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Infinity Start System

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The Infinity Start System (part number INF-SSM) is a portable electronic start system for swimming made by Colorado Time Systems (CTS). It combines a start horn, a strobe light, and a limited public-address system in a single battery-powered unit carried by a molded handle. The starter speaks and starts races through a wired microphone; the unit sounds a start tone, flashes its strobe, and sends a start pulse to the electronic timer.12 CTS lists the product as having reached end of life on 6 August 2024, replaced by the Infinity Pro Start System.2

Naming and product line

The Infinity is the portable, entry-level member of the CTS start line and the older of the two Infinity-family models: a self-contained unit with one built-in speaker, an optional second speaker, and no lane-speaker or speedlight outputs. Its successor is the Infinity Pro; the deck-wired Championship family is the larger alternative. For the full lineup and a side-by-side comparison of all the models, see the start-systems overview.

An earlier revision of its manual (F849 Rev. 1005) shows the product was on the market by the mid-2000s.3 The INF-SSMF variant is the unit sold with a 230 V charger for markets outside North America; CTS does not spell out the suffix, but it matches the convention the company uses for the Infinity Pro, where INF-PRO is the 115 V model and INF-PRO-F the 230 V model, and the Infinity product page notes a 240 V charging option.452

CTS also sold the Infinity as the start system of its Train Right one-lane training package (TR-SYS-1), paired with a relay judging platform, a Pace Clock Pro, a pushbutton, and a training-size touchpad. Because the Infinity has no speedlight output, the platform’s speedlights do not flash with the start in this version of the package. The package, now discontinued, is described in the relay judging platform article.67

Design and hardware

The unit is a cylindrical enclosure about 14 in long weighing 12 lb, with the speaker at one end, a 360° strobe dome on top, a carrying handle, and a connector panel on the side. The connector panel carries the charger input, the power switch, a speaker volume control, a battery-life indicator LED, two microphone jacks (the second doubles as an external-strobe input), the start output to the timer, and an external-speaker jack. A microphone rest is built in beside the panel.1

The built-in speaker is a 40-watt, 8-ohm moisture- and corrosion-resistant reflex speaker; one additional CTS external speaker can be connected for far lanes. The microphone is from CTS’s M2 family, with a push-to-talk switch and two start buttons on top placed for either left- or right-handed use.12

The system runs only from its internal 12 V gel-cell battery; it will not operate while plugged into AC power. CTS presents this as a safety design that keeps AC power off the pool deck. A full charge takes about eight hours with the 18 VDC wall-brick charger and gives about eight hours of normal use; heavy public-address use shortens that. The indicator LED shows green (charged), yellow (5–6 hours remaining), red (1–2 hours remaining), or flashing green (charging), and the manual notes an idle battery loses about 20% of its charge in two to three months.1

Operation

Pressing the push-to-talk switch turns the microphone on for announcements; the volume knob affects only this public-address audio. Pressing push-to-talk together with either start button fires the start: a 0.5-second dual-tone blast at fixed full volume, a simultaneous strobe flash, and a start pulse to the timer. Pressing a start button again signals a false-start recall, a repeating dual tone.1

The strobe flashes with the start tone, and officials and watch timers are meant to start from the flash rather than the tone. World Aquatics rules require the starter’s commands and the starting signal to be heard equally and simultaneously at each block; see the start-systems overview for the reason and the governing-body rules.18

Connections

The start output is an opto-isolated transistor circuit that sends only normally-open (N.O.) start pulses, which work with all CTS timers (a normally-closed timer requires factory modification of the unit). The Infinity connects to a timer’s cable harness or deck plate with a start jumper cable, model INF-SJ25 (25 ft) or INF-SJ50M (50 m).1 The unit sits on a tabletop, on the CTS TR-3 tripod, or on a flagpole with the START-FPM-2 mount.1

Specifications

Dimensions (H × L × W)9.75 × 14.25 × 7.25 in (24.8 × 36.2 × 18.4 cm)
Weight12 lb (5.4 kg)
Operating temperature0–50 °C
Humidity / altitude90% non-condensing; 0–3000 m
BatteryOne 12 V gel cell; ~8 h use, ~8 h recharge
Charger18 VDC at 1.2 A (recharge only; no AC operation)
Fuse5 A time-lag, 5 × 20 mm
SpeakerInternal 40 W, 8 Ω reflex; output 18 VAC, 5 A max
Microphone portsTwo 5 V inputs (second also accepts external strobe)
Start outputOpto-isolated transistor, normally-open pulses
Start tone0.5 s dual-tone blast with simultaneous strobe

Part numbers and accessories

  • INF-SSM, Infinity Start System, 115 V charger; INF-SSMF, 230 V-charger variant (suffix meaning inferred from the Infinity Pro convention, above).4
  • M2-25 / M2-50 / M2-100 / M2-200, replacement microphones; the number is the straight-cable length in feet. M2-C15 has a 15 ft coiled cable.12
  • INF-SP (125 or 200), external 40 W speaker with 125 ft or 200 ft cable.1
  • INF-SJ25 / INF-SJ50M, start jumper cable to the timer, 25 ft or 50 m.1
  • BP-3, spare battery with external charger.1
  • EXTSTROBE, external strobe light (connects to a microphone jack).1
  • TR-3, tripod; START-FPM-2, flagpole mount kit.1
  • Battery replacement instructions are published separately as CTS document F851.9

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. Colorado Time Systems, Infinity Start System User Guide (F849 Rev. 202202). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  2. Colorado Time Systems, Infinity Start System (INF-SSM) product page. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Colorado Time Systems, Infinity Start System User Guide (F849 Rev. 1005), copy hosted by Poolweb. ↩

  4. Colorado Time Systems shop, Start System Power Supply (R-920-059), lists compatibility with Championship (SS/SSF/WSS/WSSF), Infinity (INF-SSM/INF-SSMF), and legacy (SS-01/SS-02) start systems. ↩ ↩2

  5. Colorado Time Systems, Infinity Pro Start System datasheet (Rev. 11/24). ↩

  6. Colorado Time Systems, Train Right with Infinity Start System (F957, Rev. 201102). ↩

  7. Colorado Time Systems, Training Package (TR-SYS) (package contents, the speedlight limitation with the Infinity, and discontinued status). ↩

  8. World Aquatics, Competition Regulations (Part Two: Swimming Rules), article 15.16.3 (loudspeakers at each starting block; false-start detection equipment required). ↩

  9. Colorado Time Systems, Infinity Start System battery replacement (F851). ↩

Last updated July 27, 2026.