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Pre-Season Checklist: Tips to Test & Prep Your System for Another Year

Posted on February 6, 2014 - 3:54 pm by

12 Tips to Help you Prepare for Another Season of Flawless Results

For many Lynx users, timing is a seasonal job that comes and goes with the fall, winter, and spring. Some of our service providers are busy timing events year-round. But we know that many others, including high school and college customers, put their systems in storage all winter. If your FinishLynx system has been hibernating all winter, we suggest you look through the pre-season checklist below. It’s a great way to make sure your cameras, cables, and connectors are ready for the spring season.  Performing these twelve steps will help you identify and prevent any unwanted surprises during your first meet of the year.

1. Perform a visual equipment check

Gather all the FinishLynx equipment, cables, and any other additional equipment added to the system. Do a relatively thorough inventory of all equipment and cables. Visually check that there is no obvious damage, rust, or corrosion to equipment and cables. If you don’t already have them, it is always beneficial to have spare network cables, serial cable, null modem cable, gender-changers and a 4- or 8-port switch.

2. Update your FinishLynx software to latest version

Open the FinishLynx software on your computer and go to Help | About. Verify that the latest version of FinishLynx is installed. As of October 2017, the latest version of FinishLynx is 10.03. Be sure that any other computers also have the latest version of FinishLynx installed. The latest software is available for free and can always be found on the FinishLynx software page under the downloads tab.

3. Verify that any software plug-ins are installed and up-to-date

Check FinishLynx plugins installed

If you own the LapTime, TimeTrial, or any other FinishLynx plug-ins, you may want to ensure that you have the latest versions. These plug-ins tend to have new devices or features added from time-to-time. The latest version of these plug-ins can be found on our website under the “Software Plugins” page. Please note that FinishLynx plug-ins must be purchased and require a serial number.

To verify that a plug-in is installed properly, open the FinishLynx software and go to Help | About. If there is a serial number displayed next to the plug-in, then that means it’s installed and should be working properly. But as with everything else, we recommend you test it just to be sure. If it says <not installed> then this could be due to a serial number entered incorrectly or because the plug-in was never installed. Verify your plug-ins on all computers that may be used with FinishLynx during the season. If you believe you purchased a plug-in but don’t have the serial number, please contact our customer support team for assistance.

4. Boot camera

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Lynx Timing and Photo Finish Seminar in Mexico

Posted on December 17, 2013 - 4:13 pm by

Classroom at FinishLynx Seminar
Classroom Learning

In early December 2013, Lynx System Developers, Inc. collaborated with the International Association of Athletic Federations [I.A.A.F.] and the Federación Mexicana de Asociaciones de Atletismo [F.M.A.A.] at a Digital Photo Finish and Timing seminar in Mexico City.

The three day seminar ran over three days and the timetable included:

  • A full day of FinishLynx system explanation, and classroom training
  • A ½ day of practical training at the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano
  • A further ½ day of advanced system configuration and operation
  • An athletics competion at the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano that was 100% timed by the participants.

Lynx provided two instructors, one Spanish speaking, and one from the Lynx Headquarters in the USAto present the information at the seminar. The FMAA organized the seminar, arranged accomodation for the instructors and the participants, and secured the cooperation of the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano in the project. The 24 particpants came from all parts of Mexico for the seminar.

FinishLynx Cameras
Participants brought their cameras to learn how to get the maximum from them

 

Tip: Enhance Low-Light FinishLynx Captures with an Ellipsoidal Spotlight

Posted on August 1, 2013 - 11:05 am by

Cycling photo finish with ellipsoidal spotlight
Cycling finish line with Ellipsoidal spotlight.

Capturing crystal-clear photo finish images can be especially challenging during low-light situations (e.g., night-time events or dim indoor lighting). Because the EtherLynx 2000+ and Fusion cameras are equipped with very light-sensitive image sensors, most Lynx users will never have issues with low-light conditions. The FinishLynx software also has built-in controls for adjusting the brightness, contrast, gamma, gain, and Phased Light Compensation. But adding artificial lighting to your finish line can also be a great way to enhance the clarity and contrast of your finish line images in low-light settings.

Flood lights and halogen lamps are both viable finish line lighting options. Lynx service provider Rob Whitacre from GC Racing has found an especially elegant solution for capturing low-light cycling events: an ellipsoidal spotlight. According to Rob:

A tool that has helped me a lot for low light situations is a theatrical ellipsoidal spotlight. Since I do many evening events at our velodrome and road cycling events at night the ellipsoidal light has been a very good tool. I used a Source 4 ellipsoidal made by ETC. What is nice with the ellipsoidal is it has shutters so you can create shapes with the light as opposed to a massive spot. I make a rectangle with the light focused only on the finish line.

The ellipsoidal spotlight allows for light to be focused across the entire length of the finish line. This produces image captures that are more uniform and evenly lit. Unlike stadium lighting, which can strobe 50-60 cycles per second and distort images, the ellipsoidal spotlight has a frequency that prevents any such distortion.  See the image below for a real FinishLynx capture taken with the spotlight in use.

low-light finishlynx cycling image
Low-light FinishLynx image captured while using an ellipsoidal spotlight.

 

Have your own lighting tips and tricks? Share them in the comments or on our Facebook Fan Page.

 

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