[NSRCA-discussion] Quick question re: cellular data service at the fields where you compete

Thu Dec 8 08:05:21 AKST 2011

I spent my career in IT and one of the most common operational problems was 'support'.  It all looks great on paper and getting it to work one time is considered success by the developers.  However, when a problem occurs with turnkey systems, typically there is no one around to resolve the problem and recover the system/data without re-entry.  I don't mean to be a nay sayer, but like I said making it work one time is not necessarily success.  Any system like this would need backup and or recovery capabilities at each stage of the entry, transfer, tabulation stages to ensure we don't have the contest grind to a halt because we had a 'problem'.

Love the idea, now explain the implementation and support........

Don

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert L. Beaubien <rob at koolsoft.com>
To: General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Sent: Thu, Dec 8, 2011 8:48 am
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Quick question re: cellular data service at the fields where you compete

Being a software developer, I have wanted to tackle this problem for a while, but there are a number of logistical problems to deal with.

1.       Who’s phone/equipment would the judges use?  Not everyone has a smart phone and/or not everyone has the same technology smart phone.  The Club and/or district would likely have to have their own equipment to make this work.
2.       Touch screens being as sensitive as they are, it could be easy to get “out of sync” with the flight resulting in no/bad data being collected.  The only real way to prevent that as much as possible would be a dedicated app (not a website) which again would be for presumably 1 technology (andrioid, ipad/ipod/iphone, etc)
3.       What happens if internet is NOT available where you are at, or worse, is weak and spotty providing no or inconsistent connection?

Those are only the first blush questions that I came up with.  I am certain there will be more issues to deal with. 

I am certainly willing to throw my developers hat into this project, and I have the capability of building and supporting a web, windows, or android based solution.

- Robert Beaubien
- D7 Webmaster
-
"No trees were harmed in the sending of this message, however a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced."

From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of Keith Hoard
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2011 9:12 AM
To: General pattern discussion
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Quick question re: cellular data service at the fields where you compete

Too simple, it'll never catch on. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 8, 2011, at 9:54, Peter Vogel <vogel.peter at gmail.com> wrote:

Exactly. With 12 finger size buttons and an 'enter'.  0-10 and a .5 button.  Very quick and hitting enter finalizes. Enter with no score button is Not Observed and then at the end you review the scoresheet, make any corrections you want and hit enter one more time.  Arresti at the bottom for reference. 

Sent from my iPhone4S

On Dec 8, 2011, at 5:12 AM, Keith Hoard <khoard at gmail.com> wrote:

Bob,

    I've been thinking of just this system for a couple years now.  If you were using a smart phone, you could hold it up near your line of sight during the flight and tap in your score without taking your eyes off the plane.  Perhaps even a graphic of the maneuver for quick reference?

Keith Hoard
Collierville, TN
khoard at gmail.com

On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 7:08 AM, Bob Kane <getterflash at yahoo.com> wrote:

All of the sites I hit on the pattern circuit here in D4-D5 have cellular service, most are near large metro areas so 3G should be avaliable also.

I would be a little concerned about the ability to punch in a score on a screen (even if i was a single "button") especailly in the event of a mistake. A judge could be distracted trying to correct a score. A pencil/paper system is hard to beat for ease of use and quick error correction.

Bob Kane
getterflash at yahoo.com

From: Peter Vogel <vogel.peter at gmail.com>
To: General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org> 
Sent: Thursday, December 8, 2011 3:05 AM

Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] Quick question re: cellular data service at the fields where you compete

I've been thinking about a "better way" to get scores into a system like PACSS, given the general ubiquity of smart phones and the overall tech savvy among the pattern crowd, I believe it should be possible for a judge or scribe to very quickly enter scores for each maneuver into an iOS or Android phone or tablet communicating via the cellular data network (typical data is so small as to be VERY lightweight on data usage, so even Edge data services would be quick enough to record scores) the interface would be designed for very fast entry of a score (two taps per maneuver scored) with the interface optimized for the screen size of phone or tablet.   

Here in California, I have yet to visit a field where I didn't have 3G data service, but I realize California can be an outlier in such matters.  

So, of the fields where you have competed in the last year, how many had 3G data service?  Edge? and No Data service?

How many of you have a smart phone and/or tablet?

Thanks!

Peter+

-- 
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