StartTime II

The StartTime II is an electronic starting device made by Swiss Timing Ltd of Corgémont, Switzerland, and carrying the Omega Electronics brand on its front panel. It generates the start signal for a race: a sound through its built-in loudspeaker and any connected external loudspeakers, an optical flash, and a start pulse to the timing device.¹ The flash and the loudspeaker are built into the same case, and the starter gives the start from a microphone unit or from the device itself; the unit predates the electronic e-gun trigger, which Swiss Timing introduced with the later StartTime IV, and it is set up with a bank of DIP switches rather than the menu-driven display of the later units.¹² It is the earliest documented member of the StartTime family and the predecessor of the StartTime III. Swiss Timing no longer publishes the manual for the discontinued device online, so this article cites it by document number rather than hosting a copy.¹ This article covers the StartTime II specifically; the start-systems overview covers the shared background that applies to every starter.

Design and hardware¶

The main unit measures 400 by 205 by 160 mm without its connectors and is protected to IP41. The front panel carries two rotary controls, one for the microphone volume and one for the start volume, a combined start and power button with power and ready indicator lights, and a cover over the setup switches, alongside the Omega Electronics logo. Power comes from a built-in 12 volt, 6.5 Ah sealed lead-acid battery with a charger; Swiss Timing rates the battery for 24 hours or 1000 starts, after which the unit stays operable for about another hour, and the battery self-discharges over roughly 12 months when not in use. An external 12 volt lead-acid battery can be connected to the charger input to extend the running time, and a low-battery alarm warns when the battery runs down. The operating range is -10 to +65 degrees C, the storage range -20 to +65 degrees C, and the unit is rated for 20 to 80 percent relative humidity, non-condensing.¹

The panel carries connections for the microphone (an 8-pin DIN 45326 connector), the ARES timing device (a 4-pin Tuchel connector), the flash (4-pin Tuchel), the speaker (4-pin Tuchel), and the charger (3-pin Tuchel). The unit is fused by four 5 by 20 mm fuses: F1 1 A slow (logic and microphone), F2 1 A slow (charger input), F3 6.3 A slow (amplifiers), and F4 6.3 A slow (on the battery cable).¹

Microphone unit¶

The starter gives the start from a microphone unit that holds a TALK button, which connects the internal microphone to amplify the verbal commands, and a START button, which begins the race; the volume of the verbal commands is set on the main unit. Two indicators show the system status, a power light for “device switched on” and a READY light driven by the timing device. The microphone unit measures 30 by 66 by 131 mm and carries a 10 m cable. The unit can also be run without the microphone unit; the starter then gives the start from the device’s own button.¹

Configuration¶

The StartTime II is configured with a bank of DIP switches under a cover on the front panel, the feature that most distinguishes it from the menu-driven StartTime III and IV. The switches set the number of false-start signals the unit sounds (SW1 and SW2, one to four, factory setting four); the start sound (SW3, a sampled gunshot or a modulated tone); the READY interlock (SW5, whether the unit requires the ARES timing device to be cleared before it will start, or can always start for PowerTime use); the false-start announcement (SW6, allowed or never); the microphone button layout (SW7, normal or the TALK and START buttons swapped); and automatic power saving (SW8, standby after 15 minutes and power-off after 90 minutes). SW4 is reserved. Two jumpers on the main board, J1 for the ARES output and J2 for the flash, set those relay outputs to a normally-open or normally-closed contact.¹

Operation¶

The StartTime II runs in one of three modes. In ARES mode it connects to a Swiss Timing ARES 21 timing device; the READY indicator shows whether the timing operator has cleared the system for a start, and the unit can be set to announce a false start if it is triggered without that clearance. In PowerTime mode the unit runs on its own without an external timing device. In its independent mode the unit is used without the microphone unit, with the start given from the device’s own button.¹

A second press of the start within 10 seconds of the start signals a false-start recall and plays the false-start sound a configurable number of times; after the 10 second window the system resets for a new start. SW1 and SW2 set the number of signals, SW6 enables the announcement, and SW3 chooses the start sound, a sampled gunshot or a modulated tone.¹

Audio¶

The StartTime II contains a built-in loudspeaker driven by two integrated amplifiers with independent outputs. The recommended external load is 3.2 to 16 ohms per amplifier; a 2 ohm load is possible but increases distortion and reduces output power. At 13.2 volts into 3.2 ohms at 1 kHz the amplifiers deliver a typical 2 x 13 W at less than 1 percent distortion and a maximum 2 x 19 W at 10 percent distortion. Speaker polarity must be kept consistent or sound quality degrades, and the manual warns never to connect the two speaker outputs together or to ground, which can damage the amplifiers. A SPEAKERS output drives a chain of loudspeakers so that the start signal reaches each athlete as closely and simultaneously as possible.¹ In swimming, those outputs drive Swiss Timing’s in-block and mobile lane speakers, positioned so that all swimmers hear the start at the same instant.¹

Connections¶

The microphone cable can be extended to 30 m, and the loudspeaker cables to 30 m with 0.75 mm² cable or 50 m with 1 or 1.5 mm² cable.¹ An auxiliary flash connects directly to the unit and can be positioned near an athlete who is deaf or hard of hearing. An external loudspeaker (article 2850.712) and mobile loudspeaker harness sets (articles 3399.902 through 3399.910, carrying two to ten speakers on 1.5 mm² cable) place a speaker near each starting block for portable installations, and extension cables (articles 3399.630, 3399.631, and 3399.632 at 6, 10, and 20 m) join the harnesses.¹ These 3399-series peripherals carried forward to the later StartTime III.²

Compared with the later units¶

The StartTime II was succeeded by the StartTime III and then the StartTime IV, and it shares the overall approach of every StartTime: a built-in loudspeaker, an integrated flash, and outputs for per-lane loudspeakers. It differs from the later units in several respects. It is configured with DIP switches rather than the menu-driven LCD of the StartTime III and IV; its main unit measures 400 by 205 by 160 mm, larger in footprint than the 376 by 215 mm of the III and IV; it carries a 12 volt, 6.5 Ah battery against the 7 Ah of the later units; and its microphone unit is larger, 30 by 66 by 131 mm on a 10 m cable, against the 118 by 25 by 80 mm unit on a 7 m cable used from the StartTime III on. Like the III, its start comes from a microphone unit or the device’s own button, and it predates the electronic e-gun that the StartTime IV introduced.¹²

Specifications¶

Main unit:

Dimensions (main unit)	400 × 205 × 160 mm (without connectors)
Dimensions (microphone unit)	30 × 66 × 131 mm
Microphone cable	10 m
Connections	Microphone (DIN 45326 8-pin), ARES timing device, flash, speaker, charger (all 4-pin Tuchel except the 3-pin charger)
Amplifiers	Two integrated; external load 3.2 to 16 Ω
Output power	2 x 13 W typical (<1% distortion); 2 x 19 W max (10% distortion) at 13.2 V, 3.2 Ω, 1 kHz
Battery	Built-in 12 V, 6.5 Ah sealed lead-acid
Battery autonomy	24 hours or 1000 starts, then about 1 hour reserve
Low battery	Alarm
Fuses	F1 1 A, F2 1 A, F3 6.3 A, F4 6.3 A (5 × 20 mm), all slow
Charger	Max initial current 1.0 A; dry environment only
Cable extension	Microphone to 30 m; speaker to 30 m at 0.75 mm² or 50 m at 1 to 1.5 mm²
Configuration	DIP switches SW1 to SW8; J1/J2 relay jumpers (NO/NC)
Operating temperature	-10 to +65 C
Storage temperature	-20 to +65 C
Relative humidity	20 to 80%, non-condensing
Protection	IP41

See also¶

• StartTime III: the successor electronic starting device
• StartTime IV: the later unit that introduced the e-gun
• StartTime V: the current-generation electronic starting device
• Start systems: the start-system overview and governing-body requirements
• Swiss Timing lane speakers: the in-block and mobile loudspeakers this device drives
• Swiss Timing: the manufacturer

References¶

Footnotes¶

1. Swiss Timing, StartTime II User’s Manual (document 3399.502.02, Version 2.1, July 2007). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

2. Libre Aquatics Wiki, StartTime III and StartTime IV. ↩ ↩² ↩³