StartTime III

The StartTime III is an electronic starting device made by Swiss Timing Ltd of Corgémont, Switzerland. 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 successor StartTime IV.¹² It succeeded the StartTime II, the earlier unit in the family, which was configured by DIP switch rather than the setup menu of the 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 III specifically; the start-systems overview covers the shared background that applies to every starter.

Design and hardware¶

The main unit measures 376 by 215 by 195 mm without its connectors and is protected to IP41. Setup is menu-driven through an LCD and a turn-knob, with a POWER and a READY status LED on the unit. Power comes from a built-in 12 volt, 7 Ah sealed lead-acid battery with a charger; Swiss Timing rates the battery for 24 hours or 1000 starts, and a low-battery warning shows four levels of charge. 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 rear 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), which also accepts an external 12 volt battery. The unit is fused by three car-type fuses (F1 1 A slow, F2 5 A slow, and F3 2 A slow) and one 5 by 20 mm fuse (F4 6.3 A slow).¹

Microphone unit¶

The starter gives the start from a microphone unit that holds a SPEAK button, which amplifies the verbal commands, and a START button, which begins the race. The microphone unit measures 118 by 25 by 80 mm and carries a 7 m cable. The unit can also be run without the microphone unit; the starter then gives the start from the START button on the device itself.¹

Operation¶

The StartTime III 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 announces 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 START button.¹

A second press of 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. The setup menu selects the start and false-start sound, sets the flash and start outputs to a normally-open or normally-closed contact, enables or disables the false-start announcement, sets the number of false-start signals, and sets the automatic standby and power-off timers.¹

Audio¶

The StartTime III contains a built-in loudspeaker driven by two integrated amplifiers with independent outputs. The recommended external load is 3.2 to 16 ohms per channel; 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. A SPEAKER 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 50 m.¹ An external loudspeaker (article 2850.712) and mobile loudspeaker harness sets (article 3399.931, with harnessed sets carrying two to ten speakers on 1.5 mm² cable) place a speaker near each starting block for portable installations.¹ The OMEGA Flash Start (article 3399.951), a visual start signal for athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing, connects to the unit as an auxiliary flash positioned where the athlete can see it.¹ These 3399-series peripherals carried forward to the StartTime IV.³

Compared with the StartTime IV¶

The StartTime IV succeeds the StartTime III and shares its overall approach: an electronic starting device with a built-in loudspeaker, an integrated flash, and outputs for per-lane loudspeakers. The main change is the trigger. On the StartTime III the start comes from a microphone unit or the device’s own button, whereas the StartTime IV is sold in two versions, one with a start and microphone unit and one with an electronic e-gun whose trigger plays the sound, fires the flash, and sends the start pulse together.¹³ Swiss Timing introduced the e-gun as a new-generation flash gun to replace the powder pistol and its transducer, and first used it at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games with the then-new StartTime IV.²⁴ The main-unit dimensions also differ slightly: the StartTime III measures 376 by 215 by 195 mm and the StartTime IV 376 by 215 by 205 mm.¹³

Specifications¶

Main unit:

Dimensions (main unit)	376 × 215 × 195 mm (without connectors)
Dimensions (microphone unit)	118 × 25 × 80 mm
Microphone cable	7 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, 7 Ah sealed lead-acid
Battery autonomy	24 hours or 1000 starts
Battery indicator	4 levels
Fuses	F1 1 A, F2 5 A, F3 2 A (car-type); F4 6.3 A (5 × 20 mm), all slow
Cable extension	Microphone to 30 m; speaker to 50 m
Operating temperature	-10 to +65 C
Storage temperature	-20 to +65 C
Relative humidity	20 to 80%, non-condensing
Protection	IP41

See also¶

• StartTime II: the predecessor acoustic starting device
• StartTime IV: the successor electronic starting device, which 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 III User’s Manual (document 3399.504.02, Version 1.1, August 2009). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

2. Swiss Timing, e-GUN Electronic Starting System datasheet (EGUN_3434_1303, 09-2013) (the e-gun as a new-generation flash gun replacing the powder gun and its transducer, used for the first time at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and operated with the StartTime IV). ↩ ↩²

3. Libre Aquatics Wiki, StartTime IV, drawing on the Swiss Timing StartTime IV datasheet (document 3481.0511-01). ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Core77, Omega’s Olympic Electronic Starting Pistol Redesign (the electronic gun debuted at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and sounds only through the loudspeakers so that every athlete hears the start at the same instant). ↩