T-7000 Series Touchpad

From Libre Aquatics Wiki, the free aquatics reference

The T-7000 series is a line of swimming touch panels made by Daktronics, Inc., of Brookings, South Dakota. It is the panel hung at a lane end that senses the swimmer’s finish and turn: a touch signals the timing console to stop that lane’s clock. Daktronics pairs the series with the OmniSport 2000 timing console.¹² The panel differs from the air-filled Colorado Time Systems pad in how it senses a touch: it is built from three conductive stainless-steel plates and reads a touch as a change in electrical charge rather than air pressure.²¹ Daktronics lists the T-7000 series both on an active touchpad support page and among its discontinued product resources, so a facility may encounter these pads described either way.²³

Role in the timing system¶

The touchpads overview covers the history of automatic touchpad timing and the World Aquatics requirements that apply to every touch panel. A Daktronics pad connects through a cable to a lane module or in-deck plate, which routes the lane’s signal back to the OmniSport 2000 console; the console measures the elapsed time and drives the scoreboard.¹ Because the panel doubles as the wall a swimmer pushes off during backstroke starts and turns, its face is textured to give grip when wet, and Daktronics warns that paddles, fins, and kickboards must not be used against a pad in the water.²¹

Design and construction¶

The touchpad is built from three conductive plates of non-corrosive stainless steel: a back sheet, a center sheet, and a front plate, separated so a touch on the face brings the layers together electrically.²¹ The front carries a non-slip, non-abrasive textured surface, and the pad is designed to be self-draining, with drain holes on the back sheet.²¹ A rubber boot runs along the top front bend, and snap-on vinyl edge covers protect the sides and bottom over raised stainless-steel edge protectors.¹ Each pad is stamped with a manufacture date and serial number in the lower-right corner of the rear.¹

A Daktronics pad is designed to fill with water once lowered into the pool, which weights it so that it hugs the pool wall; the drain holes let it fill and drain rather than float.¹ The face is 0.3 in (8 mm) thick on every model, within the World Aquatics thickness limit noted in the touchpads overview.¹⁴

Electrical operation and sensitivity¶

The pad works by holding a small standing voltage that a touch collapses. With the pad installed and untouched, about 0.25 VDC is measured between its positive and ground connectors; when the face is pressed the voltage drops to approximately 0 VDC, which is the signal the timer reads as a touch.¹ After the press is released the voltage climbs back over roughly 1.5 to 3 seconds and levels out at 0.25 VDC again, so the pad needs a moment to recharge before it can register the next touch. Daktronics’ own test procedure has the operator count “1001, 1002, 1003” between touches for this reason.¹

Sensitivity depends on how the pad is touched. Daktronics notes that a touch must be delivered with the energy a swimmer carries into the wall; a press that is too light or too slow may not register.¹ This is how the panel meets the governing-body sensitivity requirement described in the touchpads overview.⁴ The charge-based, layered-plate approach is one of the two dominant touchpad designs; it contrasts with the air-filled pneumatic panel Colorado Time Systems uses, where sensitivity is set by internal air pressure.²⁵

The pad terminates in a cable with a dual banana plug, red for the positive connector and black for ground. The ground tab on the plug must line up with the black jack at the lane module or deck plate; if some pads in a system are plugged in reversed, pads can register touches that were never made.¹

Models and dimensions¶

The T-7000 series comes in two families. The T-7060, T-7078, and T-7096 are shorter pads, 22 to 24 in (0.56–0.61 m) high, with a 2.8 in (71 mm) top flange. The FT-7150, FT-7190, FT-7190T, and FT-7240T are full-height pads, 3 ft (0.9 m) high, tall enough to span the water surface as the governing-body rules require; the plain FT models have a 2 in (51 mm) flange and the wedge-profile models ending in “T” have a 3.9 in (99 mm) flange.¹ The face thickness is 0.3 in (8 mm) on all models; the depth figures below are for the top flange.¹

Model	Height × width	Flange depth	Weight
T-7060	1 ft 10 in × 5 ft 0 in (559 × 1524 mm)	2.8 in (71 mm)	28.25 lb (12.8 kg)
T-7078	1 ft 10 in × 6 ft 6 in (559 × 1981 mm)	2.8 in (71 mm)	37.5 lb (17 kg)
T-7096	2 ft 0 in × 8 ft 0 in (610 × 2438 mm)	2.8 in (71 mm)	50 lb (22.7 kg)
FT-7150	3 ft 0 in × 5 ft 0 in (914 × 1524 mm)	2 in (51 mm)	44.7 lb (20.3 kg)
FT-7190	3 ft 0 in × 6 ft 3 in (914 × 1905 mm)	2 in (51 mm)	56.8 lb (25.8 kg)
FT-7190T	3 ft 0 in × 6 ft 3 in (914 × 1905 mm)	3.9 in (99 mm)	57 lb (25.9 kg)
FT-7240T	3 ft 0 in × 7 ft 11 in (914 × 2413 mm)	3.9 in (99 mm)	72.5 lb (32.9 kg)

The full-width, full-height models such as the T-7096 and FT-7240T meet the World Aquatics competition minimum set out in the touchpads overview, while the narrower or shorter models suit narrower lanes and training pools.⁴¹

Mounting¶

Each pad ships with a universal adjustable stainless-steel bracket that clamps to the pool gutter and adjusts to both shallow and narrow-lip gutters; the brackets are secured with a 7/16 in socket wrench.¹ The pad is lowered into the pool by one person at each end, centered in the lane, and left to fill with water so it hugs the wall. If the pool has no gutter, the pad is instead tied to the starting block with rope run through the holes along its top edge.¹

Where the pool wall has obstructions or the gutter protrudes, Daktronics has installers add spacers (for example strips of PVC board) between the wall and the pad, bonded with 3M VHB tape, taking care not to cover the drain holes; the company does not supply these spacers.¹ The pad connects either to an on-deck system, where its plug goes to the touchpad jack on a lane module, or to an in-deck system, where it plugs into the touchpad jack on a lane deck plate set into the deck.¹

Connection to the timer¶

Daktronics touchpads report to the OmniSport 2000 timing console.¹⁶ In swimming mode the console times and judges up to ten lanes with two touchpads per lane, one at each end for near-end and far-end splits, alongside relay take-off platforms and one, two, or three backup buttons per lane.² The console reaches a computer through Daktronics Pro Swimming software, which gathers touchpad, button, relay-exchange, and start-reaction times over a serial or Ethernet connection.⁷ Each pad is tested through the console’s lane-module test menu, which flashes a lane indicator for about two seconds when the pad is touched, and the operator repeats the touch across the whole face to confirm there are no dead spots.¹

Care and maintenance¶

After each meet Daktronics has the pad rinsed with non-chlorinated tap water, ideally by submerging it in a fresh-water tank; it warns against using a pressure washer or treated pool water.¹ For a long event the pads are removed from the water every 48 hours, inspected, and allowed to dry for about six hours.¹ Inspection covers the cable and banana plug for cuts and corrosion, the vinyl edge covers and top boot, and the face for delamination, which shows as large bubbles or a loose surface.¹ Between meets the pads are stored out of the pool environment and away from chemicals on a wheeled touchpad cart, at 32 to 90 °F (0 to 32 °C) with fresh air circulation.¹

Specifications¶


Construction	Three non-corrosive stainless-steel conductive plates (back, center, front)
Surface	Non-slip, non-abrasive textured face; self-draining; rubber top boot; vinyl side and bottom edge covers
Face thickness	0.3 in (8 mm), all models
Sizes	5–8 ft (1.5–2.4 m) wide; 22 in–3 ft (0.56–0.9 m) high
Weight	28.25 lb (12.8 kg) to 72.5 lb (32.9 kg), by model
Activation	Charge-based; about 0.25 VDC at rest, dropping toward 0 VDC on touch; recharges over ~1.5–3 s
Cable	Dual banana plug, red positive and black ground; ground tab aligns with the black jack
Mounting	Universal adjustable stainless bracket for shallow and narrow-lip gutters; rope-tie option without a gutter
Controller	OmniSport 2000 console; up to 10 lanes, two pads per lane
Storage	32–90 °F (0–32 °C) on a touchpad cart, away from pool chemicals

Part numbers and accessories¶

0A-1040-0115, touchpad cable replacement kit.
0A-1040-0117 through 0A-1040-0122, side and bottom edge-cover replacement kits, one part number per model (T-7060, T-7078, T-7096, FT-7150, FT-7190, FT-7240).
AT-1087, AT-1088, AT-1089, 3M VHB 5930 tape in 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 in widths.
0A-1240-0003, OmniSport 2000 maintenance kit.

Daktronics warrants its timing equipment against defects for two years.¹

References¶

Daktronics, T-7000 Series Touchpads Installation & Maintenance Manual (DD1953274, Rev 03, 8 August 2018). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸
Daktronics, Touchpad support (construction, three stainless-steel plates, non-slip self-draining surface, adjustable bracket, and use with the OmniSport timing system). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Daktronics, Aquatics touchpad discontinued-product resources (lists the T-7000 series and links the DD1953274 manual). ↩
World Aquatics, Facilities Rules 2021–2025, FR 2.3 Automatic Officiating Equipment for Swimming (touch panels: FR 2.3.4). ↩ ↩² ↩³
Colorado Time Systems, AquaGrip Touchpads (air-filled pad whose sensitivity is set by internal air pressure). ↩
Daktronics, OmniSport 2000 timing console (aquatics timing console that interfaces to touchpads, relay take-off platforms, and meet-management software). ↩
Daktronics, OmniSport 2000 Pro Swimming Software Installation & Operation Manual (DD3109473) (gathers touchpad, button, relay-exchange, and start-reaction times over serial or Ethernet). ↩

Last updated July 27, 2026.