Race Managment Software for Mac

[John Thawley]

C'mon... surely someone makes a program for the hottest computers on the planet (literally)?

I bought a 42' BestTrack and MicroWizard timer... which for my personal use is fine. But to help our local scout pack, we're lending it for their Pack race. At this point, even a simple spreadsheet will do.

Help?

JT

 

[Chief]

C'mon... surely someone makes a program for the hottest computers on the planet (literally)?

I bout a 42' BestTrack and MicroWizard timer... which for my personal use is fine. But to help our local scout pack, we're lending it for their Pack race. At this point, even a simple spreadsheet will do.

Help?

JT

I have one from micro wizzard but I would have to find it and then I am not sure if it will copy. what about this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pinewood-Derby-Awana-Grand-Prix-Race-Management-/120879187793?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c24f60751

 

[John Thawley]

The ebay item is Windows platform. I'll give Micro Wizard a call... see if they have any solutions for a Mac.

Thanks,

JT

 

[DerbyDad4Hire]

I have never seen a MAC software for racing. Needs to be done. I might be going into the software business!

 

[John Thawley]

I have never seen a MAC software for racing. Needs to be done. I might be going into the software business!

Sure would make a beautiful APP for an iPad. Especially when you consider an iPad can jack into a HD Flat screen with a simple HDMI cable. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif

 

[mrwizard]

There _IS_ a Pinewood Derby race manager program of Mac. It's called Pinewood Master.

The web site is located at http://207.183.176.29

It's a 1-man operation.

The program runs on Mac OSX up to Mavericks, hasn't been tested on the latest version yet.

It can handle up to 80 racers, can divide them in to as many as 24 divisions (great for getting race results on a per-pack basis).

It does NOT do a "bracket" style race. Nobody gets "eliminated" because it is based on having each racer run at least once on each lane (thus virtually eliminating the 'but he got the fast lane' complaints) and then it averages the racer's times and sorts for fastest average time. That way ALL of the racers are still in the race until the last car has run down the track in the last heat.

I know all of this because I wrote it.

When my own boys were racing over 20 years ago I learned to hate the "elimination" process and, coincidentally, at the same time the local pack asked me to build a track timer for them. So while I was building a timer I was also writing my program. The very first version ran on an Apple ][ computer .... and over the years has graduated to Macintosh.

On my web site you can download a demo of it that does everything except print results to paper (but you can still get results shown on the computer screen). You can try it out, and if you like it, you can purchase a full license for $25.

Besides the 'non-elimination' aspect, and the 'multiple divisions' feature ... it also has the ability to let you connect a second screen (or projector) to display race results to the racers and spectators.

One thing it does NOT do is connect to your timer. You have to enter the times on a keyboard. But I've been doing this successfully, on my Mac, for over 15 years.

So there you have it .... although it doesn't run on a phone or tablet it DOES run on any laptop or desktop Mac .... and it runs natively on OSX .... no windows emulation.

 

[ngyoung]

what's the big hurdle for getting it to read a timer input. I don't know a lot about the interface stuff but I thought Macs could talk with arduino boards at least.

 

[mrwizard]

Yes, you are correct, Macs CAN talk to Arduino boards. But that is native USB and does not use the typical "serial device."

Actually, a couple years ago I started worrying about "what if the timer took a power surge or static zap ... how would I repair it?" Well, those parts are no longer available. Long story short ... I have been developing a new timer system that is Arduino based.

In fact, I have a current prototype that uses an Arduino Leonardo, and it simply acts like a super fast typist and enters the times into the program for you. The caveat here is that it has not been tested in an actual race yet. But I have that test scheduled for tomorrow, January 22nd. I'll let you know how it goes.

Of course, for those more adventurous souls out there ... anyone could tackle the issue of teaching an arduino Leonardo to receive times from the various models of timers out there and then have it send those times, as I have done, to the computer as keyboard presses.

Anyway, I'll let you know how my test tomorrow works out (the test last year was a dismal failure because the Arduino Leonardo has inputs that are much more sensitive and it kept receiving false 'stop' signals from the finish line because of electrical noise. This year I have installed low-pass filters on those lines and, on the test bench at least, it works perfectly. We'll see how it does tomorrow when we have that 30 foot cable running to the finish line)

Ohhh! I didn't really answer the "what's the big hurdle" question .... it's a couple of things....

1. Every timer seems to have a different communication protocol, such as baud rate, start bits, stop bits, etc ... and I'm having trouble with getting the tech info I need for the various timers. So programming my software to 'talk' to various timers has been an exercise in frustration.

2. I don't have access to any other timers than the one I built, and since I live in a rural area, getting access to various timers to test it with is a challenge.

3. I don't have a serial to USB interface that works ... and experimenting with the one I do have proved that it was very finicky to work with. It would send the times accurately a couple times and then start dropping digits. And all the fiddling in the world with baud rates and start/stop bits did not help.

So between not having other timers to test with and having trouble getting reliable RS232 communications ... I have just about given up on getting comm with other timers working. If you or others have suggestions on how to get over these hurdles .... I'm quite willing to listen (but my budget won't let me buy every timer that's out there so I can test with it)

Also, if you have a recommendation on a better RS232 to USB adapter let me know. I'm sure part of the trouble was that the one I was trying to use required me to install drivers etcetera, and that's just not the "mac way" of doing things. I want it to be as close to a plug&play operation as possible.

 

[mrwizard]

Just a quick update ... Anyone interested in the Pinewood Master program for Apple Mac computers can now visit http://www.pinewoodmaster.com instead of using the I.P. address as shown earlier.

Also, the program now has the ability to communicate with certain timer systems. The serial communication problems have been ironed out.

 

[mrwizard]

UPDATE: My Arduino based timer has now been tested on five races and it sends the times to the computer flawlessly.

One thing I noticed is that if the "Gatekeeper" person accidentally dropped the starting gate early (happened three times) then the timer would do it's job and send the times to the computer ... but then I would have to quickly erase the 'unofficial' times while the racers would re-set their cars at the starting gate.

Because of this I added a feature to the Pinewood Master program that, in those couple of seconds while the cars travel down the track during the 'false start', you can hit the Space Bar on your keyboard to 'lockout' the bad times .... and then press the Escape key when ready to resume normal entry.

I also have a new version that is almost ready for release that adds more bells and whistles .... like the Spectator Display now obeys the "Division" that you have selected and lets you show only one division at a time instead of 'all racers' as it did before (you can still show 'all racers' if you want to) This really comes in handy if you are running more than one pack of scout together. You simply assign each pack to a 'division' and then run all the racers as one big group .... then when you show results you can put up on the Spectator Display one pack (division) at a time.

I also added a minor feature that when you are in the Registration tab, if you right-click anywhere in the window it searches for the next available slot and opens the name entry window for that slot. I know it's a minor thing. But even during program testing I've been using it quite a lot. I think users will find it to be handy.

And, although, for the last two years, the program has had the ability to post lane assignments to the spectator screen, there was no visual clue to the operator when it would post lanes versus when it would post race times. The "Post" button now changes to show you this information.

Version 1.39 should be ready for download at www.pinewoodmaster.com within two or three days.

 

[Jeff Piazza]

Mac users (and others) should take a look at DerbyNet, an open-source (i.e., free), web-based race management system: http://jeffpiazza.github.io/derbynet/.

Developed on a Mac by a former Apple software engineer, it's built around a web server, and supports multiple simultaneous clients. In the derbies I run, I can control the event entirely from my iPad while I walk around. The check-in desk uses multiple laptops and webcams to get racers checked in. A projector shows the main racing board, while a couple "smart TVs" in the room simultaneously present supplemental information (per-racer stats, etc.). Another tablet on the impound table lets the wrangler know what cars to stage for the next heat.

DerbyNet presently supports FastTrack and Champ timers.

 

[jatofau1]

You can run Windows on your mac using Parallel Software. I use this on my mac to run windows only software.

 

[Jeff Piazza]

The DerbyNet development team is pleased to announce the availability of DerbyNet version 2.0. DerbyNet is the free, open-source Pinewood Derby race management system used by Cub Scout and other youth organizations around the country. DerbyNet runs as a web server on Windows, Mac, and Linux, to which any device capable of running a browser can connect.

The DerbyNet version 2.0 release features:

• One-click installation for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  
  
• Improved kiosk management
  
  
• New award capabilities, including award presentation displays
  
  
• Support for additional track timers
  

For additional information, please visit the DerbyNet project page at http://jeffpiazza.github.io/derbynet/.

 

[Vitamin K]

Jeff! Glad to see you're still doing work on DerbyNet! I need to try it out one of these days. Have you been using it to run your Pack derbies?

Also, relevant to the point of this thread, GPRM does have limited Mac support now, though some features (Perfect-N scheduling) are still lacking, I believe.

 

[Jeff Piazza]

Yes, a few years ago I switched over to native DerbyNet for all the races I run (several packs, plus districts), and haven't looked back. It makes the race coordinator's job much easier, while the slideshow and digital signage features provide a richer experience for the audience.

This year I'm pursuing a couple of strategies to make it even easier to set up DerbyNet. First, I'm working with some early adopters to DerbyNet hosted in the cloud, instead of on somebody's laptop. The venue needs a viable internet connection for this to work, but that's becoming increasingly ubiquitous. On-site, there's nothing to set up: just bring a bunch of browsers to run the race.

As a second strategy, I'm experimenting with making a completely turn-key DerbyNet server on a Raspberry Pi. At $35 (plus accessories) the RPi is so cheap that I expect many groups would elect just to buy a dedicated device for this. Just plug it in and your race is running.

You really should try it out!

 

[mrwizard]

Pinewood Master has been updated to version 1.40

This more of a bug-fix release than an update.

You can download the new version at www.pinewoodmaster.com

 

[B_Regal Racing]

Yes, a few years ago I switched over to native DerbyNet for all the races I run (several packs, plus districts), and haven't looked back. It makes the race coordinator's job much easier, while the slideshow and digital signage features provide a richer experience for the audience.

This year I'm pursuing a couple of strategies to make it even easier to set up DerbyNet. First, I'm working with some early adopters to DerbyNet hosted in the cloud, instead of on somebody's laptop. The venue needs a viable internet connection for this to work, but that's becoming increasingly ubiquitous. On-site, there's nothing to set up: just bring a bunch of browsers to run the race.

As a second strategy, I'm experimenting with making a completely turn-key DerbyNet server on a Raspberry Pi. At $35 (plus accessories) the RPi is so cheap that I expect many groups would elect just to buy a dedicated device for this. Just plug it in and your race is running.

You really should try it out!

For anyone who is developing software, I would consider developing a generic stand-alone interface that only requires a browser to use race software and become less reliant on what computer your are using. DerbyNet seems to be heading in this direction. Writing software that can only run on Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. is short-sighted with the technology available today. Nice job.