Colorado Time Systems Pushbutton

The Colorado Time Systems pushbutton is the hand-held backup timing button used with Colorado Time Systems (CTS) swim-timing systems. A timer standing behind a lane holds the button and presses it as the swimmer touches the wall, which sends a stop signal to that lane’s clock on the timing console. It is the secondary, human-operated input that backs up the touchpad at each lane. CTS sells the current model as the PB-6, a button on a six-foot cord; the shop listing also calls it a swim timing “pickle.”¹²³

Role in the timing system¶

The pushbuttons overview covers the shared background that applies to every backup button: the layered primary/secondary/tertiary timing structure, the governing-body rules that require independent backup, and how button times resolve into an official time. In a CTS installation the button is that secondary layer. In fully automatic officiating the touchpad records the official time and the buttons stand ready in case it fails; in semi-automatic operation the buttons themselves are the timing input, started by the electronic start and stopped by the timer’s press.⁴

Each lane can carry one, two, or three backup buttons, designated A, B, and C, each plugged into its own backup connector so the buttons and the pad are read independently.⁵³ The timer watches the swimmer into the wall and presses the button at the touch; the console records each button press as a separate time alongside the pad time.

Design and connection¶

The pushbutton is a sealed momentary switch in a hand-held housing on a flexible cord that ends in a banana plug. It plugs into the same lane connection points as the touchpad: a CTS Titanium Deck Plate (TDP) or an on-deck cable harness. CTS states that deck plates are required to permit plug-in connections for touchpads, A/B/C backup pushbuttons, relay judging, start speakers, and the lane’s start signal, and that the plate’s titanium jacks and domed top protect the banana plugs from the corrosion that pool chemicals and standing water cause.⁵ On a cable-harness installation the primary harness carries the touchpad and one pushbutton per lane, with backup harnesses adding the further button inputs.⁶

The button works with the CTS touchpad lane systems and, per the vendor and resellers, with the Championship and Infinity start systems; it can also be used on its own through a cable harness where no touchpads are installed.²³ The signal it carries is the low-voltage lane input the timer reads and isolates, the same electrical path used by the pad.⁵ CTS also offers a wireless alternative to wired buttons, the Dolphin system, in which each lane’s timer holds a wireless stopwatch rather than a plugged-in button.⁷

Care and maintenance¶

The banana plug is the part that fails, because pool water corrodes the contact. CTS treats plug care as routine maintenance across its lane hardware: the two-pronged banana plug is kept clean and, when badly corroded, replaced with the same part used on the touchpads (CTS R-025-045).⁸ The CTS touchpad test meter (TPM-D) checks a pushbutton along with the pad, cable harness, and deck plates, so a suspect button can be verified before a session rather than during a race.⁸

Specifications¶

Part number	PB-6 (also listed as CYC-35-8574)
Type	Manual momentary backup timing button
Cord length	6 ft (1.8 m)
Connector	Banana plug (into deck plate or cable harness)
Buttons per lane	1, 2, or 3 (A / B / C)
Compatibility	CTS touchpad lane systems; Championship and Infinity start systems
Replacement plug	R-025-045 (shared with CTS touchpads)
Shipping weight	About 0.5 lb (0.23 kg)

Part numbers and accessories¶

• PB-6, backup pushbutton with a 6 ft cord (also cataloged as CYC-35-8574); a refurbished version is also sold.¹²
• R-025-045, replacement banana plug, shared with CTS touchpads.⁸
• TPM-D, touchpad test meter, which also tests pushbuttons, cable harnesses, and deck plates.⁸
• CH41-8, eight-lane touchpad-and-pushbutton primary cable harness (one pushbutton input per lane; backup harnesses add the further button inputs).⁶

See also¶

• Touchpads: the primary lane input the pushbutton backs up
• AquaGrip Touchpad: the current CTS touch panel
• Timers: the timing console the button reports to
• Start systems: the starter equipment on the other side of the timing system
• Colorado Time Systems: the manufacturer
• Equipment: the equipment reference

References¶

Footnotes¶

1. Colorado Time Systems, Pushbutton for Backup Timing (PB-6). ↩ ↩²

2. Colorado Time Systems, Backup button (PB-6) (the “pickle” nickname; works with touchpads or independently with a cable harness). ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Poolweb, Colorado Time Systems Push Button, 6 Foot Cord (PB-6) (6 ft cord; shipping weight; Championship and Infinity start systems; plugs into the cable harness). ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. USA Swimming, Quick Guide to the Timing Adjustment Rule (102.24) (pad time is the official time when the automatic equipment works; primary/secondary/tertiary layers; two of three buttons agreeing; the 0.29 second threshold against the pad time). ↩

5. Colorado Time Systems, Titanium Deckplate (TDP) (plug-in connections for touchpads and A/B/C backup pushbuttons; titanium jacks and domed top protect the banana plugs from corrosion). ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Colorado Time Systems, 8-lane touchpad and pushbutton primary cable harness (CH41-8) (primary harness carries the touchpad and one pushbutton per lane). ↩ ↩²

7. Colorado Time Systems, Dolphin Wireless Stopwatch Swim Timing (the wireless alternative to wired backup buttons). ↩

8. Colorado Time Systems, Standard and AquaGrip Touchpads User Guide (F147) (the touchpad test meter also tests pushbuttons; banana-plug care and the R-025-045 replacement plug). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴