used
• Quit - exit the program

There are four steps to setting up the timer:

• Set the clock, for example to agree with the timekeeper's stopwatch
• Set the start time for the event, so that times can be calculated
• Set the SMS number
• Clear any times previously stored in the memory

Adjusting the accuracy

Mobile phones are not accurate stopwatches.  However, you may be able to improve the accuracy of the clock using the Adjust menu option.

Set the clock

Set the start time

The program needs to know the start time of the event in order to calculate finish times properly.

• From the menu, select "Set start time"

To adjust the start time

• Use the left and right buttons to select the digit you want to change
• Use the up and down buttons to change the digit

The start time will usually be an exact numbers of hours.  I.e. if the start time is 09:00:00.0 rider number 1 sets off at 9:01 am.

When finished:

• Press ** to return to the menu

Clear all times

Prior to an event you will need to clear any times previously recorded.  This can be done in a number of ways

• When starting the program you can select a memory which is already empty
• Use the "Select memory" at any time to select a memory then "Clear records" to make sure the memory is empty

SMS settings

The program will send results by SMS to another phone.  To specify where to sent the results: From the menu, select "Set SMS options" Enter the desired number in the box (use the LEFT and RIGHT buttons to move the cursor and the CLEAR button or the # key to delete a digit) When finished enter ** to return to the menu.

Stopwatch mode

After following the steps above you are ready to record and calculate times

• From the menu, select "Stopwatch"

NOTE: incoming calls can seriously disrupt your timekeeping/recording!  It is suggested that you set the phone to block or divert all incoming calls.

The time is displayed at the top of the screen.

• Press the CENTRE button (usually located between the up, down, left and right keys) to record a time.  Each time you press this button a new time will be recorded and displayed.
• To the right of the recorded time is the rider's number.  Initially this is zero.  Use the number keys to enter the rider's number.
• You can use the UP, DOWN, LEFT and RIGHT keys to move around the screen.
• You can also use the CLEAR button to remove a digit from the rider's number.  (If your phone doesn't have a CLEAR button you can delete digits from the number by entering 0 in the first character.  Eg, if you meant to type 12 and accidentally typed 112, move the cursor over the first digit and type 012.)
• As the rider's number is entered their finish time will be calculated and displayed.
• You can edit the time, for example to adjust it to match the official timekeeper's time, by moving the cursor over the digit you want to change and typing the correct number. (If you have set the time correctly, as described above, this should simply be a matter of altering the seconds.)

Other features:

• Sending an SMS
  Press ## to send the latest results by SMS.  The first time you do this you may be asked to confirm whether you want to send an SMS message.  When results have been transmitted you will see that the . next to the time disappears to show that it has been sent.  If you make alterations to the time or the number, the dot will reappear and the new time will be transmitted next time you press ##.
• Going back to the main menu
  Press ** to go back to the system menu

Loading and saving

The times and numbers recorded in stopwatch mode are held in a temporary memory - if you quit the program all the data will be lost.

It is possible (and preferable) to save this data to a permanent memory store from which it can be recalled.

• Select "Save times" to store the current contents of memory into permanent storage.  This will overwrite whatever is currently in the permanent memory.
• Select "Load times" to load the contents of the permanent storage into memory.  This will overwrite what is currently in memory.

Accuracy adjustment

The clocks built in to mobile phones are not as accurate as certified stopwatches:

• They will be more suceptible to fluctuations due to heat. vibration and battery condition.
• They will have a tendency to gain or lose time - this could be several seconds per day.

We can't do much about the first problem, other than by treating the mobile with care.  However, the software has a built-in feature that lets you compensate for the second problem.

Here is a suggested procedure:

• Use the Set time procedure above to set the time as accurately as possible by reference to the speaking clock or http://www.timeanddate.com or some other accurate reference.
• You can now quit the program and return to it some time later.  The longer you leave it the better as this will eliminate random fluctuations.  It's important, though, that you don't adjust the time on your mobile phone or use the "Set time" facility during this period.
• After some time has elapsed (at least a day, but longer is better), compare the displayed time with your accurate reference.  

By making a note of when you first set the clock, you should be able to calculate how much the clock is gaining or losing.  This will be helpful as a starting point when you come to adjust the accuracy.

To adjust the accuracy:

• Select "Adjust" - the screen will display the time and an adjustment number, which is in milliseconds per day
• Use LEFT and RIGHT to select the digit you want to change.
• Use UP or DOWN to alter the digits (or the +/- sign)
• If your clock is slow you need to set a + number to effectively speed it up.  Conversely, use a - number to slow it down.
• There are 1000 milliseconds in a second!  So, for example, if your clock is slow by 5 seconds per day you should set the adjustment to +05000.

It will be a good idea to:

• Make a note of the adjustment value in case the stored setting is lost for any reason.
• Periodically re-check the accuracy of the adjustment to make sure it hasn't fluctuated for any reason.

The about screen displays:

• A copyright notice
• Website and email contact details
• The number of times currently in memory and the maximum number of times.
• The amount of memory used and available in kilobytes.

Quit

To quit the program:

• From the stopwatch screen press ** to access the menu
• From the menu, select "Quit"

Copyright and software license

The software is released under the GNU GPL in the hope that other developers will be able to contribute.  Anyone interested in helping develop the software should please get in touch.

/*

 * COPYRIGHT (C) 2010 Steve Lockwood
 *
 * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
 * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
 * (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 *
 * http://stevelockwood.net/tt-recorder
 * steve@stevelockwood.net
 */

Version history

This shows the history of released versions and a link to their source code.