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SS2 Electronic Start System

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The SS2 Electronic Start System is a discontinued loudspeaker start system for swimming made by Colorado Time Systems (CTS) during the 1990s. It consists of a battery-powered start module with a built-in strobe light, a hand-held starter’s microphone, and one or more loudspeakers, and it doubles as a limited public-address system. CTS’s contemporary System 5 documentation names the SS2 as the standard start system supplied with its swimming timing packages.12 Its role in the CTS line later passed to the deck-wired Championship family and the portable Infinity family.

Models and naming

The instruction guide (F503 Rev. 0897, first issued 1993) covers five configurations, which differ only in the speakers supplied with the same start module:1

  • SS2-1, the base system: start module with built-in strobe, one 40-watt corrosion-resistant speaker, a microphone with 25-foot cable, internal gel-cell battery, and external battery charger.
  • SS2-2, which adds a second 40-watt speaker with a 125-foot cable and a backstroke-flag-pole mounting kit, for starting the far lanes.
  • SS2-6, SS2-8, and SS2-10, which add six, eight, or ten 6-watt under-block speakers with the matching LS40-6, LS40-8, or LS40-10 lane-speaker cable harness.

The SS2 was the middle member of a series. The System 5 swimming software guide of 1998 states that CTS made three kinds of electronic start systems, the SS-1, the SS2, and the LS systems, alongside the ST-15 start-pistol transducer, and the SS2 manual’s warranty covers the “Model SS-xx Series” start-system modules as a family.21 The name outlived the product: the current System 6 swimming software guide still gives “a CTS Infinity, ChampStart or SS-2” as its examples of loudspeaker start systems.3

CTS’s current power-supply compatibility list names two legacy start systems, SS-01 and SS-02, without describing them. The Championship Start System (CHAMP-SSM) article reads these as labels for the pre-2005 Championship generation, but the SS-1/SS2 series documented here is another plausible referent. The sources do not settle it: the numbering matches the SS2 era, while the listed power supply matches start systems that run from an external supply, and the SS2 instead uses a dedicated DC battery charger and cannot operate while charging.41

Design and hardware

The start module is an open-frame unit 13.25 in high, 18 in wide, and 4 in deep, weighing 17 lb. Its circuit board sits behind a sliding polycarbonate weather cover secured to the frame with hook-and-loop straps, and all connections are made directly on the board: two identical speaker jacks, three identical microphone jacks, two timer-start outputs, a backup button-start connector, and the strobe, battery, and recharge connectors. A single volume control on the board sets the public-address level; the start and recall tones always sound at full volume. A microphone rest is built into the back panel. The module sits on a tabletop or mounts through a standard 1/4-20 tripod bracket or an optional wall-mount kit; the manual’s setup chapter names the optional tripod TR-1 while its specifications page names the TR-2, and it does not explain the difference.1

The module itself contains no built-in speaker: every speaker plugs into one of the two speaker jacks on the circuit board. The base speaker is a 40-watt, 8-ohm moisture- and corrosion-resistant reflex speaker; the multi-lane configurations use 6-watt under-block speakers on an LS40 cable harness, and the system can be expanded to a total of 20 speakers and three microphones. CTS leaves permanent speaker installation to the customer because of the variety of starting-block types.1

Power comes from an internal 12 VDC rechargeable gel-cell battery, which CTS presents as a safety design that keeps AC power away from the pool deck. The external charger (115 VAC, three-prong grounded) charges the battery only with the module switched off, and the SS2 does not operate while charging; CTS therefore advises recharging overnight after each day’s use. A full charge runs the system for one to two days of typical use, and heavy public-address use shortens that; an idle battery loses about 20 percent of its charge in two to three months. The optional BP-3 external battery pack matches the internal battery’s capacity and extends operating time, but cannot recharge the internal battery. The battery circuit is fused with a 4 A automotive blade fuse.1

Operation

The starter’s microphone carries a push-to-talk switch on its side and a start button on top. Pressing push-to-talk alone carries the starter’s voice to the speakers as a public-address system. Holding push-to-talk and pressing the start button fires the start: a 0.5-second dual-tone blast, a simultaneous strobe flash, and a start pulse to the timer. Pressing the start button a second time within five seconds signals a false-start recall, a repeating dual tone; after five seconds the module resets and accepts another start. With more than one microphone connected, a recall fails if two starters press their buttons at the same time, so the manual directs that one starter be designated to control recalls.1

The camera-type strobe flashes automatically with every start pulse and needs about 30 seconds between flashes to recharge; a start given before the strobe circuit has recharged sounds the tone without a flash. The manual directs coaches, officials, and spectators to start stopwatches from the strobe rather than the tone, because the speed of sound delays the tone for observers at any distance from the speakers, and notes that the strobe also gives fair starts to athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing; see the start-systems overview for the governing-body rules behind this practice.1 A weaker or longer start tone indicates a low battery.1

Connections

The SS2 provides two timer-start outputs on its circuit board: a normally-open (N.O.) output used by all CTS timers, such as the System 5 Sports Timer, and a normally-closed (N.C.) output for other manufacturers’ timers. The later Championship dropped the built-in N.C. output, which on that system requires factory modification.15 The start connection runs through a start jumper cable, model SJ-25 (25-foot) or SJ-50M (50-metre), to the timer’s cable harness or to an in-deck wiring plate; in System 5 installations it plugs into the start connector of the touchpad-and-button-A cable harness.12 An optional manual pushbutton connects to the button-start connector as a backup to the microphone start button.1

The manual specifies placing the module at least 10 feet (3 m) from the pool edge, positioned so that officials and spectators can see the strobe.1

Specifications

Dimensions (H × W × D)13.25 × 18 × 4 in (33 × 45 × 10 cm)
Weight17 lb (7.7 kg)
PowerInternal 12 VDC gel-cell battery; 115 VAC external charger
ChargingModule must be off; does not operate while charging
Battery lifeOne to two days typical; about 20% self-discharge in 2 to 3 months idle
FuseAutomotive blade, 4 A
Built-in speakerNone; speakers connect to the two board jacks
Speakers1 or 2 × 40 W, 8 Ω reflex, or 6/8/10 × 6 W under-block; expandable to 20
MicrophonesUp to 3, on identical interchangeable jacks
Start outputsNormally-open (CTS timers) and normally-closed (other timers)
Start tone0.5 s dual-tone blast with simultaneous strobe flash
RecallRepeating dual tone, within 5 s of the start pulse
StrobeCamera strobe, about 30 s recharge between flashes
MountingTabletop, 1/4-20 tripod bracket, or wall-mount kit

Part numbers and accessories

  • SS2-1 / SS2-2 / SS2-6 / SS2-8 / SS2-10, the five sold configurations.1
  • LS40-6 / -8 / -10, lane-speaker cable harness; the number is the lane count. The naming continues on the later Championship, which uses LS40-6 through LS40-12.15
  • SP-125, additional 40 W speaker with 125-foot cable for far-lane starting; SMK-1, backstroke-flag mounting kit for it.1
  • M-50 / M-100 / M-200, replacement microphones; the number is the cable length in feet.1
  • SJ-25 / SJ-50M, start jumper cable to the timer (25 ft or 50 m).1
  • BP-3, external battery pack.1
  • TR-1 / TR-2, optional tripod (the manual names both); wall-mount kit.1
  • Factory replacement parts: circuit board, speakers, cables, strobe, battery, battery charger, and front panel.1

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. Colorado Time Systems, Electronic Start System Model SS2 Instruction Guide (F503 Rev. 0897, ©1993), hosted on the CTS Spanish-language legacy site. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22

  2. Colorado Time Systems, Swimming 5 for the System 5 Sports Timer user guide (F506, Rev. 0698), hardware-setup chapter (the SS2 as the standard package start system) and start-system appendix (the SS-1/SS2/LS series). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Colorado Time Systems, Swimming 6 for the System 6 Sports Timer user guide (F890), timing-corrections section (“a CTS Infinity, ChampStart or SS-2”). ↩

  4. Colorado Time Systems shop, Start System Power Supply (R-920-059), compatibility list covering SS/SSF/WSS/WSSF, INF-SSM/INF-SSMF, and legacy SS-01/SS-02. ↩

  5. Colorado Time Systems, Championship Start Instruction Guide (F875 Rev. 202202). ↩ ↩2

Last updated July 27, 2026.