Starting clocks...

[Andrew 4CE]

Asked this last year and there was no interest... contemplating it again...

Any clubs out there interested in combining orders for better pricing on digital count down starting clocks?

My wish list would include:
- LED lights (uses less power, very durable, very bright)
- viewable from 1/2 mile
- count down from 9 minutes to zero (3 digit clock, lets you see before the heat so you can start a watch in your boat if you want)
- at zero a LED light on the side would turn for 5 seconds for camera to see (LED is instant, not like incondesant light, again very durable too)
- count down duration is easily adjustable (9 minutes, 1 minute, or whatever)
- dual sided or two panels (once facing starting shoot, one facing spectators/pits)
- at zero a signal is sent to laptop timing software

after a quick look, equipment that does most of this is about $1000 (single sided).

Any interest? Anything else that should be added/considered?

[Abbott Racing]

Hey Andrew, you might want to talk to Didier seguin of the Valleyfield regatta. He built a protable/foldup digital clock for the inboard division that works great. They wanted to use it at long sault but I said no as I was afraid there would have been to many complaints from our group, so I stayed with the old fashioned clock.. If you are interested I can get you his number, if I remember right it was a very cheap build!

[Andrew 4CE]

You have my full support anytime you want to use a digital clock at our races!

Does he have email? I rarely use a phone...

[SAWYER]

We Need That Information Down Here Too. Where Did You Guys Look To Find Out The Preliminary Pricing? Ss

[Andrew 4CE]

I looked online at many companies who make highschool score boards for football, etc... Many will do custom applications. Something similar to what we would use I found for $995. I'm sure if we had few clubs get together would could get much better pricing. Or like Bob said... get the parts to make some.

[brian]

info

let me have Didier seguin's info. IOA is building or buying one now.

Brian

[Abbott Racing]

go to the Valleyfield Regatta website all his co-ordinates are there

[Al Peffley]

Didier Seguin eMail Address Request

OK - So I went to the Valleyfield Regatta website and could not find a hot link to the Race Chairman's eMail address, or his telephone number. I did see his name listed on the website as a Racing Committee Chairman. BTW, based upon a Yahoo search engine web link result from searching for his name on the WWW, as provided in this thread -- Is his first name really "Bernard", or is Bernard Didier Seguin his relative?

Is there another way for us down here in the US to find out his eMail address so that we may inquire about the portable, folding digital clock that he created or specified for use at the inboards race in Valleyfield?

Inquiring minds would like to know...

Thanks in Advance,
Al Peffley
15-R/R-25

[reed28n]

Clock

SORA may be interested in a digital. DC run off a battery? We really only need 2 digits. We do not need it to count down from the three minute gun or the 5 minute gun. Two digits could flash 00 five times then count 59 58 57 etc. We don't need the second face but we would be interested and the $1000 is what we found in our research last time for the timer withoout the race course display included....

Thanks
Scott

[Andrew 4CE]

I haven't found contact info for the guy in Valleyfield either.

But been looking for a week at designing one. Talking with some people I know in electronics and using LED trailer brake lights like this:

https://secure.cazbah.net/catalog.as...showprevnext=1

We would place the bars using 7 of them to make one digit.

We think we could make one for a reasonable price.

I know IOA is designing their own already... maybe someone from there could chime in?

[BP125V]

LED's

Andrew,

Menard's currently has 30 LED trouble lites on sale for $16. they are VERY bright and have a reflective/chrome background. These could be easily used to form the digits are are a little cheaper than the trailer ligths.

Bill III

[kws]

SORA may be interested in a digital. DC run off a battery? We really only need 2 digits. We do not need it to count down from the three minute gun or the 5 minute gun. Two digits could flash 00 five times then count 59 58 57 etc. We don't need the second face but we would be interested and the $1000 is what we found in our research last time for the timer withoout the race course display included....

Thanks
Scott

HMMM. all of your timeing can be based on the inexpensive 555 timer from RS the diffacult part to me would be putting the extra flashes in with out loosing those seconds from the clock pulse. an upside to that is it doesnt need 12 volts so that would give some extra buffer time before ther timer becomes slow or erratic. i suppose it could be gated so every 60 seconds it gives your minute flashes from a second circuit
but you would have to be looking AT the clock at the exact right time to know what minute you are in. on the other hand why not use some more led's that stay lit for the minutes? ie 2.1.0 where 2 lites = 2min + the time on the clock ? what do you think?

[hydrobuggp]

Contact Info

The telephone number for the main Valleyfield office is 450-371-6144. You can also ask for Ron O'neill or Michel Poirier.

Another thing to keep in mind is the size of the digits. I cannot remember the size of the last digits we ordered but I think they were 36" tall.

I like the LED as the light bulb version we use always seems to break bulbs in transit and uses a 20A circuit.