Bravo
Juliet Productions
Producers
of R/C
Assist for the iPhone
R/C Assist
R/C Assist is a start sequence manager for your iPhone or
iPod Touch. Running three of the most
common start sequences it provides countdown timers, visual cues and sound
signals for the race committee. It can
be plugged into an amplification system and used to start the races with the
push of a button or used by the Race Committee to time all the flags and manual
sounds correctly. The cost is $4.99 USD
(adjust for local currency through iTunes) or about half the cost of a refill
can for an air horn.
Tech Support
For tech support on R/C Assist please e-mail your issues and questions to: support@bravojulietproductions.com and someone will contact you shortly.
R/C Assist Documentation
R/C assist is for use by sail boat race committees to start races on the water. It will run on either an iPhone or an iPod touch. A certain level of understanding of the basics of regatta management is assumed; if help is needed in the principles of race management an excellent starting place is either the U.S. Sailing (www.ussailing.org) or the ISAF (www.sailing.org) web sites.
The
main screen is divided into three areas.
The top represents what flags should be up on the committee boat at the
present time in the start sequence. The
middle section of the screen indicates what flags and sounds are expected to
happen next and how much time there is until this happens.
Visual cues include flags (including a generic placeholder Class Flag which you should substitute with the flag for the class in sequence), a horn or cannon, a Morse code like sequence of dashes and dots representing the Long and Short horn sounds to be made, and a black timer. Also there may be flags shown with a red arrow pointing down this indicates the next action for that flag is to come DOWN. The black timer is the amount of time before the flag action and sounds will be executed.
The lower section of the screen shows the overall sequence timer in red and the control buttons.
When a start sequence is not in effect the Start Sequence button will be enabled, the button next to it will be labeled Sound Signal, and the small I in a circle will be enabled. The Start Sequence button begins a new countdown, Sound Signal produces one short horn blast each time it is tapped and the I flips to the setup options.
When a sequence is started the Sound Signal button switches to AP Flag and the Start Sequence and Options buttons are disabled. When pressed in a sequence the AP Flag button immediately aborts the sequence in process and produces two long horn blasts. This is the only way to stop a sequence once it has started.
When a new sequence is started there will be a brief (3-4 second) countdown to give time to prepare for the first sound signal; this is particularly helpful if you are NOT using R/C Assist to make your start sounds for you and you need to coordinate with the people holding the guns, flags and horns. The amount of pre-countdown will vary by a second or so this is due to the state of your phone.
IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOUR PHONE BE PUT IN AIRPLANE MODE and AUTOLOCK BE DISABLED prior to starting and real on the water sequence. Incoming phone calls and locking the phone can disrupt a sequence which can cause problems on the water so please be careful.
Pushing
the Option button (small circled letter i) brings up the start options
screen. This screen allows you to choose
the type of start you would like and the flags you wish to use.
R/C Assist currently supports three standard start sequences which are used largely in the U.S. but may be used throughout the world.
RRS 26 - As specified in the Racing Rules of Sailing, Rule 26 outlines a five minute starting sequence. This is generally used for races with larger boats but may also be used for dinghy racing. Refer to the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 for more details. The sequence is as follows:
|
Time |
Sounds |
Signal |
|
5:00 Warning |
One Sound |
Class Flag |
|
4:00 Preparatory |
One Sound |
Preparatory Flag(s) up |
|
1:00 |
One Sound |
Preparatory Flag(s) up |
|
0:00 Start |
One Sound |
Class Flag Down |
ICSA - The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, typically used in college racing. Modified three minute start. Described in Appendix C of the ICSA Procedural Rules the sequence is as follows:
|
Time |
Sounds |
Signal |
|
3:00 Warning |
Three Sounds |
Class Flag |
|
2:00 Preparatory |
Two Sounds |
Preparatory Flag(s) up |
|
1:00 |
One Sound |
Preparatory Flag(s) down |
|
0:00 Start |
One Sound |
Class Flag Down |
The final sequence is the U.S. Sailing Prescriptions, Appendix S which is a three minute start sequence.
|
Signal |
Sound |
Time before start |
|
Warning |
3 long |
3 minutes |
|
Preparatory |
2 long |
2 minutes |
|
1 long |
3 short |
1 minute, 30 seconds |
|
|
1 long |
1 minute |
|
|
3 short |
30 seconds |
|
|
2 short |
20 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
10 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
5 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
4 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
3 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
2 seconds |
|
|
1 short |
1 second |
|
Starting |
1 long |
0 seconds |
Preparatory Flags
Three options for Preparatory Flags are available the default P flag, the I Flag (around the end rule) and the Z flag (20% scoring penalty for over early). Note that these options ONLY affect which flags are shown in the visual cues; there is no impact on sound signals or timing.
Penalty Flags
Three possible Penalty conditions might be used at the start: no penalty, Z + I (around the end and 20% penalty), or Black Flag (over early means disqualification). Note that if Z+I or Black are used the choice of Preparatory Flag is ignored as the penalty flags are flown in place of the Preparatory signal. Also note that these options only affect the visual cues for flags and not the sound signals or timing of the start sequence.
Cannon
This option uses a Cannon/Gun Shot sound at the Warning, Preparatory and Start signals with the RRS 26 start if on, or a long horn blast if off.