Time Machine

The versitile Time Machine is manufactured by Flying Feet Computers and is used throughout New England. Here are some links to the manuals and technical info.

Flying Feet web site
Setting up the Time Machine (pdf, 1625 KB)
Time Machine manual (pdf, 1426 KB)
Time Machine Data Formats
Time Machine serial pinouts (pdf, 436 KB)
user notes on building a serial (DB9) to RJ11 adapter
Transducer (pdf, 49 KB)
Time Machine to Chronomix Display Clock interface.
Instructions for connecting a Time Machine to a Chronomix Master Time 7300 Display Clock

Starting Several Time Machines

Connect a standard telephone cord to the START OUT port on the primary Time Machine. Connect the other end of the telephone cord to the START IN port on the secondary Time Machine.
Connect a standard telephone cord to the START OUT port on the secondary Time Machine. Connect the other end of the telephone cord to the START IN port on the tertiary Time Machine.
Add as many Time Machines as you like as stated in step #2 above.
Make sure the display on each Time Machine shows the time that you want the Time Machine to start. Most of the time you can leave the time at 0.
Connect a grip switch to the START IN port on the primary Time Machine.
Press the grip switch or the START TIME key on the primary Time Machine. The other Time Machines will automatically start.

If you leave the telephone cord attached between the primary and secondary Time Machines (from Step 1 and Step 2), pressing the grip switch on the Primary Time Machine will record a place on both the primary machine and secondary machine.

The Time Machines may set to start at different times. If, for example, you can set one Time Machine to 10 minutes and another Time Machine to 0. When the grip switch is pressed on the primary Time Machine, one Time Machine will start counting up from 10 minutes, while the other will start counting up from 0. (Note: you cannot set one Time Machine to count up and the other to count down. The time will be off by 7 seconds.)

If one of the Time Machines fails to start, check that the telephone connectors and ports are not damaged. There should be four straight wires in each of the Time Machine ports. It is possible to get the faulty Time Machine running by following the procedure to Synchronize the Time to a Time Machine. See

Synchronize the Time Clock to a Time Machine

Connect a standard telephone cord to the EXT CLOCK port of the primary Time Machine. Connect the other end to the telephone cord to the RS232 port on the secondary Time Machine.
Once connected, the time clock on secondary Time Machine will be synchronized to the time clock of primary Time Machine. The running clock display on both Time Machines will display identical times.
The telephone cord may be disconnected, leaving the secondary Time Machine running synchronously. Note, the time clock of the primary Time Machine may count up or count down.
While connected, the primary Time Machine may be set to any tome and started or stopped. The time clock of the secondary Time machine will be automatically controlled by the primary Time Machine.

The primary Time Machine may also be used to start the time clock on a Chronomix display. See Time Machine to Chronomix Display Clock interface.

Downloading Time Machine data via HyperTerminal

You can use HyperTerminal to download event times and bib numbers via the RS232 port on Time Machine and then save them to a text file on youtr PC.

HyperTerminal is a terminal emulator program that runs in Windows. Microsoft included the HyperTerminal with Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0. HyperTerminal is also available online at the Hilgrave.com web site.

Run HyperTerminal in Windows by going to Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications > HyperTerminal.

You'll be prompted for New Connection. At the prompt type TimeMachine and click OK.

Connect your Time Machine device to your PC’s COM1 port. On the next window that appears, make sure that the Connect Using field says COM1 and click OK.

On the next window, change the Baud rate to 9600 and click OK.

On your Time Machine, press the SET UP button until the display shows

Setup Parameter:
 [RS232 PORT]

Press the ENTER button. The display will show

RS232 Operations
 [RE-XMIT DATA]

Press the ENTER button. The display will show

Specify  [TIME]
To Begin Re-xmit

Press the ENTER button. The display will show

Begin Re-xmit At
Time ->        0

Press the ENTER button. The display will show

 RETRANSMIT OF 
 DATA INITIATED

On your PC, the data will start to display on your screen.

The display on the Time Machine will show the number of items transmitted.

DATA#|CTRL|HSKE
 257 |xon |off

To resend the data from your Time Machine to your PC, press the SET UP button to return to the RE-XMIT Data screen

RS232 Operations
 [RE-XMIT DATA]

Press the ENTER button until the data retransmits.

There are a couple methods you can use to save the Time Machine data to a computer file. If the data has already been transmitted to HyperTerminal, you can select the desired lines, copy and paste into a text file.

Or, to save data directly to a file, in HyperTerminal select Transfer > Capture Text. Type the location of the file you want to save and click OK. Resend the data from the Time Machine.

After the data has been sent, select Transfer > Capture Text > Stop. Now, you can open the saved file on your PC.

Miscellaneous

Paper Tape: Order Seiko Instruments, Inc.,
Product Number: NAP-0058-025 (SS0058-025A)
5 rolls x 58 millimeters x 25 meter (2 5/16" x 82 ft)
Made by Nakagawa Manufacturing (USA), Inc.

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