Swiss Timing lane speakers

Swiss Timing Ltd, of Corgémont, Switzerland, is the Swatch Group timing company whose equipment appears under the Omega brand at major international meets. It places the lane speaker in the starting block rather than on an under-block horn as the United States manufacturers do: a fixed installation fits an internal loudspeaker inside the block, and a mobile installation uses a set of external loudspeakers positioned near each block.¹² Both are driven by the StartTime V electronic starting device. Swiss Timing does not disclose who makes the loudspeakers. Shared background on lane speakers is in the external-speakers overview.

In-block loudspeakers¶

For fixed wiring, an internal loudspeaker, article 3399.600, is an option fitted inside the OSB11 and OSB14 starting blocks. Two banana plugs make the speaker connection, and the installer reaches the cabling through a hatch in the block’s rear face.¹³ The timing system’s other lane devices connect into a lane deck plate installed under the centre of each block, which the datasheets say protects the cables, the connections, and the speaker.¹³

The division between in-block and mobile speakers is less clean than the datasheets imply. Swiss Timing’s Australian distributor lists a second in-block loudspeaker, article 3399.610, built for mobile wiring and terminating in a Tu4pM connector rather than banana plugs, so a portable installation can also put the speaker inside the block.⁴ No Swiss Timing document cited here names that article, and the OSB11, OSB12 and OSB14 user manuals mention no loudspeaker at all, so the distributor listing is the only record of it.⁴

Swiss Timing’s installation manual calls these units lane speakers and prefers them for an in-deck installation. The speaker sits inside the block and the wiring runs beneath the deck, so the start area stays clear of clutter in line with FINA (now World Aquatics) facilities recommendations, and the blocks can be removed between competitions without disturbing the permanent wiring.²

Mobile loudspeakers¶

Where the cabling is mobile rather than in-deck, Swiss Timing supplies external loudspeakers placed close to each block. They are sold as sets of three to ten speakers with cable harnesses, and the final digit pair of the article number gives the cable length between two loudspeakers, 3 m or 6 m.⁵⁶

Article	Set
3399.933.06	3 mobile loudspeakers, 6 m cables
3399.934.03 / .06	4 mobile loudspeakers, 3 m or 6 m cables
3399.935.03 / .06	5 mobile loudspeakers, 3 m or 6 m cables
3399.936.03	6 mobile loudspeakers, 3 m cables
3399.938.03	8 mobile loudspeakers, 3 m cables
3399.940.03	10 mobile loudspeakers, 3 m cables

The installation manual shows the external loudspeaker as a unit of about 180 × 215 × 192 mm, and lists a multipurpose tripod (article 9051.6339, rated to 8 kg) among the start-system options.²⁵

Swiss Timing’s distributors publish the same sets independently. The Australian and New Zealand distributor lists the full run from 3399.933.06 to 3399.940.03 with the 9051.6339 tripod beside it, and describes the accessories as belonging to the StartTime IV. That places this generation of harness with that device rather than with the StartTime V page they now sit on.⁴ The Vienna dealer AVK Group catalogues a current external loudspeaker as article 3399.930, marking it FINA approved and intended for mobile cabling around the starting block.⁷ The two dealers disagree on one number: the optical start signal for hearing-impaired swimmers is 3399.951 in the Australian listing and 3481.951 in the Austrian one.⁴⁷ The older article numbers this page cites from the 2007 and 2015 documents, including the external loudspeaker 2850.712 and the 3399.902 to 3399.910 harnesses, appear in no dealer catalogue and rest on Swiss Timing’s own documentation.

Governing-body requirements¶

World Aquatics requires a speaker at every block in a competition installation, so that every swimmer hears the spoken commands and the start signal at the same volume and the same instant.⁸ That per-block rule is specific to World Aquatics, which is the market this design addresses. USA Swimming asks only that the sound reach every lane equitably, and accepts speakers ranged along the sides of the course or behind the blocks as alternatives; the NCAA and NFHS rulebooks set no placement requirement at all.⁹¹⁰ The French swimming federation, documenting an Omega installation for its own officials, takes the stricter reading: one loudspeaker per lane is the compliant arrangement, and halving that to one between every two lanes is the cheaper option that falls short of it.¹¹ The start-systems overview covers why a single poolside horn is not sufficient.

Connections¶

The loudspeakers are driven by the StartTime V starting device, which is covered in its own article. The amplifier’s load window sets the lane wiring. The recommended load is between 3.2 and 16 ohms, and any speaker combination inside that range is acceptable, so an installation combines the per-lane loudspeakers to stay within that range. Speaker polarity must be kept consistent across the installation or sound quality degrades.⁶

Specifications¶

Swiss Timing publishes article numbers, set sizes, and system-level electrical limits, but no per-speaker wattage, impedance, or frequency figures.

In-block loudspeaker	Article 3399.600; fixed wiring; 2 banana plugs; fits OSB11 and OSB14
Mobile loudspeaker sets	3 to 10 speakers, 3 m or 6 m harness cables (3399.933.06 to 3399.940.03)
Amplifier load	3.2 to 16 Ω recommended; 2 Ω possible with distortion
Speaker cable runs	Up to 30 m at 0.75 mm²; up to 50 m at 1 or 1.5 mm²

See also¶

• External speakers: the shared overview of lane speakers
• StartTime V: the starting device that drives the loudspeakers
• Colorado Time Systems lane speakers and Daktronics lane speakers: the under-block approach the in-block loudspeaker replaces
• Relay take-off platforms: Swiss Timing’s OSB blocks also carry relay break detection, the equivalent lane accessory

References¶

Footnotes¶

1. Swiss Timing, OSB11 Swimming Starting Block datasheet (V3, 03-2019) (internal loudspeaker option 3399.600 for fixed wiring with 2 banana plugs; rear access door; deck plate under each block protects cables, connections, and speaker). ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Swiss Timing, Swimming Concept installation manual (0017.509.02, Version 4.9, January 2017) (in-deck work may house each lane’s speaker within the block itself, keeping the start area clear per FINA facilities recommendations; internal loudspeaker fitted to OSB11 or OSB14; external loudspeaker for mobile cabling, about 180 x 215 x 192 mm). ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Swiss Timing, OSB14 Swimming Starting Block datasheet (V2, 03-2019) (same internal loudspeaker option 3399.600 and deck-plate arrangement on the smaller-footprint block). ↩ ↩²

4. Australasia Sports Timing, OSB11 Swimming Starting Blocks and StartTime V, the Swiss Timing distributor’s option lists. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Swiss Timing, StartTime V Electronic Starting Device datasheet (10-2015) (mobile loudspeaker sets 3399.933.06 to 3399.940.03, positioned near each starting block; tripod 9051.6339). ↩ ↩²

6. Swiss Timing, StartTime V User’s Manual (3481.560.02, Version 1.2, March 2018) (external loudspeakers connection: recommended load 3.2 to 16 Ω, 2 Ω possible with increased distortion; speaker phase note; cable extension limits). ↩ ↩²

7. AVK Group, External Loudspeaker 3399.930 (Swiss Timing, FINA approved, for mobile cabling around the starting block). ↩ ↩²

8. World Aquatics, Facilities Rules 2021–2025, FR 2.3.3.3 (loudspeakers at each starting block). ↩

9. USA Swimming, 2025 Rulebook, 103.18 Loudspeaker Start System (sound dispersed equitably to all lanes; several permitted layouts). ↩

10. NFHS, Swimming and Diving Rules Book, 2-7-3 (the starting signal must be loud enough for a fair start; no placement requirement). ↩

11. Fédération Française de Natation, Megatek: installations pour le chronométrage, Partie 2 Chapitre 8 (one loudspeaker per lane compliant; one per two lanes the cheaper non-compliant option). ↩