From Serial Port

From RaceTab Community Wiki

The whole serial port import thing is really not working well yet. I am trying to figure out how to integrate with these timers, which is made hard for two reasons:

1) They are written in programming languages and concepts that predate me so are totally foreign to me 2) I don't have any of these devices to test on... and if I did I don't have a serial port!

So it's going to take some time and trial and error (with your help)... but will get it figured out.

--Jbyrne 08:08, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

Use of a Sprint 8

RaceTab will now work with a Sprint8 Timer. Currently for it to work, you will need:

1. A method of connecting your Sprint8 Timer to your computer.
2. A copy of ASCII Win, available from TimeTech USA Link. You will first import the times via ASCII Win and then import those times into RaceTab. While native support is being worked on as of June 2010, it is not present yet.
3. A copy of RaceTab 3.035 or later (3.034 was when support was first added for this process).

To connect to the computer you will need a TimeTech Sprint8 serial port connection cable available from TimeTech Link. This cable is unique. One end is a telephone-like plug, and the other end is an RS232 connector. The telephone-like plug goes in the jack on the left side of the timer near the paper roll. Warning: It will fit, but will not work, in any of the other eight ports!

There are two ways to connect the Sprint8 RS232 connector to the computer, mostly dependent on the age of the machine:

1. On newer computers, use an RS232 to USB adapter to connect from the Sprint8 cable's RS232 connector to a USB port on the computer. This may have been included with your Sprint8 package. There is nothing unique about the RS232 serial to usb adapter. You can use one you already have, purchase one from TimeTech, online (Example), or any big box store. You may need to install a driver for Windows to use the converter cable. In Windows 7, you will probably be prompted to download a driver from a manufacturer's site like Prolific Technologies, Inc., which is a major manufacturer of RS232 to USB converter chips. After this driver is installed the machine should recognize the Sprint8 USB connection automatically.
2. On older computers, there may be an RS232 serial port connector (Details). In this case, just plug the Sprint8 serial port connection cable directly into the computer.

Setting Up ASCII Win to work with your Sprint 8

First download a copy of ASCII Win from TimeTech USA (Link to Download Page :: Direct Download Link.

Second, install it by double clicking on the file you downloaded. It comes in a zip file format, so you need to extract all files to a known location.

Step One:

Step Two:

Step Three:

Step Four:

Step Five:

Step Six:

Step Seven:

Step Eight:

Step Nine:

Step Ten:

You should now be ready to run ASCII Win, either from the start, all programs menu or from your desktop icon.

You may need to set the com ports correctly for it to work.