Equipment necessary to get started with SportIdent Electronic Punching
by Evan Custer, USOF Electronic Punching Coordinator

I have been asked by several people what the costs are for a club that wants to purchase some SportIdent equipment so that they can get started in electronic punching.

There are two major components to getting started with SportIdent Electronic Punching (EP), software and hardware. 

Software

Each club has to purchase its own copy of the software, OE20xx (where xx stands for the year, the current version being OE2003) for single day events and MT20xx for multiday events.  If you purchase the latter, you get a license for OE20xx also.  Currently, it costs about $250 for a license for MT/OE20xx.  You also will need SIManager to program the controls.  It is free.  There is also separate software for relays (OS20xx) and score events including Rogaines (OEScore20xx). You can get more information at http://www.sportsoftware.de or contact Stephan Kraemer, stkraemer@sportsoftware.de.

The following software is optional but very helpful.  BAOC has found that Condes makes it very easy to import the control numbers and courses into MT/OE20xx, and we also use it for course design and printing of the maps and the control description sheets.  For more information on Condes, go to www.finn.arildsen.com. WinSplits is a nice piece of software that provides a nice analysis of the results of an event with tables, graphs, and reruns of the event.   More information at http://www.sportident.se/winsplits/english/default.asp. 

Hardware

Laptop computer.  You need at least one lap top computer that runs Windows.  Any version of Windows 98 or higher is OK.  The program does not take too many resources, but obviously if you have a faster chip, more memory, and a larger hard disk, the program runs faster and better. One computer is sufficient for events up to 250 people, although a second or third computer networked together (relatively simple to do) allows one computer to be used for downloading SI cards, and the other computer(s) to be used for data entry, handling problems, printing results, etc.  BAOC usually uses 1 laptop for local B meets (about 80 entries) and 2 laptops for A meets (200 and more entrants).

Printer.  You need at least one printer to print up SI split sheets and results.  Any printer is fine, but if you are going to purchase one specifically for EP, Bob Cooley recommends the Epson Stylus C-82 ink jet printer.  It is very fast, uses water proof pigment based ink, is good for printing maps and costs around $125.

Power supply.  For those instances when you do not have 120 volt power (which is the rule) Bob recommends a completely sealed deep discharge battery with about 55 amp-hr capacity (BAOC has an Optima with a yellow top, which costs about $150.00, but is pretty hard to damage) with an inverter rated at 600 watts.  You can use a smaller inverter if you do not charge the lap top battery during the event, but if you are going to run a laser printer or more than one lap top, you will need the bigger inverter.  Batteries and inverters are much more desirable than generators since they provide cleaner power, are virtually silent, and do not pollute the air with exhaust fumes.  You will also need a battery charger.

SportIdent control units.  You need one control unit for each control, plus at least one clear, one check, one start and one finish unit (although I recommend 2 of each of the clear, check, start and finish units in case one fails). Each unit costs about $75 dollars.  For local events, we have found that 30-40 units provides enough units for the 4 advanced courses with some sharing of controls among the courses.  Add another 10 units or so if you also use EP on the orange course. BAOC owns 50 units, and at all of its B meets, offers EP on all advanced courses, and sometimes on orange.  For B meets, we do not use EP on the white and yellow courses since there is a lot more data entry required (since most participants are new and do not have their own SI card), it increases the cost of the event by another $2 since participants have to rent an SI card, and the control units are in greater jeopardy of being stolen or vandalized since they are on or near trails. For an A meet, you probably need about 60-75 units for each day.  We rent the USOF 125 units and then have enough units for a multiday A meet with EP on all of the courses. Contact Gunnar Larsson, gunnar.larsson@sportident.se, at SportIdent for more information.

SportIdent master units.  You must have at least one master unit, but I recommend a second as a backup.  Master units are necessary to program the control units and also to read the SI cards at the download station.  They cost about $85.

SportIdent Cards for rental purposes.  Each competitor needs his or her own card.  Once the club has bought its own SI equipment and uses it for local B meets, most of the regulars will purchase their own SI cards, so it is not necessary to have a lot of rental SI cards.  I recommend that a club purchase 50 SI cards for rental purposes.  They cost around $20 each.  Rent them out at $2 per person per event.  If you offer SI on the orange course, you will need more rental cards than if you just offer it for the advanced courses.  USOF owns about 300 SI cards which can be used for A meets.  If more than that are required, they can be borrowed from other local clubs or rented from SportIdent for about $1 per card per day.

Turn-Off card.  This costs about $20 and is used to turn off the master station after you are finished with it.  The master station can also be turned off through SI Manager, but the card is much quicker and more convenient.

Code number plaques.  I recommend that a club purchase a set of plastic code markers with Velcro strips that can be attached to the tops of the SI units.  The set would contain code numbers from 31-255 and several each for clear, check, start and finish.  A plastic fabricator can probably make a set for you at around $250.

Self setting radio clocks.  You need to set your computer's clock to the correct time each time you program the units and also for the start crew.  Two radio controlled clocks that automatically calibrate themselves every day are the easiest solution, and cost about $30 each.

Stands.  Although stands are not absolutely essential, they should be used at A meets, and we tend to use them at most B meets.  There are a variety of stands that you can make or purchase.  The ones we like the best are made by Scarborough Orienteering (http://orienteer.com/so/pricelist2.htm).  They are made of aluminum with Velcro strips, and thus are lightweight to carry and easy to attach and remove the SI units.  They cost about $5-6 each.  SI also makes stands, but they tend to be bulky and expensive.  SI also makes holders, which are plastic plates that you can attach to a stand and then snap in the control unit.  The holders cost about $2.50 each.