I've had a look around for apps to use on a tablet, and there didn't seem to be any one that was very popular and had universal good reviews. Many seem like hobby projects with small numbers using it.
The only one that looked very professional was the SPORTident one from Germany.
It ahows 1000+ installs but only has 2 reviews.
I then started down the rabbit hole of USB on-the-go support. I'm an Apple man, so the Android world seems a dark and unregulated place. I thought a search for a tablet with OTG support would be easy, but it seems the OTG support isn't a feature that any tablet maker seems to shout about. Is that because almost every tablet will have OTG?
I had been tasked to find a new laptop for the club, but I lost the will to live whilst trying to find a laptop with good reviews in multiple places. That's when I started to wonder if it was worth spending £500+ for a machine that would only get used a few times a year, surely a tablet could do this job.
I think Chris Smithard managed with just a phone for the Coast& Islands week, which had about 100 competitors.
At the same time, I recently used SiTiming for the first time in a few years, and found it has gotten incredibly complicated. I thought back to those early days of AutoDownload, when it was so simple to set up and use. So a simple app, aimed at standard orienteering events without any relay, teams, stages, commentary etc. is sounding very attractive.
Are there any one here using such a system regularly that can suggest options to look at and any pitfalls to watch out for?
Android based timing/results apps, any good?
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
We use SI-Droid;
http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Main_Page
Here's how we use it;
https://backwoodsok.org/using-si-droid
We use it on a second hand Lenova TB-8504X tablet and an old android phone. We have paid for two subscriptions for the app, which cost £4.50 each. Like any software it needs a bit of practice. It's probably good for up to 200 entrants, we have used it with 30 ish. It's all been good so far. The tablet cost £50, a generic bluetooth printer cost £35, plus a couple of USB adapter cables. The app designer, Johan, has been very receptive to a couple of upgrades that we asked for.
EDIT: SI-droid is usable with no phone signal and does not need pre-entry, it automatically allocates dibbers to courses. It does not need a repeat subscription.
Another thing we sometimes use the tablet and android phone for is to run the O-clock app. You get it as an android apk file from
https://apkpure.com/o-clock/org.example.oclock
http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Main_Page
Here's how we use it;
https://backwoodsok.org/using-si-droid
We use it on a second hand Lenova TB-8504X tablet and an old android phone. We have paid for two subscriptions for the app, which cost £4.50 each. Like any software it needs a bit of practice. It's probably good for up to 200 entrants, we have used it with 30 ish. It's all been good so far. The tablet cost £50, a generic bluetooth printer cost £35, plus a couple of USB adapter cables. The app designer, Johan, has been very receptive to a couple of upgrades that we asked for.
EDIT: SI-droid is usable with no phone signal and does not need pre-entry, it automatically allocates dibbers to courses. It does not need a repeat subscription.
Another thing we sometimes use the tablet and android phone for is to run the O-clock app. You get it as an android apk file from
https://apkpure.com/o-clock/org.example.oclock
Last edited by Davy on Thu Dec 30, 2021 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Masterplan Adventure are using the SportIdent timing system off the back of Chris' phone again this week for the Christmas Cup, and while it's good for events of 100-ish people, I'm not sure you could run the World Championships on it.
From the outside looking in, this has a number of advantages. Results go live to the web, so there's no need to faff around with SiTiming post-event, and it seems to be quite easy to input the details of hired dibbers on the fly, when they don't match the details in the SI archive of timing chips.
There's also a funky analysis tool, that not only generates splits, but graphs how far you were on any leg from other competitors. From my perspective, it's quite salutory to see how quickly I fall behind, even from the first control.
It's dependent on a phone signal to work, but as the mast coverage in the UK increases, there are fewer and fewer blind spots - Masterplan managed to get a signal in the Trossachs, which is notoriously patchy for coverage.
I think WCOC are also using this system for their local events, so maybe someone there would have a better idea of the minutae of how well it works.
From the outside looking in, this has a number of advantages. Results go live to the web, so there's no need to faff around with SiTiming post-event, and it seems to be quite easy to input the details of hired dibbers on the fly, when they don't match the details in the SI archive of timing chips.
There's also a funky analysis tool, that not only generates splits, but graphs how far you were on any leg from other competitors. From my perspective, it's quite salutory to see how quickly I fall behind, even from the first control.
It's dependent on a phone signal to work, but as the mast coverage in the UK increases, there are fewer and fewer blind spots - Masterplan managed to get a signal in the Trossachs, which is notoriously patchy for coverage.
I think WCOC are also using this system for their local events, so maybe someone there would have a better idea of the minutae of how well it works.
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
I would agree that SI Timing is now wildly complicated and can (potentially) be all things to all people.....if you set it up right. What Chris S used for C&I and Xmas Cup (see https://www.sportident.com/orienteering-app.html) uses an Android "Mobile Reader" app, a normal download unit (with appropriate USB connections) and the Sportident data centre (although it's not free). Coupled with a bluetooth splits printer, it really is everything you need for a "local" style event. I can't recommend it enough esp. with the "free" club offer
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Yes we've been using the SPORTident one from Germany for both Coast and Islands (180 people) and currently with the Christmas Cup (160 people). Really good and fairly simple to use.
Keep meaning to do a video about how to use it but for now here are some brief thoughts.
Currently Free. At the moment it is free to use (ignore what the website currently says). I understand a big update is due in the Spring and then charging will start (maybe then they'll also publish some how to guides?).
Online/Live Results. Main reason we started using it was because we didn't want to use a laptop at Coast and Islands and the app solved this plus it meant the results were done and online with no extra effort.
200 People. I think it's fine up to about 200 people. The main issue at the moment is that each event can only be installed on one phone at a time which limits the speed of people downloading and maybe a bit risky if your phone breaks and you don't know who's still out in the area etc.
Phone. Recommend not using your own phone - mainly in case you need to go off and deal with a problem you'll want your phone with you. We use an old one and then connect it to one of our phones by setting up a 'hotspot'.
USB Converter. The only thing you'll probably need to buy is a USB converter - this is the one we have but it will depend on your phone. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1
Printer. You don't need a bluetooth printer. At Coast and Islands we just had a separate download box/station attached to a normal printer. Now have a bluetooth one as the other printer broke. But maybe you don't even need to print splits if it goes straight to the web?
Testing. If you want to give it a go maybe for the first time use it alongside whatever system you currently use to test it out? Even if you don't and there's a problem you can always make sure everyone downloads still and then plug the station/box into a computer when you get home and do the results (anyone else hate doing this job?).
Signal. You don't need mobile signal or wifi to use it. You just won't get live results.
Entries. You don't need to enter people into the system but to save a bit of time we upload an entry list file. Also means you can view who hasn't downloaded.
Web Admin. We tend to setup the event on the website as it's a bit easier and slightly more features. But you can just do it straight on the phone - and there is a lot of features only available on the phone (like editing results).
Other Apps. Haven't used any other apps (like SI Droid) but the fact results go straight online was what sold the SI official app to us.
Can imagine most events under 200 people will be using this system in 3 years time.
Chris
Keep meaning to do a video about how to use it but for now here are some brief thoughts.
Currently Free. At the moment it is free to use (ignore what the website currently says). I understand a big update is due in the Spring and then charging will start (maybe then they'll also publish some how to guides?).
Online/Live Results. Main reason we started using it was because we didn't want to use a laptop at Coast and Islands and the app solved this plus it meant the results were done and online with no extra effort.
200 People. I think it's fine up to about 200 people. The main issue at the moment is that each event can only be installed on one phone at a time which limits the speed of people downloading and maybe a bit risky if your phone breaks and you don't know who's still out in the area etc.
Phone. Recommend not using your own phone - mainly in case you need to go off and deal with a problem you'll want your phone with you. We use an old one and then connect it to one of our phones by setting up a 'hotspot'.
USB Converter. The only thing you'll probably need to buy is a USB converter - this is the one we have but it will depend on your phone. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1
Printer. You don't need a bluetooth printer. At Coast and Islands we just had a separate download box/station attached to a normal printer. Now have a bluetooth one as the other printer broke. But maybe you don't even need to print splits if it goes straight to the web?
Testing. If you want to give it a go maybe for the first time use it alongside whatever system you currently use to test it out? Even if you don't and there's a problem you can always make sure everyone downloads still and then plug the station/box into a computer when you get home and do the results (anyone else hate doing this job?).
Signal. You don't need mobile signal or wifi to use it. You just won't get live results.
Entries. You don't need to enter people into the system but to save a bit of time we upload an entry list file. Also means you can view who hasn't downloaded.
Web Admin. We tend to setup the event on the website as it's a bit easier and slightly more features. But you can just do it straight on the phone - and there is a lot of features only available on the phone (like editing results).
Other Apps. Haven't used any other apps (like SI Droid) but the fact results go straight online was what sold the SI official app to us.
Can imagine most events under 200 people will be using this system in 3 years time.
Chris
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Thanks Chris
Any reason why you don't use a tablet?
I would have thought the extra screen space would make it more readable, or is it just a phone app and doesn't adapt to larger screens?
Any reason why you don't use a tablet?
I would have thought the extra screen space would make it more readable, or is it just a phone app and doesn't adapt to larger screens?
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Yes probably is easier on a tablet.
Just had an old phone and needed the tablet for the start clock!
Just had an old phone and needed the tablet for the start clock!
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
I wondered if the app is optimised to use a larger screen, or if it's just the phone view in the middle of the screen? Like many iPhone apps when used on an iPad.
I've had a response from SPORTident, who I asked some questions, one of which was can you import XML course files from Purple Pen or Condes. It looks like you have to have planned in Ocad and then get Ocad to send the XML course file to SPORTident Center account.
Which would mean the extra costs of an Ocad licence, when we already pay for Condes, and club members are used to using Condes or Purple Pen for planning.
There is also no HTML export of results, so you then can't upoad and archive on the club website, but will have to pay long term for a subscription to the SPORTident Center, or lose older results. Orienteers seem to love having access to every result the club has ever hosted.
So the SPORTident option seems like a very tightly controlled walled garden / monopoly (Apple would be proud of it).
I've had a response from SPORTident, who I asked some questions, one of which was can you import XML course files from Purple Pen or Condes. It looks like you have to have planned in Ocad and then get Ocad to send the XML course file to SPORTident Center account.
Which would mean the extra costs of an Ocad licence, when we already pay for Condes, and club members are used to using Condes or Purple Pen for planning.
There is also no HTML export of results, so you then can't upoad and archive on the club website, but will have to pay long term for a subscription to the SPORTident Center, or lose older results. Orienteers seem to love having access to every result the club has ever hosted.
So the SPORTident option seems like a very tightly controlled walled garden / monopoly (Apple would be proud of it).
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
I have been mulling this over. This is a bit "philosophy of what we are doing", rather than "how to do it".
We were managing small Orienteering training and practise activities, sub 30 entrants. We had been using a BSF7 download unit plugged straight into an SI red printer. People get a personal splits print out but there isn't much scope for competitive analysis. BSF7 download units have not been made for several years, so this is an obsolete method which we had to plan on replacing. We can still use the BSF7-direct-to-printer method for small trainings until the kit falls apart.
The first event management phone app I tried was SportIdent's; I thought that it was a bit over complex and reliant on prior knowledge of SI's management system, which I don't have. It seemed unable to do Score. It is tied to OCAD, which I can’t afford; I use OMAP and Purple Pen. I also thought that there was a danger that it could become a money syphon. I discarded it pretty quickly.
Somebody demonstrated to us an SI-droid set up. To begin with we just emulated the BSM7-red printer set up by plugging in a BSF8 downloader and stabbing in dibbers without creating a course file; in those circumstances SI-droid prints off the splits automatically while the screen shows “no course" and uses whatever ID information is embedded on the SI Card.
Next we added preplanned courses, first by defining them in the app and then by importing from Purple Pen; both methods work OK for simple line courses and score. After that I created a spreadsheet listing all the SI timing chips that we know about from our small O meets and loaded that into SI-droid. That identifies the users of older or rental dibbers. That was all fairly simple in operation but needed a bit of time to do the typing; the file need updating now and again. You can see the file format explained on this page, http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Gene ... or_runners , use column four for the BOF number if known.
The good people at Swansea Bay OC have published on the interweb a simple set of local instructions for SI-Droid at, https://www.sboc.org.uk/club-info/resou ... ctions.pdf.
About publishing results. This is the “philosophy” bit. Do you want to publish results to the whole world or just share them locally? BOF expect a capitation fee for any “Event”, which I understand is defined as an Orienteering competition where results are published widely. If the O meet is a training or practise ”activity” without publicly published results and isn't publicised as an "event", then no capitation fee is owed.
People like receiving their personal splits print, it signifies achievement. I entered a couple of mid-level events this past year where no splits were printed ostensibly for Covid reasons; there was a sense of mild disappointment at that.
It is possible to transmit a results service from SI-Droid to smart phones or laptops in the immediate area. On the downloading android phone or tablet set it up as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Depending on the kit being used the Wi-Fi hotspot will have a range of about 25 meters from Download and allow about 10 users to log on to it at any one time. Our tablet doesn’t have a phone sim in it, so it isn’t connected to the wider internet. We use the club acronym for the router name and don’t set a password. In SI-Droid settings, select the choice “results service” and tick “use the built in results service”. A URL address will now be listed under “results service”; the URL will be something like “http://192.168.1.119:8080/reports”. It is likely that the number sequence between “192.168." and “:8080” will be slightly different every time you turn the android download device on. The participants turn on their own smartphone, choose the Wi-Fi hotspot and use their phone’s browser to view the results service URL (which you have chalked up somewhere prominent) then select the results option that they like. SI-Droid offers results in Simple or Splits HTML or several spreadsheet or text options.
If the viewer adds “SimpleResultsHTML?refresh=30” to the end of the URL so that it then reads, for instance, “http://192.168.1.119:8080/reports/SimpleResultsHTML?refresh=30 ” then the results service will automatically update every 30 seconds, or tell the punters to hit their own refresh button now and again.
Rather than tell people to use their own phones it is possible to set up a laptop as a public display. Set up a laptop a short distance from download, log in to the download Wi-Fi hotspot and point the laptop browser to the SI-Droid result service URL. I use a Firefox browser with a extension installed which is called “ReScroll”. Activating ReScroll has the effect of slowly scrolling the results from top to bottom and then repeating. I expect other browsers will have a similar extension available.
Personally, I think that transmitting results to phone or laptop is a lot of faff for a tiny thrill, but that is philosophy again. We usually just hand over printed splits to finishers, save the final result to the tablet SD card and then email round the exported results after the meet.
One minor downside of SI-Droid is that it does not export a result directly in the required BOF results format. I expect that most O club administrators will know that A,B or C level events (optional for D level) are required to have their results uploaded to the BOF website within 7 days. BOF require the uploaded result to be formatted in a spreadsheet with the minimum column headings defined, including separate columns for first and second names; SI-Droid uses a single column for both names. SI-Droid can export results in the SportIdent.csv format which isn’t quite the same as BOF but close enough to allow some editing. More philosophy; we mainly use SI-Droid for small local activities where a BOF upload is not required.
Off at a bit of a tangent, there is also the alternative of using Ór, The Irish Orienteering Association's free event management software ( https://www.orienteering.ie/or-home/). That works OK. I installed it on a couple of old laptops I got as primary school surplus for £45 each, but never used it much because of concentrating on SI-Droid.
We were managing small Orienteering training and practise activities, sub 30 entrants. We had been using a BSF7 download unit plugged straight into an SI red printer. People get a personal splits print out but there isn't much scope for competitive analysis. BSF7 download units have not been made for several years, so this is an obsolete method which we had to plan on replacing. We can still use the BSF7-direct-to-printer method for small trainings until the kit falls apart.
The first event management phone app I tried was SportIdent's; I thought that it was a bit over complex and reliant on prior knowledge of SI's management system, which I don't have. It seemed unable to do Score. It is tied to OCAD, which I can’t afford; I use OMAP and Purple Pen. I also thought that there was a danger that it could become a money syphon. I discarded it pretty quickly.
Somebody demonstrated to us an SI-droid set up. To begin with we just emulated the BSM7-red printer set up by plugging in a BSF8 downloader and stabbing in dibbers without creating a course file; in those circumstances SI-droid prints off the splits automatically while the screen shows “no course" and uses whatever ID information is embedded on the SI Card.
Next we added preplanned courses, first by defining them in the app and then by importing from Purple Pen; both methods work OK for simple line courses and score. After that I created a spreadsheet listing all the SI timing chips that we know about from our small O meets and loaded that into SI-droid. That identifies the users of older or rental dibbers. That was all fairly simple in operation but needed a bit of time to do the typing; the file need updating now and again. You can see the file format explained on this page, http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Gene ... or_runners , use column four for the BOF number if known.
The good people at Swansea Bay OC have published on the interweb a simple set of local instructions for SI-Droid at, https://www.sboc.org.uk/club-info/resou ... ctions.pdf.
About publishing results. This is the “philosophy” bit. Do you want to publish results to the whole world or just share them locally? BOF expect a capitation fee for any “Event”, which I understand is defined as an Orienteering competition where results are published widely. If the O meet is a training or practise ”activity” without publicly published results and isn't publicised as an "event", then no capitation fee is owed.
People like receiving their personal splits print, it signifies achievement. I entered a couple of mid-level events this past year where no splits were printed ostensibly for Covid reasons; there was a sense of mild disappointment at that.
It is possible to transmit a results service from SI-Droid to smart phones or laptops in the immediate area. On the downloading android phone or tablet set it up as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Depending on the kit being used the Wi-Fi hotspot will have a range of about 25 meters from Download and allow about 10 users to log on to it at any one time. Our tablet doesn’t have a phone sim in it, so it isn’t connected to the wider internet. We use the club acronym for the router name and don’t set a password. In SI-Droid settings, select the choice “results service” and tick “use the built in results service”. A URL address will now be listed under “results service”; the URL will be something like “http://192.168.1.119:8080/reports”. It is likely that the number sequence between “192.168." and “:8080” will be slightly different every time you turn the android download device on. The participants turn on their own smartphone, choose the Wi-Fi hotspot and use their phone’s browser to view the results service URL (which you have chalked up somewhere prominent) then select the results option that they like. SI-Droid offers results in Simple or Splits HTML or several spreadsheet or text options.
If the viewer adds “SimpleResultsHTML?refresh=30” to the end of the URL so that it then reads, for instance, “http://192.168.1.119:8080/reports/SimpleResultsHTML?refresh=30 ” then the results service will automatically update every 30 seconds, or tell the punters to hit their own refresh button now and again.
Rather than tell people to use their own phones it is possible to set up a laptop as a public display. Set up a laptop a short distance from download, log in to the download Wi-Fi hotspot and point the laptop browser to the SI-Droid result service URL. I use a Firefox browser with a extension installed which is called “ReScroll”. Activating ReScroll has the effect of slowly scrolling the results from top to bottom and then repeating. I expect other browsers will have a similar extension available.
Personally, I think that transmitting results to phone or laptop is a lot of faff for a tiny thrill, but that is philosophy again. We usually just hand over printed splits to finishers, save the final result to the tablet SD card and then email round the exported results after the meet.
One minor downside of SI-Droid is that it does not export a result directly in the required BOF results format. I expect that most O club administrators will know that A,B or C level events (optional for D level) are required to have their results uploaded to the BOF website within 7 days. BOF require the uploaded result to be formatted in a spreadsheet with the minimum column headings defined, including separate columns for first and second names; SI-Droid uses a single column for both names. SI-Droid can export results in the SportIdent.csv format which isn’t quite the same as BOF but close enough to allow some editing. More philosophy; we mainly use SI-Droid for small local activities where a BOF upload is not required.
Off at a bit of a tangent, there is also the alternative of using Ór, The Irish Orienteering Association's free event management software ( https://www.orienteering.ie/or-home/). That works OK. I installed it on a couple of old laptops I got as primary school surplus for £45 each, but never used it much because of concentrating on SI-Droid.
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Thnks for all that info Davy, it was very helpful.
My concern is that both the apps you mention look like they were developed some time ago and not been updated recently.
Ór is reliant on Java! a long ago abandoned technology on the web due to the security issues. The FAQ page has this entry:
Which highlights it's age.
The Si-Droid WiKi page shows the last update was in Dec 2018 and the first was Sept 2015. But the Google Play store does show the last update was Dec 2021.
The HTML results pages look a bit dated and not easy to read on any screen smaller than a 1000px wide.
The SPORTident app by comparison looks very professional and uses the very latest techniques. It shows what is possible if you have the time and resources to spend on development. Inevitably that investment requires a return, and the tightly controlled proprietary input/output methods are the result.
I think this reflects the more general change in products and services, where a subscription model is becoming the norm for many things in life. We don't buy stuff, we rent it for a month or year at a time.
Perhaps that desire to be able to look back at results that are more than a few days old is fading. Is the instant/now mindset that social media has promoted making history less relevant?
My concern is that both the apps you mention look like they were developed some time ago and not been updated recently.
Ór is reliant on Java! a long ago abandoned technology on the web due to the security issues. The FAQ page has this entry:
This has happened to some people recently (2010) and I am at a loss as to why
Which highlights it's age.
The Si-Droid WiKi page shows the last update was in Dec 2018 and the first was Sept 2015. But the Google Play store does show the last update was Dec 2021.
The HTML results pages look a bit dated and not easy to read on any screen smaller than a 1000px wide.
The SPORTident app by comparison looks very professional and uses the very latest techniques. It shows what is possible if you have the time and resources to spend on development. Inevitably that investment requires a return, and the tightly controlled proprietary input/output methods are the result.
Davy wrote:This is a bit "philosophy of what we are doing", rather than "how to do it".
I think this reflects the more general change in products and services, where a subscription model is becoming the norm for many things in life. We don't buy stuff, we rent it for a month or year at a time.
Perhaps that desire to be able to look back at results that are more than a few days old is fading. Is the instant/now mindset that social media has promoted making history less relevant?
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
The Si-Droid WiKi page shows the last update was in Dec 2018 and the first was Sept 2015. But the Google Play store does show the last update was Dec 2021.
The HTML results pages look a bit dated and not easy to read on any screen smaller than a 1000px wide.
The update in Dec improved the html results display and it's now responsive.
See SBOC's most recent results: https://www.sboc.org.uk/results/20220109RD_WL8Results.html:
We (SBOC) have been using SI-Droid for the last 5 years for all of our local events using budget tablets, and printers that cost around £30.
It's a very lightweight setup, works seamlessly, and is easy for organisers to get to grips with.
We sometimes display live results through an additional tablet on the same network.
And we also occasionally use the Go! Start Clock app on another tablet which handles call up. It was useful for keeping people apart when everything was stricter last year.
- ben_mitchell
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Thanks Ben, Whilst the overall results page looks OK and is responsive, the splits pages are not. There is too much wasted space and the fact that the rows wrap when ther are more than 10 controls, which makes it really hard to follow and compare with other runners.
I fully appreciate that tables are hard to present in HTML on smaller screens, but wrapping the rows is not a solution. I think it would be better to just allow the full width and all people to scroll to see it. There is just so much whitespace on the page.
I fully appreciate that tables are hard to present in HTML on smaller screens, but wrapping the rows is not a solution. I think it would be better to just allow the full width and all people to scroll to see it. There is just so much whitespace on the page.
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Paul Frost wrote:Thanks Ben, Whilst the overall results page looks OK and is responsive, the splits pages are not. There is too much wasted space and the fact that the rows wrap when ther are more than 10 controls, which makes it really hard to follow and compare with other runners.
I fully appreciate that tables are hard to present in HTML on smaller screens, but wrapping the rows is not a solution. I think it would be better to just allow the full width and all people to scroll to see it. There is just so much whitespace on the page.
I agree about wrapping split times - it makes it almost impossible to compare one runner to another. Far better to have one row per name, even at cost of having to scroll across (having a fixed column of names at left and right of screen would help when large number of controls and names disappear off both sides...)
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
Paul Frost wrote:The Si-Droid WiKi page shows the last update was in Dec 2018 and the first was Sept 2015. But the Google Play store does show the last update was Dec 2021..
The last update of SI-Droid was 3rd Feb 2022
- John-O
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Re: Android based timing/results apps, any good?
SI-Droid has been updated again on the 9th of April.
The question of producing a BOF Results report from SI-droid has arisen in conversation a couple of times recently, so I thought that I should describe our procedure here. There might well be other ways to do this that we haven't stumbled across.
Before the event, following the instructions on the SI-droid website ( http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Gene ... or_runners ), we create a competitor "lookup" file with five columns; SI Number, Name, Club, ID, Course and load that "lookup" file into SI-droid. (Actually, we carry this file over from event to event amending it as required, rather than writing it anew each time.)
We use the "lookup" file "ID" column to list BOF numbers while the "club" column lists both age group and Club, e.g.
W21 IND
M60 FAKEO
and so on.
After the event, on SI-droid save "Results with splits (OE/MT CSV)" to the tablet storage file. Copy this csv file onto a computer with a spreadsheet editor (LibreOffice Calc is a free one that works). Rename a copy of this csv file with an appropriate title. Just for your peace of mind, in case of mistakes, keep a copy of the original to one side until the process is complete. Open the renamed copy of the file in the spreadsheet editor.
BOF require an upload of a csv spreadsheet file with a minimum number of specified column headings.
Database Id , Surname , First name , Time , Classifier , Club name , Age class , Course number , Course name , km , m , Course controls.
To clarify, each column needs specific information thus;
Database Id : BOF number of member
Surname : Surname of member
First name : First name of member
Time : Time taken on course (00:00:00, hrs:mins:secs)
Classifier : usually blank or 0 to indicate competitive; 1, 2, 3 are not competitive.
Cl.name : Club name
Age class : Age Class competition entered if applicable
Course no. : Course number, a number 1 to whatever.
Course : Course Name, usually a colour.
km : Length of course in Km
m : Climb on course in meters
Course controls : No of controls on course
The column headings are compulsory but you can leave the fields blank if you don't have the information.
Some editing of the OE/MT CSV spreadsheet is necessary to adapt it for the BOF results upload.
We delete a lot of unwanted stuff from the renamed OE/MT CSV file. Rename the "City" column as "Age class". Before deleting anything make the headers for the columns you want to preserve into Bold script (to emphasise the stuff you want to keep). Now delete the "Stno", "Chip", "YB", "S", "Block", "nc","Start", Finish", "Club no.", "Nat", "cl. no", "Short", "Long" , all the"Num" and "Text" columns, all the address information columns and the "fee" and "paid" columns. Delete the "Start" and "Finish" columns. Delete the "Pl" column, Delete all the columns listing the SI "control" numbers and "punch" times. Check that all known BOF membership numbers are listed in the "Database id" column. Check that the course names are correct.
SI-droid lists competitors first and second names in a single column but somehow manages to separate them into the required two columns with the correct headings for the OE/MT CSV report. Also, SI-droid does not have separate columns for Age Class and Club Name, so we enter them both into the same column of the SI-droid "lookup" file under the "Club" heading; the OE/MT CSV results report file subsequently lists age category and club together under the "City" heading which we have just renamed "Age Class", next to a blank column called " Cl.name". Cut and paste the club names from the "Age Class"" column into "Cl.name".
If competitors have run more than one race at the same event their second and subsequent runs will be marked by SI-Droid as " #2 " and so on. Remove the # and number from the results before uploading to BOF.
The spreadsheet is now ready for upload. The upload has to be done within seven days of the event completing. Only two people in each club can be nominated for the system privilege of uploading results. Whoever has been nominated to do the upload should log onto their BOF website account then navigate through My Account > Event Management > Finished Event. A list of past events associated with your account details should now be visible. Locate the relevant event and click on "results" (it's in green type). Browse to whatever folder contains the result .csv file. Pick the correct format (csv = comma separated values). Add a link to whichever website you are also displaying the result (probably your club website). Click Import, use the drop down menus to identify each column and click Continue. Now "save" and log out.
The event results will now be available on the main BOF website and any National BOF ranking points which might be due will be calculated automatically by BOF.
The question of producing a BOF Results report from SI-droid has arisen in conversation a couple of times recently, so I thought that I should describe our procedure here. There might well be other ways to do this that we haven't stumbled across.
Before the event, following the instructions on the SI-droid website ( http://www.joja.se/index.php?title=Gene ... or_runners ), we create a competitor "lookup" file with five columns; SI Number, Name, Club, ID, Course and load that "lookup" file into SI-droid. (Actually, we carry this file over from event to event amending it as required, rather than writing it anew each time.)
We use the "lookup" file "ID" column to list BOF numbers while the "club" column lists both age group and Club, e.g.
W21 IND
M60 FAKEO
and so on.
After the event, on SI-droid save "Results with splits (OE/MT CSV)" to the tablet storage file. Copy this csv file onto a computer with a spreadsheet editor (LibreOffice Calc is a free one that works). Rename a copy of this csv file with an appropriate title. Just for your peace of mind, in case of mistakes, keep a copy of the original to one side until the process is complete. Open the renamed copy of the file in the spreadsheet editor.
BOF require an upload of a csv spreadsheet file with a minimum number of specified column headings.
Database Id , Surname , First name , Time , Classifier , Club name , Age class , Course number , Course name , km , m , Course controls.
To clarify, each column needs specific information thus;
Database Id : BOF number of member
Surname : Surname of member
First name : First name of member
Time : Time taken on course (00:00:00, hrs:mins:secs)
Classifier : usually blank or 0 to indicate competitive; 1, 2, 3 are not competitive.
Cl.name : Club name
Age class : Age Class competition entered if applicable
Course no. : Course number, a number 1 to whatever.
Course : Course Name, usually a colour.
km : Length of course in Km
m : Climb on course in meters
Course controls : No of controls on course
The column headings are compulsory but you can leave the fields blank if you don't have the information.
Some editing of the OE/MT CSV spreadsheet is necessary to adapt it for the BOF results upload.
We delete a lot of unwanted stuff from the renamed OE/MT CSV file. Rename the "City" column as "Age class". Before deleting anything make the headers for the columns you want to preserve into Bold script (to emphasise the stuff you want to keep). Now delete the "Stno", "Chip", "YB", "S", "Block", "nc","Start", Finish", "Club no.", "Nat", "cl. no", "Short", "Long" , all the"Num" and "Text" columns, all the address information columns and the "fee" and "paid" columns. Delete the "Start" and "Finish" columns. Delete the "Pl" column, Delete all the columns listing the SI "control" numbers and "punch" times. Check that all known BOF membership numbers are listed in the "Database id" column. Check that the course names are correct.
SI-droid lists competitors first and second names in a single column but somehow manages to separate them into the required two columns with the correct headings for the OE/MT CSV report. Also, SI-droid does not have separate columns for Age Class and Club Name, so we enter them both into the same column of the SI-droid "lookup" file under the "Club" heading; the OE/MT CSV results report file subsequently lists age category and club together under the "City" heading which we have just renamed "Age Class", next to a blank column called " Cl.name". Cut and paste the club names from the "Age Class"" column into "Cl.name".
If competitors have run more than one race at the same event their second and subsequent runs will be marked by SI-Droid as " #2 " and so on. Remove the # and number from the results before uploading to BOF.
The spreadsheet is now ready for upload. The upload has to be done within seven days of the event completing. Only two people in each club can be nominated for the system privilege of uploading results. Whoever has been nominated to do the upload should log onto their BOF website account then navigate through My Account > Event Management > Finished Event. A list of past events associated with your account details should now be visible. Locate the relevant event and click on "results" (it's in green type). Browse to whatever folder contains the result .csv file. Pick the correct format (csv = comma separated values). Add a link to whichever website you are also displaying the result (probably your club website). Click Import, use the drop down menus to identify each column and click Continue. Now "save" and log out.
The event results will now be available on the main BOF website and any National BOF ranking points which might be due will be calculated automatically by BOF.
- Davy
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- Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:46 pm
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